When wealthy Americans were given a list of 25 brands from various consumer product categories and asked which made them happiest, number of technology-based brands that headed the list, according to the results from the Affluence Collaborative research from AgencySacks: 4

Number of fashion brands among the top 15 responses: 0

When asked which brands respondents were most bored with, number that were from the fashion category -- true for both men and women: 4

Source: AgencySacks.

Percentage of Americans who report that the economic recession has significantly changed their outlook on life, according to a survey by StrategyOne: 77

Percentage of Americans who have re-evaluated their approach to life since the recession began: 58

Source: StrategyOne.

Percentage of respondents who said that out-of-control children are far and away the top summer travel irritation, according to the results of TripAdvisor's annual summer travel survey: 48

Ranks of erratic driving and line cutting at attractions on the list of summer travel irritations: 2 (tie)

Source: TripAdvisor.

Number of U.S. viewers who watched the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands, making it the most watched soccer game in U.S. television history, according to the Nielsen Co.: 24.3 million

Number who watched the U.S.-Ghana match earlier in this World Cup: 19.4 million

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of Americans who associate passion with love, according to a survey fielded by the makers of Sensis Condoms: 70

Percentage who associate the word with romance: 67

Percentage who associate it with sex: 55

Source: Kelton Research.

Temperature reading on July 10, 1913, at Greenland Ranch, Calif. -- highest thermometer reading ever recorded in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 134 degrees Fahrenheit

The next highest, 16 years ago at Lake Havasu City, Ariz.: 128 degrees

Among larger cities, record temperature held by Phoenix, Ariz.: 122 degrees

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Amount of money that the proposed 1 percent Social Security cost of living adjustment cut could cost seniors throughout a 25-year retirement, according to a new analysis released by the Senior Citizens League (TSCL): $54,954

Percentage of their purchasing power that seniors have lost since 2000, according to an analysis by TSCL: 24

Number of Americans aged 65 and over who receive a Social Security check: 37 million

Percentage who rely on it for 90 percent or more of their total income: 33

Source: Senior Citizens League.

Nearly 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, percentage of Americans who believe the United States has effectively dealt with the AIDS issue, according to a new Zogby International interactive poll: 59

Percentage of adults who are optimistic that the spread of HIV can be stopped by 2015: 28

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of small-business owners who say they enjoy the flexibility that comes with "being your own boss," according to a survey released by Brother International: 50

Percentage who enjoy pursuing their passion: 35

Source: Brother International.

Percentage of adults who say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on a cell phone, according to a survey by The Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project: 49

Percentage of adults who say they have been passengers of drivers who used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger: 44

Source: Pew Internet and American Life.

Idle Thought

"Each morning puts a man on trial, and each evening passes judgment." -- Roy L. Smit

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

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.)