Rank of Apple on the list of the most valuable brands in the world, after registering a staggering 84 percent increase in value over the past year, ending the four-year reign of Google at the top of the table, according to the sixth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study: 1

Value of the Apple brand, as calculated by dollar value, an analysis based on financial data combined with consumer measures of brand equity: $153.3 billion

Percentage increase in value since 2006: 859

Source: Millward Brown.

Projected cost of the 200-mile-per-hour hybrid car that Jaguar plans to introduce, according to the Kelley Blue Book: $1.2 million

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of Americans who say they have already cut back or canceled vacation plans due to high gas prices, with the summer vacation season fast approaching, according to this month's RBC Consumer Outlook Index: 47

Percentage who say they have scaled back their plans because of high airfares: 20

Percentage of consumers who have already reduced their discretionary spending: 30

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs (MG).

Percentage of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year -- approximately 1.4 billion tons -- that gets lost or wasted, according to an FAO-commissioned study: 33

Amount of food wasted by consumers in rich countries every year: 244.7 million tons

Entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa: 253.5 million tons

Source: FAO.

Percentage reduction in annual energy use by the Empire State Building as a result of its retrofit project, according to Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator: 38

Estimated reduction in carbon emissions over the next 15 years: 105,000 metric tons

Source: Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI).

Percentage of consumers who believe that grocery prices have risen in the past three months, according to a consumer sentiment and behavior survey by Technomic: 84

Percentage who believe restaurant prices have risen: 62

Percentage of consumers who believe packaged food sizes have gotten smaller: 50

Source: Technomic.

Percentage of Americans who say all new drivers should be required to complete a driver education course before they can get a driver's license, according to a survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and conducted by Knowledge Networks: 86

Rank of road accidents on the list of causes of death for young people worldwide (including in the U.S.): 1

Source: AAA.

Percentage of people who would save family photos above all other possessions in the case of fire and after knowing their loved ones were safe, according to an Eye-Fi survey: 53

After family photos, rank of other miscellaneous items, electronics, a specific item of clothing, jewelry, and a particular book on the list of people's most treasured possessions: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Eye-Fi.

Percentage of workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last year who reported they found new positions, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder: 59

Percentage of workers who took jobs in new fields, reflecting a growing trend where workers are re-educating themselves and/or repackaging their skill sets, up from 48 percent last year: 60

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who believe Social Security and Medicare costs are already creating a crisis for the federal government, according to a Gallup poll: 34

Percentage who believe Social Security and Medicare costs will create a crisis within 10 years: 33

Source: Gallup Organization.

Idle Thought

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." -- John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer

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

Percentage of parents who report that their children typically go to mom first with money questions, according to a survey by T. Rowe Price: 61

Percentage of moms who grade themselves with an "A" on their financial knowledge: 17

Percentage of dads who grade themselves with an "A": 28

Source: T. Rowe Price.

Projected wealth among millionaire households in 25 of the world's major economies in 2020 (from an estimated $92 trillion this year), according to a report from the Deloitte Center for Financial Services: $202 trillion

Ranks of China, Brazil and Russia on the list of countries expected to be the driving forces in the growth of millionaire wealth: 1, 2, 3

Rank of Switzerland on the list of countries having the highest per capita wealth among millionaires ($4.2 million in 2011): 1

In 2020, predicted percentage of the world's wealth held by millionaire households in the U.S.: 43

Source: Deloitte LLP.

Ranks of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Charlie Sheen, Gary Busey, Lindsay Lohan and The Situation on the list of the "least desired" celebrity travel companions, according to an Expedia.com poll: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Ellen Degeneres (earning twice as many votes as the second-place candidate), Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray on the list of favorite daytime-talk-show-host travel companions: 1, 2, 3

Source: Expedia.

Year that the word "locavore" -- or one who eats food grown locally whenever possible -- was chosen by the New Oxford American Dictionary as the word of the year, according to Mintel: 2007

Percentage growth in the "local" claim on U.S. restaurant menus in the past year alone: 13

Source: Mintel.

Ranks of Norway, Australia, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark on the list of countries where it's best to be a mother, according to Save the Children's 2011 State of the World's Mothers report, which ranks 164 countries on women's access to health care, education and opportunities: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of the United States on the list: 31

United States' rate for maternal mortality -- the highest of any industrialized nation: 1 in 2,100

Source: Save the Children.

Percentage of American singles who say that if a first date isn't going as planned, they would actually call it a night and leave within the first 30 minutes of the date, according to Match.com: 12

If your date isn't getting the hint that you aren't a match made in heaven, percentage who agree you should politely explain you aren't interested: 52

Percentage of singles who disapprove of ending the date between the sheets: 80

Source: Match.com.

Ranks of Cape Town, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; and Machu Picchu, Peru, on the list of travelers' choice destinations, according to a survey by TripAdvisor travelers: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of New York City, Honolulu and San Francisco on the list of top choices in the U.S.: 1, 2, 3

Source: TripAdvisor.

In 2010, number of stranded motorists who were helped by the AAA during the summer driving season, with nearly half a million receiving assistance during the Memorial Day holiday weekend alone, according to the American Automobile Association: 9.3 million

Number of driving miles logged by Americans in 2010, the most vehicle miles traveled since 2007, according to Consumer Reports: 3 trillion

Source: AutoMD.com.

Year of the Battle of Puebla (when outnumbered Mexican troops defeated the invading French forces of Napoleon III), according to Chase's Calendar of Events and the U.S. Census Bureau: 1862

Date this victory is celebrated annually -- the celebration evolving from one of military victory to a colorful and vibrant event celebrating Mexican culture: May 5 (Cinco de Mayo)

Number of people of Mexican descent in the U.S. -- 10 percent of the total population: 31.7 million

Number of these who live in either California or Texas: 19.6 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Estimated percentage of IT professionals of Indian origin who are planning to return to their homeland, according to a survey conducted by Corp-Corp.com: 50

Percentage of Indians with permanent residency or citizenship elsewhere who intend to return: 57

Percentage of respondents who said their primary reason for the return to India is to rejoin their family members: 51

Source: Corp-Corp.com.

Idle Thought

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him." -- Aldous Huxley, novelist

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

Estimated number of gallons of water the average person would save with each shower by pledging to take the Earth Lovers Three-Minute Shower Challenge, according to the Michigan State Government Water Conservation website: 50

Roughly, number of gallons of water per minute that a typical showerhead uses: 7

Percentage of consumers who believe that they could get clean in a three-minute shower: 53

Source: The Body Shop International.

Estimated number of cigarettes that are smoked in the United States on an annual basis, according to Legacy, the national public health foundation: 360 billion

According to environmental cleanup reports, number of cigarettes or cigarette filters/butts that were picked up last year in the United States alone: 1 million

Rank of cigarette butts on the list of most littered items in the U.S.: 1

Source: Legacy.

Year Anna Jarvis, the driving force behind Mother's Day, organized observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia, according to the Census Bureau: 1908

Number of stay-at-home moms in the U.S. in 2009, down from 5.3 million in 2008: 5.1 million

Percentage of married-couple family groups with children under 15 that had a stay-at-home mother in 2009, down from 23.7 percent in 2008: 22.6

Rank of Mother's Day on the list of the largest card-sending holidays in the United States, with 141 million cards exchanged annually, according to Hallmark: 3

Source: Census Bureau.

Percentage of employees who admitted to coming to work somewhat frequently when feeling under the weather, according to an Accountemps survey: 76

Percentage of workers who said that when a colleague comes in sick, they worry most about being exposed to his or her illness: 34

Percentage who are impressed by their coworker's dedication: 8

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of global citizens who definitely believe in a "divine entity," according to a poll conducted by Ipsos for Reuters News: 51

Percentage who believe they will just "cease to exist": 23

Percentage who simply "don't know" about a hereafter: 26

Source: Institute Ipsos MORI.

Percentage of Americans who want to read books selected by popular daytime talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, according to a survey by Sony: 25

Ranks of Bill Gates (18 percent), Warren Buffett (13 percent), Michelle Obama (12 percent), star athlete Tom Brady (8 percent), Matt Lauer (6 percent) and Oprah Winfrey (1 percent) on the list of other in-demand sources for book recommendations: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Source: Sony Pictures Television International.

Percentage growth in the U.S. organic food industry in 2010, while total U.S. food sales grew by less than 1 percent, according to findings from the 2011 Organic Industry Survey: 7.7

Value of the organic industry in 2010: $28.6 billion

Percentage of organic companies that reported positive full-time employment growth: 40

Source: Organic Trade Association.

Percentage of Americans who will find out from mom what she wants before shopping for a Mother's Day gift, according to a survey conducted by Toluna and released by Buy.com: 35

Ranks of a day at the spa (23 percent), gift cards (20 percent) and "something homemade" (17 percent) on the list of moms' top gifts: 1, 2, 3

For moms over age 55, ranks of gift cards (38 percent) and a new computer (25 percent) on the list of the most desired presents: 1, 2

Source: Buy.com.

Approximate number of tires that are consumed as fuel every year, according to Liberty Tire Recycling: 10 million

Percentage more energy than coal (while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 19.5 percent) that is provided by tire-derived fuel: 25

Potentially, the number of barrels of crude oil that would equal the energy produced by all of the scrap tires produced in the U.S.: 13 million

Source: Liberty Tire Recycling.

Percentage decrease in directory paper demand over 2009, due in part to things like upgraded consumer websites, residential white pages, consumer choice programs, smaller book sizes and more efficient pagination systems, according to the Local Search Association: 8.1

Total percentage decrease in paper demand since 2007: 35

Percentage of the solid waste stream represented by telephone directories, significantly less than office paper (2.2 percent): 0.3

Source: Local Search Association.

Idle Thought

"There are many people who reach their conclusions about life like schoolboys; they cheat their master by copying the answer out of a book without having worked out the sum for themselves." -- Soren Kierkegaard, philosopher

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