Figuratively Speaking

When asked if they tend to prepare for things or improvise as needed, percentage of U.S. adult women who said they prepare, according to data from YouGov: 74

Percentage of their male counterparts who agreed: 60

Percentage of women who have more respect for a person who prepares for a job interview than someone able to improvise her way through one: 60

When asked to recall their time at school, percentage of women who said they always studied before a test or exam, compared to just 26 percent of men: 43

Source: YouGov.

Rank in the world of American schoolchildren on international tests, according to American Federation for Children: 17

Rate at which a student drops out of high school: every 42 seconds

Percentage of fourth-graders who are proficient in reading: 36

Percentage who are proficient in math: 40

Percentage of 12th-graders who are proficient in reading: 37

Percentage who are proficient in math: 25

Amount that families spend annually on remedial coursework: $1.3 billion

Source: American Federation for Children.

Percentage of Americans who consider themselves "entrepreneurs," according to a study by Ipsos for Entrepreneur magazine's November issue: 22

Percentage of men who consider themselves entrepreneurial: 29

Percentage of women who consider themselves entrepreneurial: 16

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of managers who say their company is very supportive of its employees' efforts to achieve work-life balance, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 64

Percentage of employees who agree that their company is supportive of work-life balance: 34

Source: OfficeTeam.

After Donald Trump's surprise defeat of Hillary Clinton, percentage of Americans who say they accept Trump as the legitimate president, according to a Gallup poll: 84

Among Clinton voters, percentage who accept Trump: 76

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage more likely that students with a grade point average above 3.0 who lose $1,000 to $1,500 in financial aid are to drop out of school than their peers who have little or no change in aid, according to an analysis released by the Education Advisory Board: 2.5

Percentage more likely that students who lose $10,000 in aid are to drop out than their peers: 19

Source: EAB.

Average amount that consumers expect to spend this holiday season, according to WalletHub: $935

Estimated amount of annual consumer credit card debt acquired in 2016: $80 billion

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of U.S. adults who believe in God (up from 74 percent in 2013), according to results of a Harris poll: 76

Percentage of U.S. teens who believe in God (down from 80 percent in 2013): 77

Percentage of Americans who believe in the devil (59 percent teens, 58 percent adults): 58.5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of Americans who said children should begin receiving money for chores completed, allowance or "free" financial support between the ages of 8 and 10, according to the Country Financial Security Index: 38

Looking beyond chores, percentage of parents who said they bought their child a gift to reward them for good behavior: 61

Percentage who said they gave their child money for good grades: 47

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of attorneys who cited an increase in divorce cases among couples more than 50 years of age, according to a recent survey of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers: 64

Ranks of alimony, retirement accounts and pensions, and business interests on the list of the top three items most commonly fought over during these cases: 1, 2, 3

Source: American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Year that Edward Brooke became the nation's first African-American to win election to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1966

Since his defeat in a bid for a third term in 1978, number of blacks the chamber has seated, one of whom cut his term short to become president: 6

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"Don't be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value." -- Arthur Miller, playwright and essayist

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

Percentage of people who report concern about affording holiday and birthday gifts for their families, according to a study conducted by ClearVoice Research and commissioned by OfferUp: 24

Percentage who want their kids to be popular and believe having brand names is a part of that: 15

Percentage who think buying brand-new items for their kids is important because they don't want to be perceived as poor: 12

Source: Clear Voice Research.

Number of Americans who are self-employed, about 10 percent of the active workforce, according to Pew Research Center: 14.6 million

Number of people who worked for those self-employed people, accounting for 44 million jobs, or 30 percent of the national workforce: 29.4 million

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

Ranks of resume customized to their open position, skill sets listed first on the resume, a cover letter included with the resume and an application addressed to the specific hiring manager on the list of things that HR managers say make them more likely to pay attention to an application, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of people who still like to do the bulk of their holiday shopping in stores, according to creditcards.com: 58

Percentage who favor computers: 21

Percentage who prefer mobile devices: 11

Source: Creditcards.com.

Percentage of Americans -- representing more than 7 million drivers -- who reported falling asleep behind the wheel within the past two weeks, according to The National Sleep Foundation's recent fielding of the Sleep Health Index: 3

Percentage of respondents who reported having avoided driving in the past two weeks because of feeling tired: 8

Number of annual deaths attributed to drowsy driving: 6,400

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Year that the Rensselaer School in Troy, New York, now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was founded as the nation's first engineering school, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1824

Year that its first 10 students graduated with an engineering degree: 1826.

Today, estimated number of engineering service firms in the nation, employing over 1 million people: 59,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank of broad daylight on the list of times when most burglaries occur, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics: 1

Ranks of the front door, the back door and a first-floor window on the list of the most common points of entry: 1, 2, 3

Average loss for homeowners, including cash, valuables and damage to property: $2,230

Estimated number of burglaries that occur every day, approximately one burglary every 15 seconds: 5,800

Percentage of all property crimes committed in the United States that are accounted for by burglary: 23.4

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Age that Americans say kids are ready to be home alone, according to a Harris Poll: 13.5

Age that Americans feel kids are ready for their first one-on-one date: 16

Age that Americans say kids are ready for their first kiss: 15

Age that Americans say kids need the "sex talk," a year earlier than they were given the chat themselves: 12.3

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of attorneys who said legal disputes between unmarried couples who had previously lived together are on the rise during the past three years, according to a survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers: 45

Percentage of the attorneys who also noted a decrease in cohabitation agreements being drawn up between same-sex partners since same-sex marriage has been legalized: 70

Source: American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Percentage of managers who say they are satisfied with their job, up from 55 percent in 2012, according to a survey by the Global Wellness Institute: 67

Percentage who believe in their organization's values: 76

Percentage who feel fairly treated by their employer: 61

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Idle Thought

"When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set." -- Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976)

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

Rank of "having pride in one's organization" on the list of drivers of happiness for workers (those who feel proud of their organization are three times more likely to be happy than those who are not), according to the findings of a study of U.S. workers by Robert Half in collaboration with world-renowned happiness and well-being expert Nic Marks: 1

Ranks of "feeling appreciated" and "being treated with fairness and respect" on the list: 2, 3

Ranks of "a sense of accomplishment," "interesting and meaningful work" and "positive workplace relationships" on the list: 4, 5, 6

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of parents who believe kids should get an allowance for doing chores, according to a survey from Country Financial: 68

Percentage of parents who say they learned about money on their own: 50

Source: Country Financial.

Ranks of eyesight getting poorer, not being as mentally alert/memory loss, lack of energy, having trouble taking care of themselves physically, and losing mobility/unable to walk or drive on the list of the top five physical conditions that people worry most about having, either now or as they age, according to a GfK survey conducted across 17 countries: 1 (tie), 3, 4, 5

Source: GfK Media.

Number of Americans age 65 and older in 1967, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 19.1 million

Number age 65 and older in 2016: 46.2 million

U.S. life expectancy at birth in 1967: 70.5 years

Life expectancy at birth in 2016: 78.8 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of girls who wear makeup who rarely/never leave the house without it, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Renfrew Center: 27

Ranks of home, pool or beach, and gym on the list of places that makeup-wearing girls felt were acceptable to be seen without makeup: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of a friend's house and school on the list of places that were deemed least acceptable: 1, 2

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of workers who feel their job or industry is too specialized to easily convey to others, according to a survey from Spherion Staffing: 31

Percentage of workers who feel their professional and personal networks would find their job boring if they accurately described it: 27

Percentage who feel that pop culture significantly shapes others' perceptions of their job, as friends and family may equate them with someone they've seen in a mainstream medium: 31

Source: Spherion.

Percentage interest charged by the average store card, much higher than the national average for all credit cards (15.22 percent), according to a CreditCards.com report: 23.84

Ranks of Big Lots (29.99 percent), Zales (29.24 percent) and Staples (28.24 percent) on the list of store-branded credit cards that are charging the highest interest rates: 1, 2, 3

Source: Creditcards.com.

Within the American workforce, median hourly earnings earned by Asian men, the highest amount, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly wages that includes full- and part-time workers: $24

In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rate among adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, versus 5 percent among adults with only a high school diploma: 2.5%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of family caregivers who are either working full time or part time who have missed work in the past 12 months, according to a Caring.com report: 79

Percentage who have missed at least seven days: 31

Source: Caring.com.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have spilled a drink in the past year, according to a survey from Contigo: 66

Percentage of Americans who would give up social media to be spill-free for a month: 20

Percentage of Americans that frequently spill who blame it on multitasking: 33

Source: Contigo.

Idle Thought

"It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." -- George H. Lorimer, editor

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