In the past year, number of American adults -- 10 percent of the U.S. adult population -- who purchased a coupon from an online site such as Groupon or LivingSocial, according to a survey conducted for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: 23 million

Percentage of coupons that were used for needed items: 49

Source: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Percentage of men who actually confessed to wearing their underwear two or three times between washes, according to a survey by the makers of Clorox Bleach: 12.5

Percentage of men who rely on a "sniff" test to determine if their clothes are fresh enough to wear, justifying their habit of wearing garments multiple times before washing: 49

Source: Clorox.

Percentage of travelers who think that people often violate some form of beach or pool etiquette, according to the results of the annual beach and pool etiquette survey by TripAdvisor: 74

Percentage who have asked a stranger to stop behaving rudely at the beach or pool: 26

Percentage of respondents who said blasting loud music is the most annoying poolside etiquette violation: 21

Percentage who said beach chair hogging: 18

Source: TripAdvisor.

When it comes to how well workers' education prepared them for their current position, percentage of full-time workers who said that while their education helped, they learned most of their skills on the job, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs-Randstad survey: 50

Percentage of workers who wished that they had more skills -- "hard skills" such as a degree or knowledge of a trade or industry and/or "soft" skills such as emotional, social, leadership and organizational intelligence: 62

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of motorists who cite checking tire pressure as a top fuel-saving tip: 75

Percentage of male motorists who properly check tire pressure: 20

Percentage of female motorists who properly check tire pressure: 9

Number of gallons of fuel wasted annually due to underinflated tires: 1.2 billion

Source: Rubber Manufacturers Association.

Percentage of adults who said they knew someone who had used paid sick time for reasons other than an illness, such as extending their summer vacation, according to a survey commissioned from Opinion Research Corp. and released by the Employment Policies Institute: 51

Percentage of respondents who said they had personally used sick leave for non-medical reasons: 21 (27 percent of males and 16 percent of females)

Source: Opinion Research Corp.

Century when roller coasters were first chronicled as ice slides in Russia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 15th

In the U.S., year that the first modern roller coaster opened at Coney Island, N.Y., built by Lamarcus Thompson, and called "the gravity pleasure switchback railway": 1884

Number of minutes the ride lasted: 1

Today, estimated number of amusement parks across the nation: 634

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of pet owners who say they consider their pet to be a member of their family, according to a survey by Harris Interactive: 91

Percentage of pet owners who say they frequently let their pet sleep in the bed with them: 57

Percentage of pet owners who frequently purchase holiday presents for their pet: 33

Source: Harris Interactive.

Across all backgrounds, ranks of education, the state of the economy, an individual's own skills and a person's income level on the list of factors considered the most important for success in America: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of respondents who believe that a person's racial or ethnic background is important: 2

Source: Allstate Insurance Co.

Percentage of non-retired U.S. investors (defined as those having $10,000 or more of investable assets) who say the cost of health care is a major determinant of when they retire, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index poll: 72

Percentage of non-retired investors who say being located near good medical facilities will be a major factor in determining where they will live in retirement: 60

Percentage of non-retirees who said low state and/or local real estate taxes would have an impact on where they would retire: 52

Source: Gallup.

Idle Thought

"A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle." -- Anonymous

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

Percentage of Americans who say the higher education system in the U.S. fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend, according to a Pew Research Center survey: 57

Percentage who say college is too expensive for most Americans to afford: 75

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

Percentage of men who feel it is hard to get going in the morning, according a survey conducted by StrategyOne on behalf of Schick Xtreme3: 70

Percentage who indicate they don't wake up with a feeling that they are ready for the day ahead: 43

Percentage of men who say they need to be refreshed after putting in too many hours at the office: 58

Source: Strategy One.

Percentage of Americans who said that if they could have only one child, they would prefer that it be a boy, according to a Gallup Poll: 40

Percentage who would rather have a girl: 28

Percentage who have no preference: 32

Percentage of American men who favor a boy over a girl: 49

Percentage of American women who say they would prefer a boy: 31

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of managers who said they weren't ready to become a leader when they started managing others, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 26

Percentage who said they didn't receive any management training: 58

When asked what the biggest challenge is as a manager, percentage of managers who said dealing with issues between co-workers on my team: 25

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Year of the first criminal case in the U.S. in which fingerprint evidence was admitted into court when burglary suspect Caesar Cella was convicted by prints identified by Detective Sergeant Joseph Faurot: 1911

Rank of the use of DNA samples from crime scenes on the list of the fastest growing area of forensic evidence: 1

Number of federal or state prisoners whose convictions were based this evidence: 1.6 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of senior leaders and hiring managers in America's Fortune 500 and other large companies (5,000 employees or more) who said their companies primarily engage in virtual teaming as a way to reduce travel and real estate expenses, according to a study conducted on behalf of Brandman University by Forrester Consulting: 61

Percentage who also use it as a way to recruit high-quality talent regardless of geography: 59

Source: Brandman University.

Percentage of advertising and marketing executives who said entry-level candidates have unrealistic career expectations, according to a survey by The Creative Group: 36

Percentage of respondents who said those who want to land a job should be prepared to ace the interview, as that meeting carries the most weight when evaluating applicants for entry-level advertising or marketing roles: 35

Ranks of resume, portfolio, references, social media presence and experience on the list of attributes considered most important when hiring an entry-level advertising or marketing professional: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: The Creative Group.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who report being aware of the recent news released by the World Health Organization that extensive cellphone use can increase possible cancer risk, according to a survey conducted by TNS: 80

Percentage of respondents who said they would decrease the overall usage of their cellphones: 8

Percentage who said they were now considering the purchase of a hands-free device: 8

Source: TNS.

Ranks of American, Spanish, Italian and Brazilian on the list of nationalities "best at making people laugh," according to a poll conducted by Badoo.com: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of German, Russian and Turkish on the list of nationalities least able to make people laugh: 1, 2, 3

Rank of Americans on the list of the world's funniest nationality, as the folks who brought us not just sitcoms like "Friends" and "The Simpsons," but innumerable great comedians as well: 1

Source: Badoo.

While watching TV, percentage of Americans who also surf the Internet, according to findings of an Adweek/Harris Poll: 56

Percentage who read a book, magazine or newspaper: 44

Percentage who go on a social networking site: 40

Percentage who text on their mobile phone: 37

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"The liar's punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else." -- George Bernard Shaw

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

Year that a device was demonstrated in Philadelphia (and that sparked a revolution in the way most Americans now live and work), the first commercial electronic computer, UNIVAC I, built for the U.S. Census Bureau to tabulate the 1950 Census: 1951

Year the public first became aware of the computer when it was used on television on election night to predict that Dwight Eisenhower would win the presidential contest: 1952

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of men who say that when they are on a first date the thought that is going through their head is: "Could I have a relationship with this person?" -- according to a poll by the dating service It's Just Lunch: 47

When women were asked the same question, percentage who said, "Do I want to see him again?": 50

Source: It's Just Lunch/American Way.

Percentage of Americans who have a six-month emergency savings cushion, according to a survey conducted by Bankrate.com: 24

Percentage who have no emergency savings whatsoever: 24

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of America's middle-income baby boomers who say that their financial situation, not age, is now the key trigger for when to retire, according to a study conducted by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement: 73

Percentage of middle-income Americans between ages 47 and 65 with income between $25,000 and $75,000, who say they expect to retire after the traditional retirement age of 65: 33

Source: Bankers Life and Casualty Co.

Equivalent number of the 1.8 zettabytes of information that is forecast to be created and replicated in 2011, according to the IDC Digital Universe study and sponsored by EMC: 1.8 trillion gigabytes

If every person in the U.S. were to tweet three tweets per minute for 26,976 years nonstop, number of zettabytes of data that would produce: 1.8

If every person in the world were to have more than 215 million high-resolution MRI scans per day, number of zettabytes of data that would produce: 1.8

Source: EMC Corp.

Percentage of men who say they do most of the household cleaning, up from 17 percent in 2006, according to research from Mintel: 31

Percentage of men who do household cleaning who say cleaning the house gives them a sense of accomplishment (compared to 62 percent of women): 55

Source: Mintel.

Percentage of employees who have little to no anxiety about missing work while on vacation, according to a survey by Aerotek: 68

Percentage of respondents who have no qualms about using some or all of their allotted vacation time: 65

Percentage who completely disconnect while on vacation: 52

Source: Aerotek.

In the U.S., percentage of women who say they like shopping for clothes, according to a Gallup Poll: 39

Percentage who go shopping when the clothes they currently own are literally wearing out and need to be replaced: 30

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of working fathers laid off over the last 12 months who say they have found full-time employment, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 84

Percentage who report working more than 50 hours per week on average, up from 19 percent last year: 22

Percentage who spend two hours or less with their children each day: 39

Percentage who spend one hour or less: 16

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of employees in the U.S. who tend to regard talent development programs as unfair and political, according to a survey of senior managers and executives conducted by AMA Enterprise (American Management Association): 24

Percentage who consider efforts to identify and develop future leaders flawed, but well-intentioned: 27

Source: American Management Association.

Idle Thought

"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." -- Thomas Macaulay

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