Yesterday’s air pollution in Beijing, measured with the Air Quality Index, was welcome news for Olympic athletes and their oxygen-breathing fans: at 37, it was well within the realm of “good.”

And that’s “good” even by our standards.  As The New York Times points out:

Different countries use different words to describe ratings from the index. China considers an average measurement of 100 or below to be a “blue sky day” and describes measurements in the 101 to 200 range as “slightly polluted”. The United States Environmental Protection Agency describes that same range as “unhealthy.”

So if we consider a rating of 37 “good,” how must it be classified by the Chinese?

“The pure air of nirvana”?