Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of Americans who believe that the early bird gets the worm, and that the most successful people get their day started early with an energized morning, according to a survey released by Kraft Foods: 84

Percentage of millennials who describe themselves as an early bird: 28

Percentage of baby boomers who describe themselves as an early bird: 63

Source: Kraft Foods.

Percentage of Americans who think China is the leading economic power in the world today, according to a Gallup poll: 53

Percentage who think it is the United States: 33

In the year 2000, percentage who gave that title to the U.S.: 65

Percentage who said China: 10

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of employees who say workplace stress makes it difficult to focus on tasks, according to a survey by ComPsych Corporation: 56.3

Percentage who say stress causes them to commit errors or miss deadlines: 21

Percentage who say stress causes conflict with co-workers and superiors: 15.5

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Percentage of adults who view opening an email attachment as high-risk, according to a study from Webroot: 81

Percentage who feel the same level of risk about an in-person meeting: 72

Percentage of respondents who say that a lost laptop, tablet or netbook is about the same or worse as having your wallet or purse stolen: 61

Source: Webroot Software Inc.

Percentage of respondents who said softness was the No. 1 feature they valued in a bathroom tissue, according to a survey by Georgia-Pacific and conducted by Strategy One: 80

Percentage who cited absorbency: 57

Percentage who prefer that their toilet paper come from the top of the roll: 72

Source: Strategy One.

Percentage of Americans who aren't happy that the U.S. population has never stopped expanding from just over 200 million in 1970 to more than 300 million today, according to a poll for Numbers USA Education and Research Foundation: 52

Percentage of U.S. voters who approve of the current rate of growth that the U.S. Census Bureau states will double the U.S. population from 313 million today to over 600 million by the end of the century: 10

Percentage of Americans who said they would prefer no more population growth at all: 46

Source: NumbersUSA.

Amount of aggregated bank card credit limits, steady for the past six months and 6.6 percent higher than the low point set in February 2011, according to Equifax's May National Consumer Credit Trends Report: $2.4 trillion

From April 2010 to April 2012, percentage decline in bank card balance write-off rates (from 13.2 percent to less than 6 percent): 7.2

Percentage rise in new bank card issuance in February 2012, relative to the same month a year ago: 37

Source: Equifax.

Decade when outdoor grilling became a popular recreation in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1920s

Decade when Henry Ford first produced charcoal briquets using scrap wood left over from making Model T's: 1920s

Percentage of U.S. adults who enjoy grilling out: 33

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Of professionals who expect to stay and work overseas for up to five years, percentage who have already been overseas for more than five years, according to research commissioned by the Hydrogen Group: 45

Percentage who plan to apply for permanent residency: 50

Source: Hydrogen Group.

Ranks of Nice, France, Mykonos, Greece, and Maui, Hawaii, on the list of the best summer vacation destinations, according to travel experts and U.S. News and World Report: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of Yellowstone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Lisbon, Portugal, on the list of the best cheap summer vacations: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone on the list of the most affordable family summer vacations: 1, 2, 3

Source: U.S. News and World Report.

Idle Thought

"It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them." -- Cesare Beccaria, philosopher and politician

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

Percentage of young women ages 18 to 34 who believe that a marriage in which the husband and wife both have jobs and both take care of the house and children provides a more satisfying life than one in which the husband provides for the family and the wife takes care of the home, according to a Pew Research survey: 62

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

Average length of time advertising and marketing executives say they can work on a task without being interrupted, according to a survey by The Creative Group: 30 minutes

Ranks of people stopping by to chat (27 percent), phone calls (26 percent), email alerts (19 percent), instant/text messages (10 percent) and social media (8 percent) on the list of the most common causes of on-the-job disruptions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: The Creative Group.

Average number of dead bodies per episode on the STARZ series "Spartacus," found to be the deadliest show on TV, according to a Funeralwise.com study: 25

Average number of dead bodies per episode on HBO's "Game of Thrones," the next deadliest show: 14

Number of dead bodies per episode on the deadliest broadcast network show, CW's "Nikita": 9

Number of dead bodies per episode on the CBS series "NCIS: Los Angeles," the second deadliest broadcast network show: 6

Source: Funeralwise.com.

Number of drivers in 18 states who ran a red light in 2011, according to a report by the National Coalition for Safer Roads: 2.3 million

Number of red-light running violations on the 2011 Memorial Day weekend -- a more than 27 percent increase in violations compared to an average weekend: 26,787

Rank of Friday on the list of the worst days for intersection safety in 2011 with 378,122 total violations: 1

Source: National Coalition for Safer Roads.

Percentage more likely that recent graduates are to put off life choices often associated with financial independence than those who graduated seven or more years ago, according to a survey of graduates of public and private colleges and universities across the country conducted by the College Savings Foundation: 50

Percentage of respondents graduating within the last year who said they had to live with their parents longer than expected, as compared to 24 percent who graduated seven or more years ago: 36

Percentage of recent grads who are definitely delaying buying a house for financial reasons, vs. 22 percent who graduated at least seven years ago: 40

Source: College Savings Foundation.

Number of jobs that restaurants are expected to add this summer season, a 4.6 percent increase over the March 2012 employment level, according to National Restaurant Association projections: 450,000

Percentage of the nation's overall workforce that is employed in America's nearly 1 million restaurants employ: 10

Source: National Restaurant Association.

Percentage of consumers who are planning to take a vacation this summer, according to a survey by Orbitz: 77

Percentage who feel guilty about leaving their children behind: 30

Percentage of respondents who believe the government should mandate companies to offer at least four weeks of vacation per year: 44

Source: Orbitz.

Annual value of the golf industry in the United States, which is bigger than movies and music, according to research that appears on the nonprofit ProCon.org's 43rd website, golf.procon.org: $76 billion

Source: ProCon.org.

While many vacationers flock to beaches and cabins in the woods, estimated number of people who are planning a trip to the city, according to the American Public Transportation Association's survey: 104 million

Of those who plan to visit a city, percentage (62 million people) nationwide who plan to use local public transportation on their vacation this summer: 57

Among those travelers who will be using public transportation during their city trips, percentage who said using public transportation relieves them from the worry of finding parking for their vehicle: 71

Source: American Public Transportation Association.

Percentage of global respondents who are "enthusiasts" -- that is, they are passionate about technology and willing to sacrifice simplification for empowerment: 37

Percentage who are "infomaniacs" -- those who value getting information and discovering new experiences even more than relating better to other people: 25

Percentage who are "pragmatists" -- those who are less likely to love technology, but value it as very helpful in relating better to others, getting things done, and managing health and wellness: 22

Source: Ketchum Global Research Network.

Idle Thought

"Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you." -- William Arthur Ward, college administrator, writer

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

Percentage of CFOs who say their greatest source of workplace stress is trying to balance work and personal demands, according to a survey by Accountemps: 41

Percentage who cited office politics or conflicts with co-workers: 28

Percentage who blamed keeping current with changing accounting and finance regulations: 16

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of employed adults who indicated that their company offers a summer Friday policy (e.g. closed or half-days on Fridays during summer months), according to a Harris Interactive study commissioned by Ultimat vodka: 12

Of those who receive summer Fridays as a benefit, percentage who say they often forfeit them because their workload is so heavy: 41

Source: Ultimat.

Percentage of respondents who heartily support Priscilla Chan's "relationship contract" with husband, Mark Zuckerberg -- entitling her to "one date per week, a minimum of a hundred minutes of alone time, not in his apartment and definitely not on Facebook," according to a poll by Zoosk.com: 75

Source: Zoosk.

Year that Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while listening to a Mother's Day sermon, wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1909

Year and date of the first Father's Day celebration, proclaimed by Spokane's mayor because it was the month of Smart's birth: June 17, 1910

Year of the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day: 1966

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of respondents in six key European nations -- Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and Spain -- who agree that "Europe's current debt crisis is indicative of a series of long-standing political and economic problems that will lead to the breakup of the European Union," according to the findings of an Ipsos Global @dvisor poll: 51

Percentage of respondents, on average, who agree with the statement, "The European Union is an experiment that has failed": 38

Source: Ipsos Global Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who rated geeks to be extremely intelligent, according to a survey by Modis, conducted in recognition of Geek Pride Day: 54

Percentage of respondents who identified geeks as the go-to people for technology advice: 71

Source: Modis.

Percentage of American adults polled who admitted they've watched a celebrity sex tape, according to a study conducted by Adam & Eve: 33

Source: Adam & Eve.

Estimated percentage increase over the last decade in the number of all full-time (non-self-employed) U.S. workers nationwide who work predominately from home (or another remote location), according to a report from The Conference Board: 100

Percentage of employees who telework more than once per month, who now work remotely at least one day per week, up from 72 percent in 2008: 84

Source: Conference Board.

Estimated number of college graduates who are spilling into an economy that is producing fewer than 150,000 jobs a month, according to Don Philabaum, the author of the new book "The Unemployed Grad, and What Parents Can Do About It": 2 million

Source: TalentMarks.

Percentage of Americans who say that political action committees or PACs have too much power and influence in Washington, D.C., the No. 1 entity cited by respondents of a Harris poll conducted by Harris Interactive: 88

Percentage who say big companies have too much power: 86

Ranks of political lobbyists (85 percent), banks and financial institutions (81 percent), and the news media (73 percent) on the list of those whom Americans believe carry too much influence inside the Beltway: 3, 4, 5

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness." -- Alexis de Tocqueville in "Democracy in America"

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