Percentage of first-time managers who said their promotion isn't what they thought it would be, according to a study from Development Dimensions International: 57

Percentage of managers who still don't understand what it takes to be successful: 30

Percentage who regret taking the job altogether due to lack of preparation and/or not knowing how to succeed: 33

Source: Development Dimensions International.

Year that the first ATM in the U.S. was installed at Rockville Centre on Long Island by the Chemical Bank of New York City, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1969

Percentage of U.S. households that use ATMs: 80

Across the nation, estimated number of ATM transactions that take place each year: 6 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Due to the nationwide blizzards and snowstorms of Jan. 10-13, 2011, the percentage by which total national television viewing increased, according to Nielsen ratings: 8

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of Americans who say they own a digital camera, according to a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs: 67

Percentage who have a laptop computer: 64

Percentage who own an MP3 player or iPod: 49

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of workers age 60 and over who said they are putting off retirement because they can't afford it financially, down from 72 percent who said the same last year, according to a survey from CareerBuilder: 65

Percentage who plan to retire within the next two years: 28

Percentage who don't think they'll ever be able to retire: 10

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of unemployed adults in the U.S. today who report they are either falling behind on their bills or facing more serious financial difficulties, such as bankruptcy or foreclosure, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll: 26

Percentage of underemployed Americans who say the same: 21

Percentage of adults who are neither unemployed nor underemployed who say the same: 8

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of "best men" who said they didn't have a budget and were willing to organize whatever and wherever the stag requested, according to a survey by DesignaVenture: 27

Percentage who said that they would discuss with the other stags to see what everyone fancied doing before firming anything up: 21

Source: DesignaVenture Ltd.

In the face of the prolonged recession, percentage of American men who think society is moving in the wrong direction, according to the results of a survey by Euro RSCG Worldwide of American male adults: 70

Percentage of men who think Americans aren't willing to consider other people's points of view: 64

Percentage who think the recession has reminded people of what's important in life: 63

Percentage of American men who are actively trying to figure out what makes them happy: 44

Source: Euro RSCG.

Percentage of consumers with multifunction devices -- MFDs include the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android devices, etc. -- who have increased their reading habits, according to research from iModerate Research Technologies and Brock Associates: 66

Percentage who have been inspired to read more books in print: 46

Ranks of convenience (80 percent), the ease of purchasing e-books (61 percent) and the backlit screen (41 percent) on the list of reasons MFD users prefer reading on their device as opposed to a hard copy book: 1, 2, 3

Source: iModerate.

Despite lingering concerns about the U.S. economic recovery, percentage of Americans who worry more about having their online privacy violated than declaring bankruptcy (23 percent) or losing their job (22 percent), according to a survey by YouGov aimed to uncover what concerns people have for their online safety and privacy: 25

Percentage of Americans who use antivirus solutions to protect their privacy: 79

Despite concerns over privacy violations, percentage who report that they use safe passwords: 61

Source: Opera Software.

Idle Thought

"Inquiry is fatal to certainty." -- Will Durant, historian

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

Percentage of American teens who think that their mom is "cool," according to a poll of American teens, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs: 63

Percentage of teens who think that dad is "cool": 47

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Median tenure for private-sector workers in 2010, up from 3.5 years in 2002, according to a report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute: 4 years

Median job tenure for public-sector workers: 7.1 years

Source: EBRI.

Forecast percentage increase in Valentine's Day purchases from 2010, according to research by IBISWorld: 5.8

Total projected spending: $18.6 billion

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of Americans who predict that 2011 will be better than 2010, according to a Gallup Poll: 58

Percentage who say 2011 will be worse: 20

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of employers who said their company changed its business direction as a result of the recession, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 42

Percentage of those who shifted business direction who reported they changed their core business altogether or expanded into areas that will eventually become their core business: 27

Percentage of employers who reported that their current staffs are smaller than pre-recession levels: 35

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Year that wide reciever Randy Moss pretended to pull down his pants and "moon" the crowd at Lambeau Field after scoring his second touchdown in a Minnesota Vikings' 31-17 thrashing of the Green Bay Packers, according to Kidzworld: 2005

Year that wide receiver Joe Horn grabbed a cell phone that a teammate had hidden in the goal post's padding and called his mom, after scoring a touchdown for the New Orleans Saints: 2003

Year that the NFL decided to crack down on some of these celebrations by handing out penalties for any touchdown celebrations in which the player uses a prop or leaves his feet: 2006

Source: Kidzworld.

Percentage of all consumers who report their use of credit cards has decreased in the past six months, according to a poll by Market Strategies: 40

Percentage of consumers who indicate that they are likely to stop using their primary credit card altogether in the next six months: 25

Ranks of change in income (48 percent), changing interest rates (18 percent) and a decrease in credit limit (7 percent) on the list of reasons given for the move away from credit card use: 1, 2, 3

Source: Market Strategies International.

Ranks of Bella, Bailey and Max on the list of the most popular names for dogs in 2010, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance Co.: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of Max, Bella and Chloe on the list of the most popular names for cats in 2010: 1, 2, 3

Source: Veterinary Pet Insurance.

Highest number of career Super Bowl touchdowns by any player -- San Francisco's Jerry Rice in 4 games -- according to SportsPool.com: 8

Number of career Super Bowl touchdowns by Franco Harris (Pittsburgh, 4 games), Roger Craig (San Francisco, 3 games), Thurman Thomas (Buffalo, 4 games), John Elway (Denver, 5 games): 4

Source: SportsPool.com.

Idle Thought

"Though familiarity may not breed contempt, it takes off the edge of admiration." -- William Hazlitt, essayist

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

Percentage of American teens who say they know of President Barack Obama, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs poll: 72

Rank of Taylor Swift (68 percent) in terms of awareness among American teens: 2

Ranks of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (62 percent), Oprah Winfrey (52 percent), actor Zac Efron (52 percent), NBA star Kobe Bryant (40 percent), Vice President Joe Biden (26 percent) and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg (14 percent) on the list: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Percentage of American adults who acknowledge being scared to check the balance on their bank statement in the past year, according to a Country Financial survey: 33

Percentage who say they have decreased spending on leisure activities: 51

Source: Country Financial.

Age of Benjamin Franklin when he invented swim fins, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 12

Estimated number of gadgets and games that youngsters present to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office each year -- earmuffs, water skis and Popsicles among them: 500,000

Average number of patents granted each year by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: 185,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of American adults who say they have at least one step-relative, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center: 42

Percentage who have a step or half sibling: 13

Percentage who have a living stepparent: 18

Percentage who have at least one stepchild: 13

Source: Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends.

Percentage of women who have gone clothes shopping for themselves in the past year, according to research from Mintel: 87

Percentage of female clothes shoppers who say they avoid items that require a trip to the cleaners: 75

Percentage who are loathe to purchase clothing that has to be hand washed separately: 59

Percentage who look for items that don't have to be ironed: 71

Source: Mintel.

Number of contacts produced by a single student, according to WikiGeeks: 140 facebook friends, 80 twitter contacts, 30 acquaintances from other online and offline networks

For every 10,000 people reached via social networking about a sustainability or environmental issue in Africa, Asia, the Middle East or Latin America, estimated number who will pass on the information to others via their own networks: 850

Number who will contribute valuable ideas for improving the project: 75

Number who will donate funds: 30

Number who will actually want to volunteer to help in person: 3

Source: Friends Beyond Borders.

Percentage of small business CEOs who expect increased revenues in the coming year, according to Vistage International: 77

Percentage who foresee higher profits in their own companies: 63

Percentage of respondents who expect to hire more employees in the coming year, which is the first time in three years that the majority of CEOs planned to expand the number of jobs: 54

Source: Vistage International Inc.

Percentage of brides-to-be who update their Facebook with their new name or relationship status within a day of taking their vows, according to the fifth-annual "What's on Brides' Minds" survey by David's Bridal: 48

Percentage of brides who are interested in doing whatever it takes to get their 15 minutes of YouTube fame, like a choreographed dance down the aisle or first dance: 44

While watching wedding reality shows may be a guilty pleasure of brides, percentage who said they'd never let their wedding be featured on a controversial reality show in order to save money and get five minutes of fame: 69

Source: Wakefield Research.

Percentage of Americans who say that they have received a good suggestion for something to try as a result of their use of social media, according to the results of a Harris Interactive poll: 40

Percentage who say they have made a connection regarding a job opportunity: 15

Percentage who say they have found a new apartment or house through their social media use: 9

Source: Harris Interactive.

Rank of "vacations taken with parents and siblings" on the list of the "most awesome" holidays, according to a survey of kids between 6 and 17 years of age conducted by Ypartnership: 1

Ranks of a religious retreat (27 percent) or theme-park vacation (26 percent) on the list of most frequently mentioned memorable vacations: 1, 2

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Idle Thought

"The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever." -- Anatole France, novelist

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