Percentage of American workers who admit to using their sick days as "vacation" days, according to a survey by Adecco Staffing: 47

Percentage of workers who get upset when their co-workers take multiple long weekends off: 29

Percentage who feel as though their colleagues judge them when they take any time off: 23

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of adults who say they have tried marijuana, up from 40 percent three years ago, according to a Pew Research Center survey: 48

Percentage who said they smoked "just for fun": 47

Percentage of young adults who say they've tried marijuana: 56

Percentage of adults 65 and older who say they've ever used marijuana, though a third support its legalization: 22

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of women who are camera shy (citing anxiety about their appearance) and say that it prevents them from capturing important memories, including photos of a beach vacation, their own wedding pictures or even photos of the birth of their child, according to Dove global research: 77

On average, age at which women become more self-conscious in front of the camera: 24

Source: Dove Research.

Ranks of Provincetown, Mass. ($217), Cape May, N.J. ($204), and Martha's Vineyard, Mass. ($202) on the list of the United States' most expensive destinations, according to the finding of a survey from CheapHotels.org based on the average price of each locale's cheapest available room: 1, 2, 3

Source: Cheaphotels.org.

Amount that Hong Kong millionaire Tiffany Chen revealed she paid for what Christie's auction house calls "the largest and most perfect briolette diamond ever sold at auction," signalling a trend among the world's ultra net-worth individuals, according to Wealth-X: $11.15 million

Percentage increase in rough diamond prices since 2005 -- and likely to rise a further 20 percent between 2013 and 2017, bolstered by demand from China and India: 33

Rank of Hong Kong billionaire Yu Tung Cheng, honorary chairman of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, on the list of the wealthiest billionaire diamond collectors with a net worth of $19.6 billion: 1

Source: Wealth-X.

Value of the North America weight loss/obesity management market in 2012, according to a report by MarketsandMarkets.com: $104 billion

Projected value of the market by 2017: $139.5 billion

Rank of the U.S. on the list of the largest markets for weight loss/obesity management: 1

Source: MarketsandMarkets.com.

Percentage of British citizens lucky enough to win at least 1 million British pounds who still say they would choose not to stay in five-star hotels despite their unexpected new wealth, according to a study conducted by lottery operator Camelot and Oxford Economics: 32

Source: Holiday Hypermarket.

Percentage of moms who sleep in separate beds from their spouse or partner so at least one of them can get an uninterrupted night of sleep, according to BabyCenter.com: 40

Percentage of sleep-deprived moms who would rather get a good night's sleep than have sex with her partner: 72

Source: BabyCenter LLC.

Percentage of executives who rated their network as "very fast" (20 megabytes per second or faster), according to a survey at LTE World Summit: 50

Percentage of respondents who believed that their network was still not fast enough: 68

When executives were asked what rate of acceleration would make it worth their while to invest in technologies to boost their network's speed, percentage who said they would be satisfied with as little as 20 percent acceleration: 70

Source: LTE world Summit.

Percentage of moms and dads who divulged they wouldn't trust their teenage children to host a party, according to research from Allianz Your Cover Insurance: 29

Percentage of teenagers who revealed that they, too, fear a party could get out of control -- their top fear being uninvited guests turning up: 42

Source: YourCoverInsurance.co.uk.

Idle Thought

"They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea." -- Francis Bacon

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

Percentage of Americans who believe their communications histories (including phone calls, emails and Internet use) are accessible to the government, businesses, and others, according to figures from Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll: 85

Percentage who feel that they have little or no control over the type of information that is collected and used by various groups and organizations: 66

Percentage who feel that they are unable to correct inaccurate personal information: 59

Source: Allstate Insurance Co.

Percentage of Americans who have enough savings to cover at least six months' expenses, according to research from Bankrate.com: 24

Percentage who have less than three months': 50

Percentage who have no emergency savings: 27

Source: Bankrate.com.

Average number of hours per month that baby boomers spend watching TV (significantly more than millennials' 107 hours per month), according to Nielsen: 174

Percentage of prescription drug sales accounted for by boomers: 77

Percentage of leisure travel spending accounted for by boomers: 80

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of Americans who say Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's baby will be more spoiled than Prince William and Kate's baby: 50

Percentage who said William and Kate's baby: 10

When women were asked which famous mom they would like to have a play date with, percentage who picked Kate Middleton: 19

Percentage who chose Kim Kardashian: 4

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of consumers who are more likely to choose a lower price over better service (a choice that tends to fall in the favor of larger businesses that can take advantage of economies of scale), according to a survey by by CreditDonkey.com: 52

Percentage who say they have not bought something because they were not happy with the customer service they were getting: 80

Percentage who said their customer service experience with small companies meets or exceeds expectations: 94

Source: CreditDonkey.com.

Percentage of Americans and their bed partners whose sleep is interrupted by snoring (though most just suffer through it instead of seeking help), according to a survey sponsored by ResMed: 84

Number of times more likely that men are to say their bed partner leaves the room to escape their snoring: 2

Percentage of people who still choose to suffer through a sleepless night instead of leaving the bedroom or seeking solutions: 65

Source: ResMed.

Of the top 20 most-searched international destinations for summer travel, number of European cities that made the list, according to Fly.com: 8

Number of Caribbean islands that made the list: 7

Ranks of London, Paris and Dublin on the list: 2, 3, 5

Ranks of Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic on the list of 20: 1, 4, 7

Source: Fly.com.

Percentage of homeowners nationwide who are underwater on their mortgages, according to Zillow Negative Equity Report, May 2013: 25

Percentage of homeowners who plan to make a home improvement or addition this summer: 60

Median amount homeowners plan to spend on summer home improvement projects: $1,200

Source: Zillow.

Percentage of workers who identified in-house, instructor-led workshops as the type of professional training they value most, according to a survey from OfficeTeam: 33

Percentage of employees who cited tuition reimbursement for off-site seminars: 22

Percentage who cite online courses: 18

Percentage who named reference books: 16

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of Americans who believe that in the next 40 years computers will be able to converse like human beings, according to Pew Research: 81

Percentage who believe there will be a cure for cancer: 71

Percentage who believe there will be artificial limbs that will perform better than natural ones: 66

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

Idle Thought

"Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher

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

Percentage of the annual income that retirees earned during their working years that they'll need in retirement, according to Interest.com: 70

Of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, number where this requirement falls short: 49

Ranks of Nevada (70.72 percent) and Hawaii (70.06 percent) on the list -- the only states to reach the 70 percent threshold: 1, 2

At the start of 2012, average Social Security payment for a retired worker, the primary source of income for a majority of retired Americans: $1,230 a month ($14,760 a year)

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

Percentage of married Americans who completely trust their spouse's money management skills, according to the Country Financial Security Index survey: 63

Percentage of respondents who say they did not discuss how they would handle their joint finances before marriage: 42

Percentage of couples who manage their money completely jointly: 67

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of Generation Y women (half of the 80 million strong cohort of Americans between the ages of 18 and 35) who consider shopping to be a form of entertainment and something to share with friends and family, according to a survey by the Urban Land Institute: 70

Percentage of the men who agree: 50

Percentage of respondents who said they dine out at least once a week with friends or family: 46

Percentage of Gen-Yers who receive financial assistance from their parents: 34

Source: Urban Land Institute.

Century to which roller coasters can trace their roots to ice slides in Russia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 15th

In the U.S., year that the first roller coaster opened at Coney Island, N.Y.: 1874

Length of the ride that was called the "Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway": 1 minute

Breakneck speed of the ride: 6 miles per hour

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of hiring managers who said young adults' inability to directly and clearly answer questions and articulate their skills and experience during the interview are main factors for them not getting the job, according to a survey of hiring managers from Adecco Staffing U.S.: 34

Ranks of lack of eye contact, checking phone/texting, fidgeting and bad posture on the list of other slip-ups made during an interview: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of working moms who said their children have asked them to work less, according to an annual CareerBuilder study: 28

Percentage who reported that they spend two hours or less with their children each day during the workweek: 24

Percentage of working moms who said their jobs have negatively impacted their relationship with their children: 17

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of those 35 and older who reported that their job is the No. 1 reason for needing a vacation, yet a majority do not plan to take all of their vacation time, according to a Best Western Vacation Citation survey conducted with Wakefield Research: 68

Ranks of "concern over spending money" (33 percent) and "too much work" (16 percent) on the list of vacation obstacles cited by respondents: 1, 2

Source: Wakefield Research.

Rank of shopping on the list of the most popular vacation activity this summer, according to more than half of respondents, according to the results of the 2013 summer travel survey by TripAdvisor: 1

Ranks of swimming, going to a museum, visiting a national or state park, and attending a BBQ or cookout on the list of the most popular vacation activities: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of U.S. homes that contain a cat, according to a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs: 34

Percentage of U.S. households that can be called a "dog house": 48

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs RS.

Percentage of C-level executives -- across all industries -- who say that regulatory changes have caused either substantial or moderate changes in their risk management and reporting processes in the past two years, according to a new KPMG International survey report: 70

Percentage of health care executives who said government pressure to contain spending was their biggest threat: 50

Percentage of executives in diversified industrials who said an economic slowdown in the 34 markets comprising the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (including North America, most of Europe, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) was their biggest risk: 49

Source: KPMG LLP.

Idle Thought

"Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher." -- Japanese proverb

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