Number of homes that are affected by burglary each year, according to the FBI: 2.1 million

Percentage of burglars who said that if the home had an alarm, they'd look for a different house to target, according to research collected by CreditDonkey: 60

Percentage who said that the presence of a dog would make them reconsider targeting a particular home: 50

Percentage of burglaries that take place in broad daylight, when homeowners are out of the house: 60

Source: CreditDonkey.com.

Percentage of Americans who say they are confident in their ability to pay to send their children to college, according to a survey by Country Financial: 18

Debt of the average graduate with student loans this year: $35,000

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of kids who say their parents seem happier on vacation, according to a survey by Home Away: 54

Percentage who say their parents don't wear any embarrassing things while on vacation: 66

Rank of their parents' bathing suit as the clothing item about which kids are most embarrassed: 1

Source: Home Away.

Percentage of employers who say they have taken at least one step to mitigate productivity killers, according to CareerBuilder.com: 74

Percentage who said they block certain Internet sites: 33

Percentage who ban personal calls and cellphone usage: 23

Percentage who monitor emails and Internet usage: 21

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision on Obergefell v. Hodges, percentage of Americans who support allowing same-sex couples to legally marry, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs poll: 51

Percentage who say same-sex couples should receive the same federal benefits as heterosexual married couples: 60

Percentage of Americans who say someone in their immediate circle will be affected by the Obergefell decision: 34

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs RS.

Percentage of Americans who say the government should take steps to prevent terrorism, but not violate civil liberties, according to the results of a Gallup poll: 65

Percentage who think any steps to prevent terrorism are justified, even if they violate liberties: 30

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of Americans who anticipate that tap-to-pay smartphones will eventually replace payment cards, according to a Harris Poll: 63

Percentage who say they will replace cash: 57

Source: Harris Nielsen.

Percentage of people who say they are not confident that records of their activity maintained by search engine providers will remain private and secure, according to Pew Research: 66

Percentage who have refused to provide information about themselves that wasn't relevant to a transaction: 57

Percentage who have used a temporary username or email address: 25

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Year the tape measure was patented by Alvin J. Fellows of New Haven, Connecticut, featuring a spring click lock to hold the tape at any desired point, according to the Census Bureau: 1868

Length of the gold-plated tape measure that was presented to New York Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle in 1956 to honor his longest home run: 600 feet

Source: Census Bureau.

Percentage of consumers who are already accessing movies and television via "cord cutting" (the act of utilizing digital distribution platforms over or in addition to cable or satellite services), according to Zogby Analytics survey commissioned by CALinnovates: 44

Percentage of consumers who believe that cable or satellite TV service will remain in wide use in 2020: 42

Source: Zogby International.

Idle Thought

"No one has ever become poor by giving." -- Anne Frank, Holocaust diarist

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

Percentage of workers who said multiple people talking at the same time is the most annoying behavior on conference calls, according to a new OfficeTeam survey: 37

Percentage who cited excessive background noise: 24

Percentage of workers who said that attendees not paying attention was most annoying: 9

Source: OfficeTeam.

Number of text messages that are exchanged by Americans every minute, according to CTIA -- The Wireless Association: 3.6 million

Estimated number of videos and photos that are exchanged every minute: 300,000

Source: CTIA -- The Wireless Association.

Estimated number of new cars and trucks that will be delivered to customers this year, the highest number recorded since 2005, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association: 17 million

Average out-the-door cost of a new vehicle, about $1,000 higher than it was a year ago, according to Kelley Blue Book: $33,340

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of Americans who are satisfied with their jobs, according to a survey from Ipsos Public Affairs' Omnibus Division: 85

Percentage of men who would like a more appropriate salary (compared to 34 percent of women): 27

Percentage who would like more benefits, compared to 19 percent of women: 17

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

When asked about the types of changes that must be made to the traditional curriculum, percentage of more than 23,000 Laureate students and more than 4,000 non-Laureate students in 22 countries who responded that innovations in higher education -- such as career-oriented education, lifelong learning, paid apprenticeships and courses taught by employers -- would help achieve their career goals, according to the 2015 Laureate/Zogby Student Survey: 66

Percentage of students who said that universities should work directly with employers to help teach students the skills they need to be successful: 93

Source: Laureate Education Inc.

Year that Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, was founded, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1636

Year it opened the first dental school associated with a medical school: 1867

Today, number of dental schools at universities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico: 65

Number of dental offices today, employing over 880,000 people: 134,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who have at least one pet in their household, with ownership highest among the two youngest generations tested (65 percent among millennials, 71 percent among Generation X), according to the results of a Harris Poll: 62

Percentage of all pet owners who consider their pets to be members of the family: 95

Source: The Harris Poll.

Number of guns per 100 people in the United States, or about 270 million guns, which is the highest total and per capita number in the world, according to ProCon.org: 88.8

Percentage of Americans who own one or more guns (35 percent of men, and 12 percent of women): 22

Source: ProCon.org.

Estimated percentage of all high school students who have sent or received a "sext," according to TeenSafe: 40

Percentage of boys who say the reason for sexting is to initiate sex: 77

Percentage of girls who say sexting is humorous: 40

Source: TeenSafe.

Projected value of the augmented and virtual reality devices business by 2018, according to CCS Insight: $4 billion

Number of virtual and augmented reality devices that are expected to be sold this year: 2.5 million

Number of these devices that are expected to be sold in 2018: 24 million

Source: CCS Insight.

Idle Thought

"I feel fairly certain that my hatred harms me more than the people whom I hate." -- Max Frisch, architect, playwright and novelist

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

Number of months the average vacationer typically saves for before they take their vacation, according to a survey by RetailMeNot.com: 5

Number of months in advance they typically book their trips: 3

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of companies that report their employees are less loyal today than they were five years ago, according to a survey by the American Management Association: 52

Percentage of companies that are committed to developing and retaining employees: 32

Source: American Management Association.

Percentage of global employees who believe that a person's employability is their own responsibility, according to a 34-country survey by Randstad: 75

Percentage who believe in lifelong learning, regardless of age: 92

Percentage who believe improving competencies and refreshing skills will enhance employability: 82

Source: Randstad.

Percentage of content we retain when presented with it orally and visually, according to a Lab42 study: 50

Amount we retain when it is just presented orally: 10

Source: Lab42.

Percentage of Americans who believe in UFOs, according to a survey by Ipsos: 56

Percentage who believe that life on other planets is plausible: 78

Percentage of Americans who believe that "life on Earth" came about through natural processes following observable rules of biology and physics -- i.e., "evolution": 65

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Year that sliced bread, wrapped for sale in wax paper, first appeared on store shelves in Chillicothe, Missouri, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1928

Decade it became obvious that the convenience of sliced bread was spreading nationally: 1930s

Number of commercial bakeries across the U.S., employing over 118,000 workers: 2,600

Estimated amount of "dough" these establishments make annually: $30 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of airing one's emotional drama, too many selfies and being asked to unfriend your ex as the three biggest social media turnoffs, according to a survey by Match.com: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of single men who have posted a selfie in the last year: 44

Percentage of single women: 53

Source: Match.com.

Percentage of American adults who participated in some form of athletic activity throughout their schooling years, according to results of a Harris Poll: 73

Among those who participated in an athletic program, percentage who say it was influential in their current level of personal fulfillment: 77

Percentage of respondents who feel their participation in athletic activities was important in providing them with skills to work toward common goals: 69

Percentage who say it helped them to have a disciplined approach to problem-solving: 65

Percentage who say athletics was important in helping them with flexibility in work situations and creative problem-solving: 60

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of parents who say they frequently feel tired, according to a survey by Care.com: 45

Percentage who say they feel stressed: 40

Percentage who say they never feel rested: 10

Source: Care.com.

Percentage of men who have access to paternity leave with some pay from their employers, according to Insure.com: 14

Percentage of American adults who believe businesses should be required to give paid family leave: 77

Source: Insure.com.

Idle Thought

"How simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten." -- Daphne du Maurier, novelist

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