Percentage of consumers who plan to ask their friends, family and loved ones for necessities instead of luxuries this holiday season, according to a recent survey by Black and Decker and Zogby International: 70

Percentage of respondents who would like to get an even split of practical and luxurious gifts: 17

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of Americans who are of the view that "family responsibility" appears to be one of the key reasons that women do not break through the glass ceiling to the top ranks of management, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends Project: 34

According to data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, percentage of women who now work or are actively seeking employment: 59

Among working mothers, percentage who work full-time: 74

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Percentage of administrative professionals who support one to two managers, according to a survey from the International Association of Administrative Professionals: 45

Percentage who support three to four manager: 28

Percentage who support five to 10 managers: 18

Percentage who support 11 or more: 5

Source: International Association of Administrative Professionals.

Expected retail sales on the traditional Black Friday weekend, according to industry research firm IBISWorld: $42.9 billion

Estimated number of people who will swarm into retail stores on Black Friday alone, expecting to take advantage of this day to ensure they get all the items on their gift lists: 76.9 million

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of consumers who say increased credit card rates, penalty fees, etc. is one of the key financial difficulties they are facing, according to the Consumer Reports Trouble Tracker Index: 15.1

Percentage who say they are unable to afford medical bills or medications: 13.7

Percentage who have missed payments on a major bill: 9.2

Percentage who have lost or reduced their health care coverage: 7.6

Source: Consumer Reports.

Percentage of Americans who will visit mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart and Target to get the most bang for their buck this holiday season, according to the Blistex Holiday Shopping Survey: 73

Percentage of shoppers who won't let winter weather stop them from heading out to do holiday shopping -- rain, snow or shine: 66

Source: Zeno Group for Blistex.

Year that an airplane flew over Mount Greylock in Massachusetts dropping ice crystals into a cloud, creating the first artificial snow, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1946

Because of this experiment by noted scientist Vincent Schaefer, year that the first snow-making machinery was in regular use at a resort in the Catskill Mountains: 1952

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Despite job losses, foreclosures and climbing interest rates, percentage of Americans who are focusing on what they have and are feeling more grateful than they were at this time last year, according to a nationwide survey commissioned by the Chinet brand of disposable tableware: 43

Percentage of U.S. adults who tell friends, family and colleagues every week that they're glad to have them in their life: 51

Percentage who vocalize this sentiment daily: 24

Source: Chinet.

Percentage of American households that use coupons, according to a study by Experian Marketing Services: 66

Percentage of coupon-using households that obtain their coupons from newspapers: 70

Source: Experian Public Relations II.

Percentage of leisure travelers who feel travel is affordable now, according to The Ipsos Travel Barometer: 41

Percentage of respondents who say that -- based solely on their personal finances -- they are somewhat or very able to travel: 47

Percentage of consumers who are also saying that they have the time availability to travel, indicating that there's a possible sweet spot for some travel suppliers and destinations: 66

Source: Ipsos Travel.

Idle Thought

"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist." -- Salman Rushdie

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

As BeautifulPeople.com goes global, estimated number of unattractive people from 190 countries who have been rejected from its site over the past two weeks, according to www.BeautifulPeople.com, the elite dating and networking site for beautiful people: 1.8 million

The total number of new members who have been admitted: 360,000

Percentage of Swedish men who have applied and have been accepted: 65

Ranks of Brazil (45 percent), Denmark (40 percent), Italy (39 percent), Portugal (37 percent) and Argentina (28 percent) on the list of countries with the highest percentage of accepted applications from men: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Rank of the U.S. on the list (24 percent): 9

Source: BeautifulPeople.com.

Percentage of workers who still think their relationship with their boss is important for their job satisfaction, according to a survey by the Adecco Group: 89

Percentage who think their boss is just as accessible as they were pre-recession: 87

Percentage of workers who respect their boss more since the recession began: 14

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of small-business retailers who compete against major retailers who say customer service differentiates their business from their larger competitors, according to a survey from RatePoint: 50

Percentage of these small businesses that said marketing budgets were the No. 1 advantage large retailers have versus smaller companies: 33

Source: RatePoint Inc.

Total federal lobbying expenditures in 2008, according to the book "The Blue Pages: A Directory of Companies Rated by Their Politics and Practices and the Center for Responsive Politics": $3.3 billion

Lobbying spending by AT&T: $32,214,784

Lobbying spending by Exxon Mobil: $45,940,000

Source: Center for Responsive Politics.

Of a total $27.64 billion in sales at Thanksgiving in 2009, percentage that will be spent on food and drinks alone, according to industry research firm IBISWorld: 92.5

Projected number of turkeys that are expected to be consumed this holiday -- up from last year's level of 45.3 million birds: 47.1 million

Percentage of all turkeys produced in the U.S. during 2009 that will be eaten during Thanksgiving: 19

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of workers who said they would be ready to conduct a job search if they lost their job tomorrow, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 82

Percentage of respondents who had updated their resume in the last three months: 20

Percentage who hadn't revised their resume in more than a year: 44

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of business leaders who say that the people they work with in their department/organization are more adaptable today than a few years ago, according to a NFI Research survey: 57

Percentage of senior executives and managers who also say their co-workers are more knowledgeable: 50

Percentage who say they are more productive compared to a few years ago: 44

Source: NFI Research.

Amount of money lost annually by businesses due to ineffective pain care and the lack of optimal pain care delivery, according to a Pain Medicine Position Paper published by leaders of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM): $61 billion

Cost to businesses in lost productive time by back pain alone: $19.8 billion

Source: American Academy of Pain Medicine.

Number of American jobs that a projected modest 2 percent increase in 2010 leisure, business and international inbound travel will enable members of the U.S. Travel Association to add: 90,000

Combined travel industry job losses in 2008 and 2009: 400,000

Source: U.S. Travel Association.

Percentage of the companies that froze salaries in the past year that now plan to unfreeze them in the next six months, according to surveys by Watson Wyatt: 54

Percentage that plan to reverse hiring freezes at least partially in the next six months: 49

Percentage of employers who are planning to reverse reductions to 401(k) match contributions in the next six months: 35

Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Idle Thought

"The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts." -- John Locke, philosopher

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

Percentage of business travelers who said they generally like talking to people on planes, according to a survey by Egencia Corporate Travel: 24

Percentage who choose to make conversation with their fellow travelers: 2

Percentage of respondents who start reading to avoid getting caught in an unwanted chat with fellow passengers: 50

Source: Edelman.

Percentage of American firms that saw a drop in profits in 2009 compared to 28 percent globally, according to a global study commissioned by Regus Group of more than 11,000 corporations across 15 countries: 39

Percentage of firms that saw a drop in revenue in 2009 compared to 26 percent globally: 38

Percentage of all American companies that indicated an expected revenue increase in 2010: 67

Source: Regus.

Percentage of Americans who say that they give more gifts than they receive during the winter holidays, according to a poll completed for The Society of American Florists: 70

Percentage of Americans who rank "neighbors" No. 1 on the list of unsung heroes in our lives and communities – "they who throughout the year pick up our mail, keep an eye on our kids and ground our community roots" -- who they believe deserve holiday thanks: 53

Source: Society of American Florists.

Percentage of residents in Utah and South Dakota who express trust in their neighbors, saying they would expect a neighbor who found a lost wallet or purse containing $200 to return it, according to a Gallup Poll: 85 (the highest percentage nationally)

Percentage of residents in Nevada who would expect their wallet to be returned: 60 (the lowest)

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of dog owners who say that they could not live without their dog on a daily basis -- more than say so of their morning cup of coffee (35 percent), television (35 percent), driving their car (26 percent), their cell or smart phone (23 percent) or their best friend (15 percent) 48

Percentage who say they could not live without their significant other: 54

Percentage who say they could not live without their computer: 50

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Rank of the minivan (a vehicle often owned by families with children who spill food and drinks) on the list of vehicles of choice for bears who want a midnight snack, according to a study by scientists at Yosemite National Park: 1

Percentage of the 908 vehicles torn into by bears between 2001 and 2007 that were minivans: 29

Percentage of all vehicles that visit the park that are minivans: 7

Source: Yosemite National Park.

With improving corporate profits underscoring signs of increased economic growth, percentage of recruiters who are forecasting an increase in hiring activity at the executive level, according to the ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence Index: 56

Percentage of recruiters who say assignments are coming from organizations seeking to leverage the current economic climate by "trading up" with new hires for existing positions -- up from 26 percent in February 2009: 46

Source: ExecuNet.

Total average weekly TV and peripheral consumption by American children ages 2 to 5, according to a study by the Nielsen Co.: 32-plus hours

Total average weekly TV and peripheral consumption by American children ages 6 to 11: 28-plus hours

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of U.S. homes that have a hot air furnace, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 60

Percentage of homes that are heated by gas: 60

Percentage that use electricity: 33

Percentage that use fuel oil: 9

Percentage that use coal or wood: 2

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Estimated percentage of all Americans who have left the faith in which they were raised to adopt another faith or no faith at all -- or if they were not raised in a religion, they have since joined one, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life: 50

Percentage of converts who say religion is very important to them: 69

Percentage of nonconverts who say the same: 62

Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Idle Thought

"Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt." -- Clarence Darrow, lawyer and author

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