Number of hours the average worker in the United States works each year, according to YouGov's latest research: 1,789

Number of hours the average worker in the United Kingdom works each year: 1,677

Number of hours the average worker in Germany works each year (lowest average in the developed world): 1,371

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of octogenarians who say their financial well-being was among the most important factors when deciding when to retire, according to a survey of octogenarians conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of New York Life: 68

Percentage who cited their health: 53

Percentage who cited their age: 42

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Negative impact on the lodging industry and the broader economy of New York City over the course of the last year caused by Airbnb's operations, according to a report by the Hotel Association of New York City: $2.1 billion

Source: Hotel Association of New York City Inc.

Percentage of U.S. adults who now have a cellphone of some kind, according to a Pew Research Center report: 92

Percentage of those cellphone owners who say that their phone is frequently with them: 90

Percentage who say they rarely turn it off: 45

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

Of Americans who did not identify themselves as "highly efficient," percentage who say that efficient people make them jealous, according to data released by Crucial.com: 33

Percentage of women who credited time management as their top reason for efficiency: 44

Rank of the ability to use technology and having their gadgets/technology working properly on the list of reasons men credit for their efficiency: 1

Source: Crucial.com.

Percentage of computer repair calls that are caused by Windows 10, according to the 2015 Q3 Computer Repair Report by RESCUECOM: 56

Percentage that are caused by viruses, spyware and malware: 11.3

Source: RESCUECOM.

Percentage of administrative workers who said they have skills that are not being tapped, according to a survey by OfficeTeam and the International Association of Administrative Professionals: 50

Ranks of event planning (78 percent) and controlling costs (66 percent) on the list of the top areas where administrative workers say they've been asked for help: 1, 2

Source: OfficeTeam.

Year that the first medical school for women opened in Boston, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1848

At the time, number of students enrolled: 12

Today in the U.S., percentage of all college students who are female: 56

Percentage of the doctorates in health professions awarded each year that are earned by women: 58

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of questions sent via Twitter that retailers were able to answer, according to research from Eptica: 20

Percentage of questions sent via Facebook they were able to answer: 54

Percentage of emails to which they replied successfully: 73

On average, number of times faster than social media that email responses were answered: 3

Source: Eptica.

Percentage of business-to-business marketing and sales executives globally who cited the sales process (making sure salespeople know what to do and how to do it when it comes to managing accounts and opportunities) as the area in which their company spends the most time and budget, according to a survey by Corporate Visions: 34

Percentage who said product training (reps are taught to know their solutions' capabilities and features in a way that makes them an expert source) is the area where their company spends the most time and budget: 27

Source: Corporate Visions Inc.

Idle Thought

"Who, being loved, is poor?" -- Oscar Wilde

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

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

Percentage who regret a post at least once a week: 17

Percentage who are afraid they may hurt relationships with family or partners by sharing misguided images or messages: 14

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of Americans who find things like research and handling travel logistics for a vacation stressful, according to a survey of Princess Cruises: 50

Percentage who say they return from vacation needing a vacation: 55

Source: Princess Cruises.

Amount the average holiday shopper plans to spend per gift this year, according to the annual holiday shopping survey by RetailMeNot: $141

Average number of people for whom they will buy gifts: 8

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of Americans who say that they currently own stocks, defined here not as shares in mutual funds, but direct shares of companies, according to a survey of U.S. adults conducted on behalf of Fletcher Group LLC: 28

Among those who say that they do not currently own stocks, percentage who say that this is because they don't currently hold any investments: 39

Percentage who admit that they do not currently own stocks because they don't know how to go about buying them: 28

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of parents who are unaware that car crashes are the biggest threat to their teens' safety, according to a National Safety Council survey: 76

Percentage of parents who said they believe drugs and alcohol, bullying and the Internet are teens' most significant safety threats: 76

Percentage of parents who correctly pointed to lack of experience or poor decision-making as leading crash factors: 72

Source: National Safety Council.

Estimated number of people who are currently on the waiting list to receive a lifesaving organ transplant, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 120,000

Number of lives that could be saved by one organ donor: 8

Number of people who are dying each day while waiting: 22

Source: The Harris Poll.

In 2015, percentage of Americans who reported that they or a household member had credit card information stolen by hackers (down from 27 percent in 2014), according to a Gallup Poll: 22

Percentage of victims of credit card theft who say they worry frequently about the crime: 53

Percentage of non-victims who worry frequently about credit card theft: 29

Source: Gallup.

Year that President Abraham Lincoln finally proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving: 1863.

Ranks of Christmas and Thanksgiving on the list of America's favorite holidays: 1, 2

Approximate percentage of Americans who eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day, according to a National Turkey Federation survey: 88

Source: CNN Money.

Year that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was certified, prohibiting discrimination based on gender with regard to voting -- extending the right to vote to women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1920

Year that American women exercised their new right for the first time in a presidential election: 1920

In the 2012 presidential election, percentage of women who voted, compared with just under 60 percent for men: 63.7

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Expected percentage rise in health care benefit costs in 2016, according to a new survey by the National Business Group on Health: 6

Percentage of employers who have curbed cost increases by focusing on employee wellness: 70

Source: National Business Group on Health.

Idle Thought

"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not." -- Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

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

Percentage of the U.S. workforce that is out on family or medical leave on any given day, according to a survey by ComPsych: 10

Average time off on FMLA: 14.2 days

Ranks of surgery, pregnancy and bonding with a new child as the top three reasons for family or medical leave: 1, 2, 3

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Percentage of Americans who think it is unacceptable for employers to fire people for doing something that is not illegal outside of work, according to a survey by YouGov: 54

Percentage of Americans who say they have been fired or otherwise lost their job at some point: 37

Percentage who said they deserved it: 27

Source: YouGov.

Of workers who currently have a minimum-wage job or have held one in the past, percentage who said they couldn't make ends meet, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 65

Percentage who said they had to work more than one job to make ends meet: 49

Percentage of workers at all salary levels who were not able to make ends meet during the past year: 19

Percentage of all workers who say they're in debt: 65

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Year over year percentage increase in average holiday gift purchases by the wealthiest 10 percent of U.S. households, according to a survey by the American Affluence Research Center: 4

Estimated total gift purchases by these affluent households: $33 billion

Average holiday gift purchases estimated for each of the affluent households: $2,749

Average holiday gift purchases estimated for the average U.S. household: $687

Source: American Affluence Research Center.

Percentage of Americans who said "they were more scared of outliving their assets than they were of dying": 61

Percentage of people between the ages of 44 and 49 who said the same: 77

Percentage of those in their late 40s who had dependents who said the same: 82

Source: Convergex.

Ranks of Stephen King, James Patterson, J.K. Rowling and John Grisham on the list of America's favorite authors, according to a Harris poll: 1, 2, 3, 4

When asked which types of books (from a provided list) they've read over the last year, percentage of Americans who indicate that they've been filling their book bags with mystery, thriller and crime novels: 47

Percentage who have been flipping through history books: 33

Percentage who have been reading biographies/memoirs: 31

Percentage who enjoyed romance novels: 27

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of non-IT professionals who say the technology field holds appeal for them, according to a Robert Half Technology survey: 75

Percentage who say what attracts them is the salary potential and job opportunities: 38

Percentage who said the appealing culture: 13

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Percentage of millennials (those born in the early 1980s to the early 2000s) who say they are "concerned" about their delay in saving and investing for retirement: 40

Percentage of millennials who have delayed the purchase of a home: 29

Percentage who have postponed a major purchase, such as an automobile: 26

Percentage who have had to return home to live with their parents: 19

Source: Investor Protection Institute.

Percentage of organizations that are in the process of transitioning their business-to-business payments from paper checks to electronic payments, according to research by the Association for Financial Professionals: 80

Percentage of organizations that would replace paper checks with electronic payments if there was a cost benefit of doing so: 66

Source: Association for Financial Professionals.

Idle Thought

"Be not too hasty to trust or admire the teachers of morality; they discourse like angels but they live like men." -- Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

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