Rank of "The Bank of Mom and Dad" at 32 percent on the list of major sources of college funding, according to "How America Pays for College 2015," the national study from Sallie Mae and Ipsos: 1

Ranks of scholarships and grants (30 percent), student borrowing (16 percent), student income and savings (11 percent), parent borrowing (6 percent) and contributions from relatives and friends (5 percent) on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of employees who plan to work longer than the current retirement age in their country, according to a 34-country survey by Randstad: 77

Percentage of employers who believe workers 55 and older are less productive than workers under 35, despite studies showing them to be as productive: 37

Percentage who believe there is more absenteeism among older workers, despite studies showing there is less absenteeism: 36

Source: Randstad.

Percentage of employers who say the No. 1 behavior that hurts an employee's chances for promotion is having a negative or pessimistic attitude, according to a survey by Weber Shandwick: 62

Ranks of regularly showing up to work late and using vulgar language: 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of people who say they'd prefer to kiss their pet over their significant other, according to a Skout survey taken in honor of International Kissing Day: 19

Percentage of people say they'd prefer to kiss their pet rather than family or friends: 43

Source: Skout.

Percentage of Americans, who consider themselves to be "haves" in U.S. society, according to a Gallup Poll: 58

Percentage who put themselves in the "have-not" group: 38

Percentage of Americans who say they do not think of U.S. society as being divided into groups of haves and have-nots: 54

Source: Gallup Organization.

During the Labor Day weekend, percentage of consumers who plan on relaxing at home, according to a Retailmenot.com survey: 64

Defeating the purpose of the holiday, percentage of employed Americans who will spend Labor Day weekend catching up on work: 14

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

In 2013, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags, the vast majority of this amount ($3.9 million) for U.S. flags made in China, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: $4 million

Dollar value of trade in 2013 between the United States and the United Kingdom, making the British, our adversary in 1776, our seventh-leading trading partner today: $100 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of the U.S. population who are now listening to music online, according to Nielsen research: 79

Percentage of those who pay for streaming services, and are more likely to buy the album than free-streamers (6 percent): 14

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of Americans who say that the statement "I am concerned about the planet we are leaving behind for future generations" describes them completely or very well; according to the results of a Harris Poll: 44

Percentage of respondents who say the current focus on the environment in our society is not going far enough: 56

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of North American male senior executives who say they aspire to be a top leader of a large company some day, according to a survey of people working in large companies by Weber Shandwick: 22

Percentage of North American female senior executives who said the same: 9

According to the senior executives polled, the percentage of large companies with a female CEO: 23

Actual number that have a female CEO: 8

Source: Weber Shandwick.

Idle Thought

"Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time rich and cash poor." -- Cory Doctorow, author and journalist

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

Average hourly wage for manufacturing jobs, according to the Manufacturing Institute: $34

Percentage of parents who think the average hourly wage for manufacturing jobs is $22 an hour or less, according to a survey conducted for the Alcoa Foundation in partnership with the nonprofit SkillsUSA: 89

Rank of manufacturing workers on the list of workers with the highest job tenure in the private sector: 1

Source: SkillsUSA.

Percentage of Americans who say two is the ideal number of children for a family to have, according to Gallup: 48

When Gallup asked why couples aren't having more kids, percentage of Americans, whether with or without children, who cited the costs associated with raising a child: 65

Average cost of raising a child from birth to age 18 (up from $198,560 in 1960), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture: $245,340

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of students who say they exclusively prefer print course materials because of the usability and familiarity of print (despite a likely higher price tag), according to the National Association of College Stores: 46

Source: NACS.

Percentage of Americans who do not know the combined total credit limit of their credit cards, according to a survey conducted by LendingTree: 42

Percentage who do not know the highest annual percentage rate of their credit cards: 58

Percentage of card-carrying Americans who pay credit card interest without even knowing what the interest payments are: 20

Source: Lending Tree.

Percentage of parents who say they are looking forward to children getting back to school, according to a survey by RetailMeNot.com: 90

Percentage who are looking forward to the extra time to themselves: 36

Percentage who are eager to return to a more routine budget: 36

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Estimated number of miles Americans have driven over the last 12 months, according to Convergex: 3.1 trillion

Estimated number of round trips to the sun (93 million miles away) this represents: 15,000

Averaging 3.1 trillion miles per year, the number of years it would take to reach the nearest star: 8

Source: Convergex.

Percentage of convenience store retailers who say they sell fresh fruits and vegetables, according to NACS member survey: 77

Percentage who sell packaged salads: 57

Percentage growth in the sales of fresh fruits and vegetables in convenience stores -- nearly four times the overall 2.7 percent growth rate of produce sales in the United States in 2014, according to Nielsen data: 10.3

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Year that the U.S. Postal Service issued the first stamps -- before which there were no uniform stamps, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1847

Year that the Postal Service introduced the ZIP code to help speed mail service: 1963

That year, number of pieces of mail the service handled: 68 billion

Number of pieces of mail handled annually today: 155 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Among Americans with children under 18 at home during the summer months, percentage who say their children consume more movies, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 53

Percentage of these parents who say their children watch more television during the summer: 52

According to parents, ranks of playing outdoors and swimming among their children's most enjoyed summer activities: 1, 2

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of households with school-age children who plan to spend the same amount or more than last year for back-to-school supplies, according to Meijer survey results: 75

Percentage of students who will be helping with school expenses (up from 33 percent in 2014): 40

Source: Meijer.

Idle Thought

"Every student needs someone who says, simply, "You mean something. You count." -- Tony Kushner, playwright

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

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.)