1.   Also, one of the partners found that Shipman was writing an unusual number of prescriptions for pethidine, a painkiller similar to morphine.

2.   Americana is a natural, inevitable, and popular theme for gift books, and there is an unusual number this season.

3.   An unusual number of cats had disappeared in an urban neighborhood north of the University of Arizona in Tucson.

4.   An unusual number of House and Senate seats will be closely contested this year, adding to the general anxiety of this high-stakes congressional session.

5.   An unusual number of Broadway productions have won critical raves this season.

6.   And despite the unusual number of investigations, he argued that his ethics rules were the toughest of any previous president.

7.   An unusual number of decisions this term dealt with issues in the workplace.

8.   An unusual number of other Senate races seemed headed for photo finishes, reflecting a close partisan division that also showed up in the polls.

9.   An unusual number of rescinded complaints were recorded at Rampart CRASH, where people said officers intimidated them to recant.

10.   And it prevents crashes that can occur when a site is bombarded by an unusual number of visits.