Figuratively Speaking

Number of nationalities attending the autumn feast at Plymouth Colony, which is widely believed to be one of the first Thanksgivings: 2

Number of U.S. residents of English ancestry as of 2014: 24.4 million

Number of members of the Wampanoag American Indian tribal grouping, as of 2010, roughly half of whom reside in Massachusetts: 6,500

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Male turkeys are called "toms," and since 1950, the number of quarterbacks who are 5-1 on Thanksgiving, according to NFL Communications: 3 (Tom Brady, Tom Flores and Tommy Kramer)

Speed at which a turkey can run: 25 miles per hour

Speed at which Dri Archer of the Pittsburgh Steelers can run: 19.4 mph

Weight of the heaviest turkey: 86 pounds

Weight of the heaviest NFL player (Aaron Gibson): 410 pounds

Source: NFL.com.

Number of people who have died since 2006 in Black Friday shopping-related incidents, according to the cheerfully titled blackfridaydeathcount.com: 7

Number of reported injuries: 98

Source: blackfridaydeathcount.com.

Average weight of a male wild turkey, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation: 16 to 24 pounds

Average weight of the female: 8 to 10 pounds

Weights of Popcorn and Caramel, the two turkeys pardoned by President Barack Obama, according to the White House: 37-plus pounds each

Estimated amount of money Americans are expected to shell out for Thanksgiving to stock up on turkey, stuffing, potatoes and other holiday staples, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture: $2.4 billion

Source: Andrew Soergel/U.S. News and World Report.

Percentage of legal drinking-age Americans who associate watching football with drinking alcohol, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 84

Ranks of football, baseball, hockey, auto racing and horse racing on the list of sports that legal drinking-age Americans associate with one or more alcoholic beverage types: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of beer as the beverage of choice for football, baseball, car racing and hockey: 1

Percentage of horse racing fans whose first choice is spirits/liquor: 25

Percentage of tennis fans who opt for wine as their first choice: 19

Source: The Harris Poll.

When asked to indicate which fashion "rules" they consciously follow, percentage of U.S. adults who report that they don't wear socks with sandals, according to data from YouGov: 47

Percentage of women who say they don't mix the two: 60

Percentage of women who report they typically avoid wearing stockings or socks with open-toe shoes: 47

Ultimately, percentage of men (and 22 percent of women) who say they don't consciously follow any fashion rules: 46

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of U.S. adults who plan to make all of their holiday purchases by the end of November, according to a CreditCards.com report: 25

Percentage of adults with children under age 18 who have already bought at least one holiday gift: 19

Source: creditcards.com.

Percentage of parents who find that technology increases their child's curiosity about the environment around them, according to a survey from Sprout: 71

Percentage who say technology helps their children explore the world by introducing them to new cultures: 66

Percentage who feel tech enhances their child's development and learning: 62

Source: Sprout.

When asked what percentage of their holiday shopping will take place using a mobile device, percentage who believe that they will make less than 20 percent of all their purchases using their phones and/or tablets: 23

Percentage who estimate they will make between 21 percent and 40 percent of their purchases online: 13

Percentage who say that 41 to 60 percent of their total holiday shopping will be completed using a mobile device: 11

Source: Offers.com.

When it comes to holiday cards, ranks of handwritten notes, family photos and homemade cards on the list of ways that make holiday cards stand out, according to a survey by Ipsos: 1 (tie), 3

Ranks of room decor, party games, and cocktail bar or themed cocktails on the list of features that are seen to make for an unforgettable party: 1, 2 (tie)

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Idle Thought

"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." -- Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859), poet

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

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.)