Percentage of men who said that if they were filthy rich they would buy a sports car, according to an Askmen.com survey: 51

Percentage who said they would buy a luxury sedan: 25

Percentage who would buy an SUV: 11

Source: AskMen.com.

Percentage of people being asked to take on new challenges that stretch them who are more excited to go to work, according to Development Dimensions International's Pulse of the Workforce survey: 24

Percentage of workers who have no desire to assume a leadership role: 62

Source: Development Dimensions International.

Percentage of Americans who believe in the "evil eye" or that certain people can cast curses or spells that cause bad things to happen to someone, according to Pew Research: 16

Percentage of Americans who say they have felt in touch with someone who has already died: 29

Percentage who say they have seen or been in the presence of ghosts: 18

Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Percentage of Americans who said they would tell family about having invasive cosmetic surgery, according to a survey by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery: 52

Source: American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.

Percentage of Americans who say they are now more careful about remembering to bring their coupons to the store, according to an NCH Marketing Services consumer survey: 30

Percentage who state that they would maintain this new habit: 74

Percentage of respondents who also said they are now clipping more coupons than in the past: 25

Source: Valassis.

Percentage of younger workers aged 18 to 29 who see a workplace romance as having positive effects, with the top positive effect being achievement of higher social or professional status at work, according to a poll of working Americans commissioned by Workplace Options: 51

Percentage of older workers who argue that there are no positive effects from entering into a workplace relationship: 79

Source: Workplace Options.

While the government certainly does count unemployment benefits as taxable income, percentage of tax filers who believe that people do not owe taxes on income from unemployment benefits, according to new a study conducted on behalf of H&R Block: 30

Percentage of filers who believe that those collecting unemployment owe taxes based on the full amount, down slightly from 37 percent in the spring: 32

Percentage of filers who understand correctly that taxes are owed on unemployment benefits only after a certain amount: 27

Percentage of filers who do not believe it is possible to deduct a loss in the balance of a 401(k) plan from their taxes: 61

Percentage who believe incorrectly that they can claim this deduction, while 22 percent are unsure: 17

Source: H&R Block.

Percentage of consumers who believe the economy will continue to be volatile with no clear pattern of improvement, according to the results from a survey by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. that polled consumers and economists on numerous topics: 24

Percentage of economists who, when asked the same question, agreed: 12

Source: AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co.

Percentage of men who enjoy preparing meals, according to allrecipes.com: 82

Percentage of women who say they enjoy preparing meals: 75

When asked their preferred dinner ingredient, rank of steak on the list of favorites for men: 1

Rank of pasta on the list of favorites for women: 1

Source: Allrecipes.com.

Year that the first helicopter for commercial use was licensed -- just seven months after the end of World War II, the Bell Model 47B was operated by the New York Journal for news coverage and to deliver photographs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1946

Estimated number of helicopters that are in the general aviation fleet today -- up 25 percent since 2000: 9,600

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who think fewer pink slips being handed out and more people finding work will be the strongest indicators for economic recovery, according to a survey sponsored by ING Direct USA: 58

Percentage of Americans who believe that people taking vacations away from home will prove that the U.S. economy is improving: 25

Percentage who believe that people dining out more will be an indicator of an improving U.S. economy: 20

Source: ING U.S. Financial Services.

Idle Thought

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -- Galileo Galilei

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

Percentage of Americans who consider not reporting all income on one's taxes to be morally wrong, according to Pew research: 79

Amount of the "tax gap," the difference between the amount of tax that taxpayers should pay and the amount that is paid voluntarily and on time -- resulting from an overall noncompliance rate of about 16 percent in 2001 (the last year for which it had conducted such research), according to a report issued earlier this year by the IRS: $345 billion

Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Year that President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on his first full day in office, closed every bank across the nation for 10 days to address the growing financial disaster of the Great Depression, which had caused many banks to fail while creating public panic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1933

Estimated number of banks and branch offices with total deposits of nearly $14 trillion that are insured by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.), which was created to cover individual accounts and to protect banks from failure: 97,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of people who said they would spend more money on a mattress if they thought it would improve their sex life, according to a survey by Sit 'n Sleep: 33

Source: Sit 'n Sleep.

Percentage of Americans who said they prefer their toilet paper to roll over, according to the results of Cottonelle brand's Roll Poll: 72

Percentage of "overs" who admitted to flipping the direction of a roll at a friend's home: 27

Source: Kimberly-Clark Professional.

Percentage of executives and managers who spend up to an hour getting to and from work each day, according to NFI research: 71

Percentage who say they spend the time listening to news/talk radio: 41

Percentage who spend it thinking: 36

Source: NFI Research.

As the number of women surpasses men in the work force, percentage of teenage boys who said they needed perks such as a promotion and raise to excel on the job, according to a Junior Achievement/ING poll: 56

Percentage of girls who said the same: 38

Source: ING.

Percentage of brides who are personally paying for some portion of their wedding, according to a survey by Get Married Media: 92

Percentage of brides who claim that establishing the wedding budget is the most surprising wedding planning stress: 44

Source: Getmarried.com.

Average amount of money that American travelers can save by booking their hotel and flight as a "package" -- defined as booking them simultaneously, according to Expedia.com: $450

If all U.S travelers who required a flight and a hotel had saved just $100 by booking their flight and hotel together, estimated amount they would have collectively saved in 2009 alone: $10 billion

Source: Expedia.com.

Percentage of adults who consider a "major national bank" as the place where they do most of their banking, according to a Zogby poll: 37

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they have considered moving some or all of their banking from a large national bank to a community bank or credit union because they are unhappy with the policies or behavior of large national banks: 32

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of certified public accountant executives who expressed pessimism about the economy, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School: 38

Percentage who believe that conditions will not return to pre-recession levels until after 2012: 36

Percentage who thought conditions would snap back to pre-recession levels this year: 4

Source: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Idle Thought

"If God exists, I hope he has a good excuse." -- Woody Allen, author, actor and filmmaker

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

Percentage of the U.S. workforce that was underemployed during the month of January, translating to close to 30 million Americans who are working less than their desired capacity, according to Gallup's daily measure of U.S. employment: 19.9

Average amount spent per day by those who were underemployed: $48

Average amount spent per day by those who were employed: $75

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of small business owners who believe that stockpiling cash is the best strategy for sustaining their business through the current economic climate, according to a survey released by Brother International Corp.: 53

Percentage of business owners who will strive to make their company -- including employees, marketing budgets and workspace -- more efficient this year: 79

Source: Brother International.

Month and year of the birth of Theodor Seuss Geisel, a Pulitzer Prize winner far better known as Dr. Seuss, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: March 1904

Estimated number of his books -- with their distinctive poetry and illustrations -- that have been sold around the world: 200 million

Even with increasing electronic competition, annual revenue generated by his books that are published and bought for children: $3.3 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

If the old adage holds true that "hemlines go up when the economy improves," the percentage of respondents who predicted that this year's hemlines would go to just below the knee (cautious optimism), according to the results of a survey commissioned by Taubman Centers: 44

Percentage who predicted they would go to above the knee (light at the end of the tunnel): 38

Percentage who said "ankle duster" (uncertain times ahead): 14

Percentage who said "cheesecake" (good news ahead) -- a reference to classic pinup photography: 4 percent

Source: Taubman Centers Inc.

Percentage of 16- to 17-year-old high school students who said that it is their responsibility to fund part or all of their higher education costs, according to the findings of the College Savings Foundation's first How Youth Plan to Fund College Survey: 75

Percentage of high school students who are grappling with trade-offs, saying that the cost of school will definitely (30 percent) or possibly (47 percent) influence their further education plans: 77

Source: College Savings Foundation.

Percentage of full-time positions that were filled by internal transfers and promotions in 2009, according to research by careerxroads.com: 51

Percentage of all external hires accounted for by referrals: 26.7

Source: CareerXroads.

Percentage decline in U.S. ad spending in 2009, according to preliminary figures released by The Nielsen Co.: 9

Estimated amount of money this represents: $11.6 billion

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

As markets continue to stabilize, percentage of executives of private companies who are optimistic about the U.S. economy over the next 12 months (up two percentage points from the previous quarter), according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Private Company Trendsetter Barometer survey: 45

Percentage of those who market abroad who are optimistic about the world economy: 47

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Percentage of Americans who wrongly believe the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an "umbrella group" for America's local humane societies, according to Center for Consumer Freedom: 71

Percentage who falsely believe HSUS "contributes most of its money" to local organizations that care for cats and dogs: 59

According to the federal income tax return filed by HSUS for the tax year 2008, percentage of the organization's budget that consisted of grants to hands-on pet shelters: 0.5

Source: Center for Consumer Freedom.

In a survey of 32 state departments of transportation, number that are now using Twitter to communicate with travelers when major traffic incidents or severe weather, such as snow storms, hurricanes and tornadoes, force road closures or detours, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials: 26

Ranks of Twitter (65 percent), RSS feeds (56 percent), podcasts (18 percent) and Facebook (13 percent) on the list of the most effective methods to reach their primary audiences: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

Idle Thought

"Old age deprives the intelligent man only of qualities useless to wisdom." -- Joseph Joubert, essayist

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