Percentage of Americans who admit they have dated someone with a higher position in their company, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 34

Of those who have dated a higher-up in the last year, percentage of female workers who have dated their boss: 47

Percentage of males who have dated the boss: 38

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of those Americans who say the "American dream" does not exist who also believe the powers that be don't care about people like them, according to a survey by Zogby: 44

Percentage who say Americans shouldn't think of themselves as special and entitled to an ideal life: 29

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of U.S. couples who are finding that the worldwide financial crisis is affecting their relationships at home, causing them to argue more often, primarily about finances and household chores, according to PayPal's third annual "Can't Buy Me Love" international survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs: 43

In addition to arguing, percentage of couples surveyed who say they have ended a relationship due at least in part to financial issues: 11

Percentage of couples in the U.S. who are hiding purchases from their partners (18 percent in 2008) this year: 23

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of all Easter chocolate sales for which women are responsible, as reported in the Daily Telegraph: 66

Percentage of these purchases that they eat before they share the rest: 60

Source: Christian Research Association.

Percentage drop in North American car and truck production in the first seven weeks of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, according to Viraf Baliwalla, a consumer advocate for car buyers and founder of Automall Network: 40 (From 2,157,688 units down to 886,614.)

Advertised cost of a Chevy Malibu with approximately $4,000 in manufacturer rebates: $22,000

Cost to the consumer for a brand-new midsize vehicle if the government were to match the rebates rather than handing out bailouts: $14,000

Source: Automall Network.

Percentage of American adults who have not lived outside of the state in which they were born, according to Pew Research: 57

Percentage who have never left their original hometown: 37

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Percentage of Americans who feel very sympathetic or somewhat sympathetic toward the single woman in California with six children who recently gave birth to octuplets after undergoing in-vitro fertilization, according to a Gallup Poll: 26

Percentage who feel somewhat unsympathetic, or very unsympathetic: 70

Source: Gallup.

Number of intercity bus (motor coach) locations in the U.S., according to data released by the American Bus Association: 3,046

Number of airports: 604

Number of intercity rail stations: 525

On the list of the safest and greenest modes of transportation, rank of bus travel: 1

Source: American Bus Association.

Percentage of primary care physicians who reported that health care delivery will "get worse" in the next four years, after viewing video segments from President Obama's speech to Congress, according to a study conducted by HCD Research: 61

Percentage of respondents who indicated that skepticism was the emotion they felt most while watching President Obama outline his new health care reform plan: 49

Percentage who felt inspired: 21

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Percentage of respondents who say human error is the leading cause of information systems failure and fear that security attacks that exploit human error and breaches caused by distracted or disgruntled employees may be the root cause of information security failures in coming months, according to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's sixth annual survey of global financial institutions' information security efforts: 86

Percentage of respondents who expressed concern about insiders' misconduct: 36

Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Idle Thought

"It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do." -- Jerome K. Jerome, humorist and playwright

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

On average, amount that Americans spent per day in stores, restaurants, gas stations or online in the 14-day period ending Feb. 11 (figure does not include home or vehicle purchases, or normal monthly bills), according to Gallup Poll daily tracking: $61

Average spent in the same two-week period a year ago: $102

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of all the full-time positions a company fills that are accomplished through internal transfers and promotions, according to a study by CareerXroads: 38.8

Percentage of all external hires that are made through referrals (employee, alumni, vendor, etc.): 27.3

Source: CareerXroads.

Percentage of women who admit to not being able to read a traditional map, twice the number of men, according to research commissioned by Nokia: 11

Percentage of people who believe a sense of direction is genetic and that those who have a bad sense of direction are simply born that way: 18

Number of minutes wasted by the average person each time they get lost: 13

Percentage of people who blame their partners for getting lost, either because they were fighting or they were shouting directions: 30

Source: Nokia.

Percentage of respondents to a survey by Michaels Stores Inc. who said they would like to spend more time on arts and crafts activities: 84

Percentage who said they think making homemade gifts and spending time with their families are two of the "bright spots" that have emerged during this rough economy: 83

Source: Michaels Stores Inc.

Ranks of New York City, Las Vegas, Maui, Hawaii, and San Francisco on the list of U.S. vacation destinations preferred by affluent leisure travelers (those 8 percent of households with a minimum annual income in excess of $150,000, according to the Ypartnership Portrait of Affluent Travelers survey: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Europe, the Far East, Mexico and Australia on the list of international destinations preferred by affluent travelers: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Percentage of CPA executives who said they are "pessimistic" or "very pessimistic" about the U.S. economic outlook over the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School: 83

Percentage of respondents who said that they were "optimistic" about the outlook for the U.S. economy: 5

Source: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Percentage of parents who say they are very or fairly knowledgeable about how to protect their children's privacy online, according to a survey released by Consumer Policy Solutions: 69

Percentage of parents who have read the privacy policies of the Web sites their children visit closely: 31

Percentage who are unsure whether children's online activity can be tracked by companies for commercial purposes: 56

Source: Consumer Policy Solutions.

Year that the first civic and public celebrations of St. Patrick's Day in the American Colonies took place in Boston, according to the Irish Information Guide: 1737

Date that the first St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in New York City at the Crown and Thistle Tavern: March 17, 1756.

Source: Ireland Information Guide. See http://www.irelandinformationguide.com/St_Patrick's_Day

Average amount that couples spend on wedding entertainment, according to GigMasters.com: $825

Percentage of couples who had DJ's: 38

Percentage of couples who had live bands: 26

Source: GigMasters.com.

Percentage of those small and medium-sized business owners who have the capacity to process debit/credit transactions that agree they could be underestimating the degree to which fraudsters are targeting their business, according to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Visa: 41

Percentage who said that data thieves and hackers are not interested in a business of their size: 40 (10 percent strongly/30 percent somewhat)

Percentage who disagree with this premise: 59

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Idle Thought

"Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe." -- John Milton, poet (1608-1674)

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Estimated amount of money that U.S. employers will be required to contribute into their defined benefit plans this year, according to Watson Wyatt Worldwide: $108.7 billion

Estimated amount of money that employers would have had to contribute without the passage of a new pension-funding relief law late last year: $125.1 billion

Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Percentage of all travel in the U.S. accounted for by corporate meetings, events and incentive travel programs, according to the U.S. Travel Association: 15

Amount of spending generated: $244 billion

Amount of tax revenue at the federal, state and local level generated: $39 billion

Source: U.S. Travel Association.

Number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 36.5 million

Estimated population of Ireland itself: 4 million

Percentage of Massachusetts residents who are of Irish ancestry: 24

Percentage of the nation as a whole who are of Irish ancestry: 12

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank of Randy Jackson on scales of likability, believability, sincerity and fairness among "American Idol" judges, according to a study conducted by HCD Research: 1

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Rank of Canada (with rating of 90 percent favorable) among a list of 19 nations, according to a Gallup survey of Americans: 1

Ranks of Great Britain (89 percent), Japan (81 percent), Germany (79 percent), and India and France (64 percent): 2, 3, 4, 5 (tie)

Number of years that Canada has topped the list since 2006: 4

Source: Gallup.

Percentage less likely that people were to develop memory loss if they participated in social activities and read magazines during middle age than those who did not do those activities, according to a study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Seattle: 40

Percentage decrease in the risk of developing memory loss in later years by those who enjoyed reading books, playing games, participating in computer activities and doing craft activities such as pottery or quilting: 30 to 50

Source: American Academy of Neurology.

Number of cell phones collected and processed for reuse and recycling in 2008 by ReCellular, the world's leading electronics sustainability firm: 5.5 million

Percentage increase this represents year-over-year: 35

Number of Boeing 747-400s it takes to equal the weight of these recovered phones: 3

Source: ReCellular.

Percentage of young adults aged 18 to 30 who plan to get married and stay married for life, according to a survey by National Healthy Marriage Resource Center: 82

Estimated percentage of first marriages that end in divorce: 40

Ranks of "love" (87 percent) and "lifelong commitment" (72 percent) on the list of reasons to get married: 1, 2

Percentage who said "having children": 31

Source: National Healthy Marriage Resource Center.

Eight years ago, percentage of Americans who reported that they slept less than six hours a night, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation: 13

Percentage of Americans who say that today: 20

Percentage drop over the last eight years in those who reported sleeping eight hours or more: 10 (38 percent to 28 percent)

Percentage of Americans who agree that sleep is as important as diet and exercise to overall health and well-being: 40

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Percentage of new parents who rank money worries as their greatest challenge, ahead of sleep depravation and the rigors of caring for their baby, according to survey results released by Visa: 21

Percentage who said being responsible for someone else is their greatest challenge: 15

Estimated cost for a middle-class family to raise a child until the age of 17, according to computations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: $195,000

Source: Visa Inc.

Idle Thought

"What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?" -- Thomas Carlyle, historian and essayist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)