Percentage of Americans who are optimistic about their personal finances this year and listed among their most important goals: spending less overall, building up an emergency fund, and earning enough to cover monthly bills, according to a survey sponsored by ING Direct USA: 43

Percentage of Americans who plan to stash more cash in 2010 than in 2009: 64

Source: ING Direct USA.

Percentage growth in the median household incomes (adjusted for both inflation and household size) of married men, married women and unmarried women from 1970 to 2007, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of four decades of U.S. Census data: 60

Percentage growth in the median household income of unmarried men over this period: 16

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Ranks of financial planning and advice, weight-loss and fitness, and work-related education among the sectors that will benefit most from New Year's resolutions in 2010, according to a study by IBISworld: 1, 2, 3

Approximate percentage growth in gym membership in January: 12.5

Projected percentage growth in February: 9.5

Projected percentage growth in March: 8.7

Overall forecasted percentage growth in gyms and health/fitness clubs in 2010: 3.2

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of respondents who said they enjoy the commercials that air throughout the Super Bowl more than the game itself, according to results of a survey by the Nielsen Co.: 51

Percentage who said that they enjoy the game more than the ads: 49

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Chance that a public high school student in the U.S. does not graduate, according to the Kaufman Foundation: 1 in 4

Among high school graduates, percentage that are considered proficient in mathematics: 17

Source: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Percentage of Americans who said the "balloon boy" hoax was the most ridiculous news story of 2009, according to a Zogby poll: 23

Percentage who cited the Jon and Kate Gosselin breakup: 22

Percentage who said the Octomom giving birth to eight babies: 12

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of Americans who believe that the U.S. economy could enter another recession in 2010, according to The Wealth Hazards Worry Index: 40

Percentage of people who are confident that no recession will occur in 2010: 28

Source: Wealth Hazards.

Percentage of Americans who agree that airline passengers who fit the profile of terrorists based on their age, ethnicity or gender should be subjected to special, more intensive security checks before boarding U.S. flights, according to a Gallup Poll: 71

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of CEOs who plan to increase their total workforce expenses over the next 12 to 18 months, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Private Company Trendsetter Barometer survey: 57

Percentage of respondents who plan to remain the same: 35

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Percentage of workers who say their jobs are stagnant, according to Development Dimensions International's 2009 Pulse of the Workforce survey: 46

Percentage of stagnant workers (and 1 in 3 workers overall) who just do their jobs and go home: 50

Percentage of those who said their jobs are stagnant who cited no room to advance as the reason: 32

Source: Development Dimensions International.

Idle Thought

"Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts." -- William Hazlitt, essayist

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

Percentage of resumes that have some type of lie, according to a survey conducted by BackTrack: 40

Percentage of companies hiring today that will contract with a background-checking company to screen potential employees: 50

Percentage that will screen potential employees internally: 25

Source: BackTrack Inc.

Median tenure of workers -- the midpoint of wage and salary workers' length of employment in their current job -- according to a study by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI): 5.1 years

Median tenure for private-sector workers in 2008: 3.9 years

Median tenure for public-sector workers in 2008: 7.0 years

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of Americans in the 18-to-29 age group who say that high-tech communications devices such as Blackberrys and iPhones represent a change for the better, according to Pew Research: 72

Percentage of those ages 30 to 49 who agree: 62

For the public as a whole, percentage who say these handheld devices are a change for the better: 56

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Median age for first-time brides in the U.S., according to about.com: 27

Median age for grooms: 29

Median age for remarriage for brides: 34

Median age for remarriage for grooms: 37

Source: about.com.

Percentage of American families who have increased the number of meals prepared at home in 2009 as compared to 2008, according to an Allrecipes survey: 49

Percentage of survey respondents who cited "enjoying cooking and trying new recipes" as their main reason for eating at home: 30

Source: Allrecipes.com.

Percentage of survey respondents who say current and upcoming texting-while-driving bans by states will not alter their use of a cell phone while driving, according to a survey by Cellcontrol: 72

Percentage of drivers who admitted to using their cell phone to text, e-mail, surf the Web or have a conversation while driving in the past 12 months: 88

Percentage of those who agreed that driving while intoxicated and texting are equally dangerous: 75

Source: Cellcontrol.

Ranks of Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Honda CR-V, Toyota Corolla and Toyota RAV4 on the list of the top 20 most-researched new vehicles for 2009, according to the Kelley Blue Book: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of adults over the age of 46 who do not feel secure in their jobs, as opposed to 80 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds who do: 34

Percentage of Americans over age 46 who point to the economy as having the biggest impact on stress levels: 52

Percentage of younger workers who attribute their stress to our country's economic woes: 33

Source: Workplace Options.

Percentage of American adults who lacked health insurance coverage in 2009, up from 14.8 percent in 2008, according to the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index: 16.2

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of U.S. Tour Organizers Association tour operators who reported that custom-planned itineraries were their greatest growth area, according to a survey by Kundell Communications: 40

Percentage who reported that their highest growth was in independent tours: 25

Percentage who said that escorted tours were their area of greatest growth: 20

Source: Kundell Communications.

Idle Thought

"Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both." -- Abraham Flexner, educator

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

Percentage of corporate travelers who like to arrive a day early to stay fresh when traveling overseas, according to a survey by Egencia Corporate Travel: 29

Percentage who said flying business or first class keeps them fresh: 12

Percentage who said they take medication to help them sleep: 6

Source: Edelman.

When asked to pick one word/phrase to define the past decade, percentage of Americans who chose "terror," according to a Zogby Interactive poll: 21

Percentage who said "decline": 15

Percentage who said "loss of personal freedom/civil liberties": 13

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of the active U.S. Internet universe that is reached by Facebook with an average usage of six hours a month per user, according to Nielsen's 2010 Media Industry Fact Sheet: 56

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of the world's carbon dioxide emissions for which the world's richest 500 million people (roughly 7 percent of the world's population) are responsible, according to research by the Worldwatch Institute: 50

Percentage of emissions for which the poorest 3 billion are responsible: 6

Source: WorldWatch Institute.

Year in which Helen Keller, one of the most remarkable of American women, was born, according to the Census Bureau: 1880

Age when she was struck with a major illness that left her deaf and blind: 2

Her age when her family hired Anne Sullivan to try to teach her: 7

In the U.S., percentage chance that somebody has some sort of disability: 20

Percentage of the population who cope with a severe disability: 12

Source: Census Bureau.

Percentage of men who said it is somewhat important for a girlfriend to have "wife potential," but that they wouldn't break up with her if she wasn't, according to an Askmen.com survey: 47

Percentage who said they wouldn't bother pursuing a relationship with a woman who isn't a potential wife: 36

Source: AskMen.com.

Percentage of Americans who describe their outlook for the United States during the next 20 years as "very optimistic" or "optimistic," according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll: 63

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of Americans who fall into the category of "WannabeWELL" (they want to be healthier, but may not know where to start), according to research by the Council for Responsible Nutrition: 44

Percentage who fall into the category of "Oh WELL" (those who do not live healthy lifestyles): 33

Source: Council for Responsible Nutrition.

Rank of Jennifer Aniston, Taylor Swift, Rihanna on the list of female celebrities with the best hairstyles, according to a survey commissioned by Sally Beauty Supply: 1, 2, 3

Rank of Lady Gaga, Kate Gosselin, Lindsay Lohan on the list of female celebrities with the worst hairstyles: 1, 2, 3

Source: Sally Beauty Supply LLC.

Percentage of homeowners with a siding preference who would choose brick for their homes, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Boral Bricks: 59

Rank of vinyl (37 percent), stucco (19 percent), fiber cement/composite (14 percent) on the list of preferred sidings: 2, 3, 4

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"Understand this, I mean to arrive at the truth. The truth, however ugly in itself, is always curious and beautiful to seekers after it." -- Agatha Christie, author

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