Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of people who spend their time on "have-to-do" activities, compared to only 33 percent who focus on "want-to-do" activities, according to a survey by Safeco Insurance: 67

Percentage who feel that they successfully manage their time and complete daily to-do lists: 33

Ranks of overeating to cope, withdrawing from other people and becoming angry with others on the list of negative behaviors that result from not having enough hours in the day to get through everything: 1, 2 (tie)

Source: Safeco Insurance.

Percentage of Americans who say they have tried marijuana, according to a Gallup Poll: 44

In 1969, percentage who admitted to having tried it: 4

Date when Oregon joined Colorado, Alaska, Washington and the District of Columbia in making recreational use of marijuana legal: July 1, 2015

When asked more directly if they smoke marijuana now, percentage of Americans who say they do, up from 7 percent in 2013: 11

Source: Gallup Organization.

Ranks of feeling guilt or shame after shopping, hiding purchases from their families, and checking available credit at least once a week on the list of warning signs of shopaholism, according to a CreditDonkey.com survey: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of Americans who said they almost always or frequently purchase things just because they're on sale: 31

Percentage who said they have frequent arguments over money: 18.5

Source: CreditDonkey.com.

Percentage of the Americans who use social media who have posted or texted something that they regret afterward, according to a new YouGov Omnibus survey: 57

Percentage who regret a post at least once a week: 16

Of all U.S. adults who have had a social media regret, percentage who said they didn't properly consider a response and sounded foolish: 36

Percentage who said they made a comment in the heat of the moment and offended a friend: 15

Source: YouGov.

When asked how soon into a relationship they would be willing to travel with their partner's family, percentage who said they would wait more than a year, according to the results of a study by Expedia and Tinder: 36

Percentage of Americans who felt it would be appropriate to wait more than a year to share a room with their partner when traveling with that partner's parents, versus only 7 percent who would do so within the first month: 43

Source: Expedia.

Ranks of burgers, steak, chicken, and hot dogs on the list of the top items Americans love off the grill, according to a Harris Poll: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of soda/pop, iced tea, beer, lemonade and water on the list of favorite beverages (chosen by Americans 21 and older) on the list of favorite beverages to wash down grilled items: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of Americans who have "no idea" what computer memory is (ironically, as computer memory is essentially what allows Americans to perform many of the everyday digital tasks they rely on to be productive, such as browsing the Web, using Word/Excel, having multiple programs open, etc.), according to data released by Crucial.com: 75

Percentage of Americans who feel confident about fixing their computer should a problem arise: 37

Source: Crucial.com.

Percentage of OTT users ("over the top," which refers to audio and video service delivered over the Internet) aged 18 to 24 who use an OTT video service paid for by someone outside the home, the highest of any age group, according to TDG's research: 20

Percentage of OTT subscribers aged 25 to 34 who admit to this behavior: 10

Percentage of Netflix streamers who are guilty of using nonresident credentials, compared with only 10 percent of Amazon Prime streamers: 20

Source: TDG.

Rank of Bill and Melinda Gates on a Wealth-X list of the world's wealthiest couples with a combined net worth of $85.7 billion: 1

Year that they set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gives primarily to agricultural development, health, educational and other social causes: 2000

Source: Wealth-X.

Percentage of consumers who stopped buying from a company out of disagreement with a controversial stand, according to a Field Agent report: 45

Source: Field Agent.

Idle Thought

"My life is my message." -- Mahatma Gandhi

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

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.)