Percentage of Americans who believe that Congress has been working hard enough to deserve its August recess, according to the Economist/YouGov poll: 9

Last year, number of weeks of vacation that Americans said a president deserves -- more than the average American worker: 3

This year, number of weeks of August vacation that Americans say Barack Obama has worked hard enough to deserve: 1

Source: YouGov.

Number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2012 from nursery school to college, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 78 million

Percentage of the entire population age 3 and older that this represents: 26.4

Number of school-age children (ages 5 to 17) who spoke a language other than English at home in 2012: 12 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Average amount that parents spend on school-related costs throughout the year per family, according to a survey conducted by RetailMeNot and The Omnibus Co.: $659

Percentage of parents who spend less on themselves due to the cost of their child's education: 75

Ranks of clothing or shoes, dining out and vacations on the list of the top items parents have cut back on for themselves: 1, 2, 3

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of employees who said being courteous to co-workers can greatly accelerate advancement in a person's career prospects, according to an Accountemps Survey: 44

Ranks of "using a speakerphone or talking loudly on the phone," "loitering or talking around a colleague's desk," "eating foods that have strong odors," and "keeping a messy or cluttered workspace" on the list of the biggest breaches of workplace etiquette in an open office environment: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Accountemps.

Amount that the average summer vacationer planned to spend on a family vacation this year, up approximately $139 from 2013, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs poll conducted on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance: $1,894

With more people already intending to travel, amount the increase in spending translates to for the American travel and tourism economy this year: $18 billion

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of people who have a good friend they have met online, but never in person, according to Skout's International Friendship Day survey: 76

Percentage of women who say they have a good friend they have met online: 83

Percentage of men who say the same: 73

Source: Skout.

In 2013, number of travelers who hit the road for Labor Day, the highest number in five years, according to a report by the American Automobile Association: 34.1 million

In 2014, percentage rise in the demand for air tickets over Labor Day weekend, with the majority of travelers departing on Friday, Aug. 29, according to booking data from Expedia.com: 20

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of buyers who say they will shop together with their student in-store, according to the results of Baynote's Back-to-School shopper behavior survey: 70

Percentage of respondents who said their student's wish list is influential in the purchasing process, second only to school-supplied lists: 85

Source: Baynote.

As a result of recent political turmoil, percentage of Americans who said they are afraid to fly internationally, according to a poll conducted for TheStreet by GfK1: 36

Source: TheStreet Inc.

Average spending on required course materials for students during the 2013-14 academic year, according to the Student Watch Spring 2014 survey by OnCampus Research: $638

Approximate number of college stores across the U.S. that utilize price comparison software that all students can take advantage of when buying new or used books: 400

Source: National Association of College Stores.

Idle Thought

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." -- Galileo

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

Percentage of all employees who report that they feel guilty using all of their allotted vacation days, according to a poll of full-time working adults conducted on behalf of Randstad: 26

Despite this sense of guilt, percentage who report feeling more productive after they return from vacation: 67

Source: Randstad-USA.

Percentage of Americans who say companies should be allowed to refuse to hire people because they are significantly overweight, according to a Gallup poll: 12

Percentage who say companies should be allowed to refuse to hire smokers: 14

Source: Gallup.

Among cheaters who were asked their reason for cheating, percentage who said, "It just happened," according to an Adam & Eve survey about couples' sexual habits: 45

Percentage who said they did it because "it was exciting": 33

Source: Adam & Eve.

Year that one of the engines of business and personal life in the 21st century, the World Wide Web, was developed and released by two scientists at the Cern Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1991

Percentage of households in the U.S. that have Internet access at home, and includes about 95 percent of all homes with computers: 75

Percentage of Americans over the age of 3 who have multiple avenues and devices to connect to the Web: 25

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of used vehicles taken off U.S. roads due to 2009's "Cash for Clunkers," as well as historically poor sales years from 2008 to 2012, according to ALG: 700,000

As a result of the strength of new car sales and the popularity of short 24- and 36-month leases, projected percentage retentive value of a new car after three years: 49.4

Source: ALG.

In 2013, approximate number of consumer accounts that third-party debt collectors received from creditor clients, according to findings of a new survey by Ernst & Young and the debt collection trade association ACA International: 1 billion

Face value of these accounts: $756 billion

Amount actually recovered (7 percent): $55.2 billion

Source: Ernst & Young LLP.

Rank of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the idyllic island located about 30 miles south of Cape Cod, on the list of North America's most expensive destinations in terms of its lodging cost, according to a survey from CheapHotels.org: 1

On average, amount of money visitors to Nantucket will have to spend per night for the most affordable double room: $301

Ranks of Portland, Maine ($276), Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts ($274), and Montauk, New York, ($264) on the list: 2, 3, 4

Source: Cheaphotels.org.

Percentage of families who agree that college is a worthwhile investment, according to How America Pays for College 2014, a national study from Sallie Mae and Ipsos: 98

On average, percentage of college costs paid by family: 42

Percentage paid with loans (the lowest level in five years): 22

Percentage of college costs paid by grants and scholarships: 31

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs

Estimated amount of money that Americans spent on pet products and services in 2013, according to the Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Co. report: $62 billion

Source: Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Co.

Estimated amount of money spent by the 33 million anglers in the United States on expenses related to the sport, including equipment, transportation and lodging, according to research conducted by Southwick Associates Inc. on behalf of the American Sportfishing Association: $48 billion

Number of jobs these expenditures support: 828,000

Source: Southwick Associates Inc.

Idle Thought

"An honest man speaks the truth, though it may give offense; a vain man, in order that it may." -- William Hazlitt, essayist

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

Percentage of Americans who turn their televisions on as soon as they wake up, according to a survey commissioned by LG Electronics USA: 38

Percentage who fall asleep with the TV on: 61

Source: LG Electronics USA Inc.

Percentage of all motor vehicle crashes that is now estimated to involve the use of cellphones, according to the National Safety Council: 26

Estimated percentage of cellphone-related crashes that involve texting: 5

Percentage that involve drivers talking on handheld or hands-free cellphones: 21

Source: National Safety Council.

Ranks of South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Romania and the Netherlands on the list of the fastest average Internet connection speeds by country, according to Pew Research: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of the United States on the list: 12

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

Year an asphalt mix, invented by Edward de Smedt, was laid on William Street in Newark, New Jersey, according to the Census Bureau: 1870

Number of miles of paved highway in the entire country by 1904: 154

Estimated number of miles of paved urban streets in the nation today: 1 million

Number of miles of interstate roads and other freeways: 61,000

Source: Census Bureau.

Beyond basic factors such as salary and benefits, ranks of the prospect of long-term job security, a pleasant working atmosphere and good work/life balance on the list of employment options important to job seekers, according to a 2014 Employer Branding Study released by Randstad US: 1, 2, 3

Source: Randstad US.

Percentage of Americans who say the country would be better governed with more female political leaders -- up slightly from 57 percent in 1995 and 2000, according to a Gallup poll: 63

Percentage of Americans who think the country would be better governed if more people who are religious were in office: 51

Source: Gallup Organization.

When asked how often they wash their hands after using their own bathroom at home, percentage of people who admit to not washing their hands all of the time, according to findings from Life and Omnibus Research: 38

Percentage who admit to never washing their hands: 3

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of older Americans who say that either they or a family member have experienced excessive or unwanted medical treatment, the equivalent of about 25 million people, according to a survey conducted by Purple Insights: 24

Source: Compassion & Choices.

Of teens who say they never text while driving, percentage who still admit to texting at a red light or stop sign, according to a survey from Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD): 47

Percentage of teens who define their designated driver as allowed to have "a little" alcohol or drugs, as long as they aren't too impaired to drive: 21

Percentage who describe their designated driver as the "most" sober person in the group: 4

Source: Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Percentage of business-to-business marketers and salespeople from around the world who identified "opportunity creation" conversations as having the highest impact on helping salespeople achieve quota, according to a survey by Corporate Visions: 38

Percentage who feel adequately prepared to create new sales opportunities with the content and training provided to them by their organizations: 50

Source: Corporate Visions, Inc.

Idle Thought

"A pedestal is as much a prison as any small space." -- Gloria Steinem

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

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