As temperatures heat up, percentage of employees who say that a flexible schedule is the most coveted summer benefit, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 41

Percentage who said that "leaving work early on Fridays" is their favorite benefit: 28

Percentage who cited activities such as a company picnic or potluck: 11

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of experts dealing with investment fraud/financial exploitation of American senior citizens who agree that the problem of swindles targeting the elderly is getting worse today, according to a survey released by Investor Protection Trust: 84

Percentage of respondents who say that older Americans are "very vulnerable" (75 percent) or "somewhat vulnerable" (24 percent) to financial swindles: 99

Source: Investor Protection Trust.

Percentage of parents who expect their child to go to college, according to surveys by the Pew Research Center: 94

Percentage of Americans who say colleges fail to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend: 57

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

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

Percentage of the American vacationers planning to travel this summer who indicated that the still-struggling economy has compelled them to modify their vacation plans, according to a survey conducted by AutoTrader.com: 79

Percentage of travelers who will spend less on vacationing this year compared to last: 37

Percentage who indicated that they are more likely to pick a destination they can reach by driving this summer compared to last year: 28

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of managers who said email is an appropriate way to express thanks after meeting with a hiring manager, according to a survey developed by Accountemps: 87

Percentage who cited phone calls as OK: 81

Percentage of respondents who take a positive view of text messages as a way to follow up: 10

Percentage of respondents who appreciate being thanked by promising job candidates: 91

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of men and women who said sex was "very important" in a relationship, according to a survey conducted by an independent third party and sponsored by Adam & Eve: 53

Percentage who said it was "somewhat important": 34

Source: Adam & Eve.

Percentage of working dads who had a child in the last three years who reported they didn't take any paternity leave, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 43

Percent of those working dads who took some, but not the full allotted time off, who said they felt pressured by work to come back early: 47

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

With summer here, estimated number of skateboard accidents reported each year by emergency rooms around the country, according to the Census Bureau: 144,000

Estimated number of accidents that occur each year on bicycles: 544,000

Source: Census Bureau.

When asked what one item they can't live without during travel, percentage of respondents who said their favorite pair of jeans, according to a survey conducted for HomeAway: 15

Percentage who couldn't live without their pet: 9

Percentage who had to have access to Facebook: 6

Source: HomeAway.

Of the more than 8,000 responses to a poll asking "Should there be a cellphone directory?" (votes were limited to one per person), percentage that are in favor of a directory, according to CellPhoneNumber.com: 91

Source: CellPhoneNumber.com.

Idle thought

"To have great poets, there must be great audiences." -- Walt Whitman, poet

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

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.)