Figuratively Speaking

In 2009, amount consumers spent on hot dogs and sausages in U.S. supermarkets, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council: $1.6 billion

Rank of Los Angeles on the list of cities that consume the most hot dogs, beating out New York and San Antonio/Corpus Christi, Texas: 1

Number of times more hot dogs that are eaten at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (725,000) than Los Angeles International Airport and LaGuardia Airport combined: 6

Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

Percentage of young office workers who admit they're typically more confident in social than professional situations, according to a survey, conducted by Dentyne Pure: 66

Number of times daily the average young office worker's confidence is compromised: 6

Source: Kelton Research.

Percentage of moms who say it was their idea to get their child a mobile phone, according to findings from Ipsos OTX MediaCT: 40

Estimated percentage of parents of 6- to 12-year-olds who allow their kids to see PG-13 movies: 50

Source: Ipsos Marketing, Global Consumer Goods Sector.

Percentage of singles (of which 80 percent of participants were men) who said they spend less time looking for dates because they prefer to watch the World Cup, according to the results of a poll by www.areyouinterested.com: 58

Percentage of participants who would cancel a date to watch the World Cup Championship game: 40

Percentage who would go on a date to watch the World Cup at a social venue: 78

Source: AreYouInterested.com.

Profit made by U.S. airlines in the first quarter of this year in baggage fees, according to an announcement by the Department of Transportation and reported by Smarter Travel: $769 million

Profit made from reservation change fees in the same time period: $554 million

Source: Airfarewatchdog.com.

Percentage of Americans who rate rain as the best weather condition for sex, according to research from the makers of Trojan brand condoms: 83

Ideal indoor temperature for sex: 68 degrees Fahrenheit

Percentage of Americans who say they're always up for sex regardless of the forecast: 66

Source: Edelman.

Percentage of Americans who say they are "extremely patriotic," up from 26 percent in 2005 and 19 percent in 1999, according to a Gallup poll: 32

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of all adults in the labor force who say that since the recession began 30 months ago, they have suffered a spell of unemployment, a cut in pay, a reduction in hours or have become involuntary part-time workers, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center's social and demographic trends project: 55

Percentage of adults in the labor force who have been unemployed for a period of time during the recession: 32

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Rank of a professional sports event, the zoo, live theater and a high school sports event on the list of the top events attended during the past year by adults, according to Scarborough research: 1, 2, 3, 4

Rank of gardening, swimming, volunteer work and photography on the list of top personal activities enjoyed by American adults during the past year: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Scarborough Research.

Among those who use a smartphone with applications ("apps"), percentage who refer to apps at least "sometimes" when making decisions while shopping, according to the findings from Knowledge Networks: 40

Percentage who say they are more likely to purchase from app advertisers: 32

Source: Knowledge Networks.

Idle Thought

"Men have slow reflexes. In general it takes several generations later for them to understand." -- Stanislaw J. Lec, poet

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

Percentage of e-mail users who delete marketing e-mails within two seconds of opening them, according to e-mail metrics published by Litmus: 50

Percentage of recipients of e-mails from some of the top e-mail marketers who are spending 10 seconds or more reading their messages: 77

Source: Litmus.

Ranks of blasting loud music, beach chair hogging and urinating in the water on the list of the most common beach and pool etiquette violations, according to the results of the annual beach and pool etiquette survey by TripAdvisor: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of respondents who think it's a violation of beach and pool etiquette for men to wear Speedos: 35

Percentage who think the same of women clad in skimpy bikinis: 35

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of job candidates that managers remove from consideration after speaking to their professional references, according to a survey from OfficeTeam: 21

Percentage of hiring managers who said they are most interested in getting input on an applicant's past job duties and experience: 36

Percentage who said they are most interested in learning about the individual's strengths and weaknesses: 31

Source: OfficeTeam.

Within the next 40 years, percentage of Americans who expect that computers will be able to carry on conversations, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and Smithsonian magazine: 81

Percentage who believe there will be a cure for cancer: 71

Percentage who say that artificial arms and legs will outperform real limbs: 66

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

Percentage of working mothers who say they do not feel well-rested, according to the Gallup-Healthways well-being Index: 36

Percentage of working mothers of infants and toddlers who say they do not feel well-rested: 40

Percentage of working mothers who express high satisfaction with their paid job (comparable to the satisfaction rates seen among working women without children, and similar to working men's rates regardless of their parental status): 88

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of all new-vehicle buyers who use the Internet in their new-vehicle purchase process, according to Foresight Research: 86

Of this group, percentage who used the Internet to compare vehicles and pricing: 90

Percentage who checked it for incentives: 83

Source: Foresight Research.

Year the biggest hit song of all time, "Happy Birthday To You," composed by schoolteacher Mildred Hill of Louisville, Ky., was published -- it is sung somewhere on Earth, every minute of every day, and was the first song to be performed in outer space, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1859

Estimated number of American babies who will hear it for the first time this year, sung by their off-key relatives around a cake sporting one candle: 4 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

When the economy began tanking in late 2008, percentage decline in the sales of men's underwear (one of Alan Greenspan's key market indicators) that followed, according to a Jockey survey: 12

Rank of outdated undies on the list of least concerns when you don't have a job: 1

Source: Kelton Research.

Value at retail of the baby care market's six categories (disposable diapers, wipes, bodycare preparations, feeding accessories, play and discovery toys, and pacifiers/teethers), according to a Packaged Facts report: $7 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Idle Thought

"Happiness is not a goal; it is a byproduct." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

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

Percentage of Americans who if given $10,000 to spend in an automotive capacity said that they would buy a used car for straight cash, according to a Kelley Blue Book survey: 48.05

Percentage who said they would use it for a down payment on a new car: 33.63

Percentage who said they would use the money to fix their current car: 5.42

Percentage who said they would pay off parking and speeding tickets: 0.65

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of Americans who say BP should pay for all financial losses resulting from the Gulf Coast oil spill, including wages of workers put out of work, even if those payments ultimately drive the company out of business, according to USA Today/Gallup Poll: 59

Percentage of Americans who say President Obama has not been tough enough in his dealings with BP: 71

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of people who say they find happiness and fulfillment in their job, according to a nationwide survey of employed Americans by Healthy Companies International: 26

Percentage of Americans who feel their job primarily serves to provide income so that they may enjoy other aspects of their lives: 60

Percentage who feel the job is mostly a drain on their energy and happiness: 11

Source: Healthy Companies International.

Percentage of CFOs who said they typically check in with the office several times daily while on vacation, according to a Robert Half Management Resources survey: 18

Percentage who said once or twice daily: 15

Percentage who don't check in at all: 26

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of dads who feel they partake in parenting responsibilities -- including diaper care -- more than their own fathers, according to a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs: 76

Percentage of fathers who say they either do most of the diaper changing in the house or an equal share: 80

Percentage of moms who say that dads in their household change as many diapers as they do: 33

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Year that the first organized baseball game with recognizably modern rules was played -- between the Knickerbocker Baseball Club of New York and an informal team called the New York Nine -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1846

Number of innings played: 4

Number of spectators who are attracted to professional baseball games across the country annually: 80 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of females who said they want to date someone who is like their father, according to an AreYouInterested.com survey: 46

Percentage of responders who said if they were married, their husband/wife would immediately become more important to them than their father: 65

Source: Snap-interactive.com.

Percentage of American adults who will watch World Cup matches, according to a Zogby poll: 24

Percentage of "first globals" (the under-30 crowd) who will watch the matches: 42

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of consumers who donate to support causes they believe in, according to a survey from Goodwill: 62

Despite their generosity, percentage of consumers who admit there have been times they've chosen not to donate their unused clothing: 71

For every one article of clothing donated, number of articles of clothing consumers have that are waiting to be donated: 30

Source: Goodwill.

Percentage of state energy regulators who expect the cost of residential electricity to increase next year, according to the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions: 85

Percentage who felt that consumers would not accept any rate increase at all -- up from 23.3 percent one year ago: 34.3

Source: Deloitte.

Idle Thought

"A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule." -- Michael Pollan, author

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