Figuratively Speaking

In 2009, estimated percentage of all e-mail traffic that is spam, according to a study from the Radicati Group: 81

According to the study's projections, amount of money a typical 1,000-user organization can spend a year to manage spam: $1.8 million

Source: Radicati Group.

In a typical workplace, percentage of employees who are actively motivated and engaged in their jobs, according to the Gallup Management Journal's Employee Engagement Index: 29

Percentage who are not engaged at all: 54

Percentage who are actively disengaged: 17

Source: Comcast.

Percentage more money that men need than women to be happy, according to research by smile.co.uk ("the Internet bank") from The Co-operative Bank: 27

Source: Co-operative Bank.

When respondents were asked to describe what they thought about their car, percentage who said that it gets them from point A to point B, according to a survey conducted for CarMax: 71

Percentage who said that their car has to do it all without breaking the bank: 30

Percentage who said their car defines who they are: 20

Percentage who said their car is a taxi service for their kids: 14

Source: CarMax Inc.

Average length of an American engagement, according to about.com: 14 months

Average cost of a diamond engagement ring: $6,348

During the engagement period, amount spent by couples on furniture: $4 billion

Amount spent on housewares: $3 billion

Source: about.com.

Percentage of infected computers globally that are located in the U.S., according to Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center (MCRC): 45

Percentage in the United Kingdom: 6

Percentage in Germany: 4

Percentage in France: 3

Source: Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center.

Percentage of parents who say their children are couponing, according to a study from CoolSavings.com: 60

Percentage of adults who said they began using coupons "within the past year": 28

Source: Q Interactive.

Percentage of all baby boomers who believe they look approximately 10 years younger than their actual age, according to a survey conducted by American Laser Centers: 31

Percentage of respondents who said they think the reason that they've stayed or become better looking as they've aged has less to do with their physical body and more to do with maturity and mindset, and cite a healthier self-image: 66

Percentage who said it is also because they've become more stylish: 50

Percentage who said it is also because they care less about what people think: 46

Source: American Laser Services.

Percentage of small business owners who are planning a summer vacation of at least a week, according to the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor: 56

Percentage of those not taking a vacation who said the primary reason is that they can't afford it: 40

Source: American Express OPEN.

Year that the U.S. began rationing gasoline to 3 gallons per week to help the war effort -- kept in effect until the end of the war, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1942

National speed limit for the same period: 35 mph

Estimated number of gas stations across the U.S. today: 131,000

Estimated number of gallons of gas they sell each year: 175 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"Power is only important as an instrument for service to the powerless." -- Lech Walesa, human rights activist, former president of Poland, Nobel laureate

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

Approximate number of hours that the average American watches TV every month at home, a 1.2 percent increase from last year, according to the results of Nielsen's Three Screen Report: 153

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

When asked what they found difficult about taking time off from work for vacation, percentage of respondents who stated that it was their first day back after vacation, according to a Randstad Work Watch survey of full-time employed adults: 77

Percentage of participants who found the last day in the office before vacation to be difficult: 44

Source: Randstad-USA.

Percentage of business travelers who indicated wi-fi was the most important airport amenity, outscoring basic travel needs such as food by nearly 30 percentage points, according to a study conducted by American Airlines Customer Research and HP: 47

Percentage of frequent travelers who said a dead battery (41.4 percent) and no place to plug in (26.3 percent) were their largest complaints: 67.7

Source: Hewlett-Packard Co.

Percentage of consumers who are carrying non-mortgage debt, according to the 2009 survey of financial values and debt sponsored by Securian Financial Group: 82

Percentage of baby boomers in debt who owe at least $50,000 in non-mortgage debt, a 10-point spike from the 2007 survey: 20 (Boomers were the only generation in the survey -- which included Generations Y, X and the Silent Generation -- to add debt since 2007.)

Source: Securian Financial Group.

Year that two of the nation's most notorious -- and romanticized -- criminals, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, were killed in an ambush staged by law officers in Gibsland, La., according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1934

Estimated number of murders they were accused of committing during a two-year series of bank robberies from Missouri to Texas: 12

Across the country, number of such robberies that occur on an average day, with banks losing on average about $4,300: 27

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who believe their fellow swimmers participate in unhygienic pool behavior, according to a survey conducted by the Water Quality and Health Council: 84

Percentage of Americans who admit to one or more behaviors that contribute to an unhealthy pool: 47

Percentage who admit to peeing in the pool: 17

Percentage who are convinced their fellow swimmers are guilty of peeing: 78

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Year that Father's Day was invented by Sonora Smart Dodd, whose father had, as a single parent, raised his six children: 1910

Year that President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day: 1966

Percentage of fathers living with dependent children who are single fathers: 3

According to greeting-card maker Hallmark, rank of Father's Day on the list of card-sending holidays: 5

Source: Parents Magazine.

Percentage of executives who give their administrative assistants license to ghostwrite e-mail responses under their name without requiring approval, according to a survey by the International Association of Administrative Professionals and The ePolicy Institute: 28

Percentage who are authorized to use executives' electronic signatures: 55

Percentage of administrative professionals who know that an electronic signature is as legally binding as a handwritten signature: 72

Source: International Association of Administrative Professionals.

Estimated financial cost of disability for a 40-year-old single male earning $50,000 per year who suffers a long-term disability lasting until age 65, according to a study that was released by LIFE and America's Health Insurance Plans: $1 million

Number of times pre-disability earnings that this represents: 20

Percentage of Americans who admit they would begin having difficulty supporting themselves financially "immediately" following a disability: 27

Percentage who say they would reach that point within a month: 49

Source: America's Health Insurance Plans.

Percentage of Americans who reportedly live in a suburban environment, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of SnagAJob: 32

Of these people, percentage who wish their community had a wider variety of offerings: 51

Percentage who mentioned a walkable environment: 22

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Idle Thought

"Only the madman is absolutely sure." -- Robert Anton Wilson, novelist

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

Percentage of car owners who reported being very satisfied with maintenance performed at independent shops (compared with 77 percent at dealerships), according to a Consumer Reports National Research Center survey: 84

Ranks of Lexus, Buick and Acura (with 85, 83 and 82 percent satisfaction rates, respectively) on the list of top scoring car brands in dealership maintenance satisfaction: 1, 2, 3

Source: Consumer Reports.

Percentage fewer graduates that employers plan to hire from the class of 2009 than from last year's class, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers: 22

Percentage of former American graduates whose advice to the class of 2009 is to pick a career because they like it, not because of earning potential (in other words, "to choose passion over money"), according to the results of the American Adecco Workplace Insights Survey: 71

Percentage of Americans who advise current students to pick a career based on salary alone: 13

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of consumers who are using the Internet more frequently to research products and prices, according to a survey commissioned by NCR Corp.: 53

Percentage who want to receive price comparisons, product reviews, coupons, promotions and store sales information online or via e-mail: 46

Percentage who are switching between retailers -- i.e., "shop hopping," to get better value: 49

Source: Brand Resources Group, NCR.

Percentage of buying power lost by seniors since the beginning of the decade, according to a new study released today by the Senior Citizens League: 20

Percentage rise in typical senior expenses since 2000: 58

Source: Senior Citizens League.

Year when one of the basics of most women's wardrobes, nylon stockings, went on sale for the first time, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1940

Number of pairs of nylon stockings that were sold that first year, though they soon became scarce as nylon production went to the war effort making items such as parachutes: 63 million

Estimated number of women's clothing stores across the U.S.: 47,000

Annual value of the apparel and accessories market: $31 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Projected percentage of GDP represented by domestic health care costs by 2010, according to a Gallup Poll: 21

Percentage of Americans who would consider traveling abroad for medical procedures such as heart bypass surgery, hip or knee replacement, plastic surgery, cancer diagnosis and treatment, or alternative medical care, even though all are routinely done in the United States: 29

Assuming equal quality and significantly cheaper cost, percentage who said they would be willing to travel abroad for medical procedures: 40

Source: Gallup.

Number of domestic leisure trips during June, July and August of 2009 that Americans are expected to take, according to the annual summer travel forecast by the U.S. Travel Association: 322 million

Percentage decline from summer 2008, though leisure travel remains resilient in the current economic climate: 2.2

Source: U.S. Travel Association.

Rank of YouTube on the list of "Video Web Brands," according to the Nielsen Co.: 1

Total number of streams through YouTube in April: 5.5 billion

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Among those who have not traveled outside of their country in the last five years, percentage who say that they see themselves as a global citizen as much as, or more than, a citizen of their nation, according to a WorldPublicOpinion.org survey of people in 21 nations from around the world: 29

Among those who have traveled outside their country at least once in the last five years, percentage who say they see themselves as a global citizen as much as or more than a citizen of their own country: 39

Among those who know people from five or more regions of the world who see themselves as global citizens: 47

Source: WorldPublicOpinion.org.

Percentage of executives who reported increased concern about potential violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), according to a Deloitte survey: 75

As a result of FCPA concerns, percentage of respondents who indicated their companies had renegotiated or canceled a planned business relationship or acquisition: 42

Ranks of Russia/Commonwealth of Independent States and China on the list of countries eliciting the most concern about the potential for FCPA violations: 1, 2

Across geographies, ranks of subcontractors who don't add value, fraudulent training and travel expenses, and third-party foreign payers on the list of the most common bribery schemes reported: 1, 2, 3

Source: Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP.

Idle Thought

"Our heads are round so that thoughts can change direction." -- Francis Picabia, painter and poet

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