Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of Americans who prefer to keep to themselves during a flight, according to an Expedia survey: 90

Percentage who would rather sleep than talk to other passengers: 69

Percentage of people who agree it's OK to wake snoring passengers: 54

Source: Expedia.

Ranks of being intelligent and being responsible on the list of traits Americans find favorable, according to an Ipsos survey: 1 (tie)

Ranks of taking care of others, being creative or innovative, being self-reliant, being independent, avoiding debt, and caring for the well-being of future generations on the list: 3 (tie), 5 , 6 (tie), 8

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of a more positive mood, having more energy, being more motivated and feeling less stressed on the list of the positive effects of taking vacation time, according to results of a survey of working adults conducted by the American Psychological Association: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Percentage of working adults who reported that they were more productive following time off: 58

Percentage who said their work quality was better: 55

Source: American Psychological Association.

As summer kicks into high gear, percentage of professionals with children who say stress at home may trump stress at work -- that their kids are harder to manage than their employees, according to a Korn Ferry survey: 68

Percentage of professionals with kids at home who say they or their spouse alter their work hours to care for children: 46

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Ranks of emotional strength, interest in sports, willingness to throw a punch if provoked, ability to join in when other men are talking about women in a sexual way and to have had many sexual partners on the list of pressures men say they face, according to a Pew Research survey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.

Ranks of the weather, money, delays, theft and illness on the list of vacation travelers' worries this year, according to a survey by WalletHub: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of people who think travel is worth getting into debt for: 35

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who don't know how much money they'll need to save for retirement, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 61

Median amount among respondents who do have an estimate: $650,000

Number of Americans who say they never plan to retire, including 9 percent of both millennials (ages 18 to 37) and baby boomers (ages 54 to 72): 19 million

Source: Bankrate.com.

While nearly seven in 10 Americans (68 percent) said they feel happy about their financial situation at least sometimes, percentage who consistently experience a range of negative emotions such as anxiety: 54

Percentage who feel it all the time: 25

Percentage who feel insecure (25 percent all the time): 52

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

In 2017, number of acres of trees lost in the world's tropical forests, the second worst year in history (behind only 2016): 39 million

Source: Global Forest Watch Report, June 2018.

Percentage of Americans who say they went to vacation bible school growing up, according to a survey by LifeWay Research: 60

Percentage of American parents who say they plan to send kids to VBS this summer -- even if they skip church themselves: 64

Source: LifeWay Research.

Idle Thought

"While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery." -- Groucho Marx

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

Percentage of those who receive paid vacation time who believe they'll use all the allotted time this year, according to a Bankrate.com report: 36

Percentage who think they'll use a quarter of their days or less, including 13 percent who receive paid vacation time but don't think they'll use any of it: 26

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of American homeowners who say they feel when their home is organized that their life is organized, according to a new MasterBrand Cabinets home organization survey conducted by Wakefield Research: 95

Percentage who report they can't relax if their kitchen is a mess: 81

Percentage of respondents who report that they enjoy cooking or preparing meals more in a put-together space: 64

Source: MasterBrand Cabinets Inc.

Forecasted demand for U.S. bottled water in 2022, according to Bottled Water: United States, a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports: 16.9 billion gallons

Source: The Freedonia Group.

Percentage of businesses that hired workers in the past year specifically for their technical skills, according to a survey conducted by Clutch: 45

Percentage of businesses that have laid off employees due to new technology: 10

Percentage that have outsourced work: 18

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of working adults who say the positive effects of vacation time -- such as more energy and feeling less stress -- disappear immediately upon returning to work, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association: 24

Percentage who said the benefits last only a few days: 40

Source: American Psychological Association.

Percentage of professionals from varying industries who said they'd leave a job if it wasn't a good fit, even if they didn't have another position lined up, according to a Korn-Ferry survey: 26

Percentage of professionals who said that if they personally accepted a job that they ended up not liking, even though it paid well, they would leave as soon as they found a new job: 82

Percentage who said challenging and rewarding work is what keeps them on the job: 70

Source: Korn-Ferry International.

Projected date of Earth Overshoot Day -- defined as the day when humanity's annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth's ecosystems can regenerate in that year -- the earliest date since the world first went into overshoot in the early 1970s, according to the Global Footprint Network: Aug. 1, 2018

In other words, number of times faster that humanity is currently using nature than ecosystems can regenerate: 1.7

Source: Global Footprint Network.

While 85 percent of Americans say they know how to eat right, percentage who flunked a basic quiz on dietary facts and weight loss, according to the MDVIP Fat IQ Survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs: 56

Percentage of American adults who are currently over their ideal weight: 82

When it comes to shedding excess pounds, percentage of Americans who say that hearing from a doctor that they need to lose weight would motivate them: 83

Yet, percentage of Americans who say they've actually asked their primary care doctor for weight-loss help or advice: 20

Source: MDVIP Media Relations.

Percentage of credit card users (about 43 million Americans) who have wrongly carried a balance to help improve their credit scores, according to CreditCards.com report: 22

Percentage who confess to paying a credit card bill late, including 24 percent who have done so more than once: 42

Percentage who say they've done so because didn't have enough money to pay on time: 35

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of executives at middle market companies who say the health of their company is strong, according to the findings of a survey conducted for Citigroup Inc.: 84

Percentage who believe their company is better off today than a year ago: 70

Percentage who believe their company has experienced increases in sales: 77

Source: Citigroup.

Idle Thought

"If all men knew what others say of them, there would not be four friends in the world." -- Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662)

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

Percentage of millennials (aged 18 to 37) who say they usually leave nothing as a tip for a server when dining out at a restaurant, compared to 3 percent of those who are older, according to a CreditCards.com report: 10

Percentage who decline to leave any amount when presented with pre-entered tipping options in a taxi/Uber/Lyft, at a food truck, at a coffee shop, etc., versus 12 percent of older adults: 18

Percentage who normally tip below 20 percent at restaurants, compared with less than half of those ages 38 and older: 63

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of Chicago residents who enjoy the taste of ice cream, though not all understand how it is made, according to a survey of Chicago residents commissioned by Hudsonville Ice Cream: 98

Percentage of respondents who think cows should be kept at a temperature below 32 degrees when being milked for ice cream: 10

Source: Hudsonville Ice Cream.

Rank of plant-based foods on the list of the top food trends in 2018, according to Baum and Whiteman: 1

Percentage of American consumers who are actively trying to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diets, according to a Nielsen survey: 39

Source: VeggieHappy.

Percentage of Americans who identify a civility problem in society, with most classifying it as a "major" problem (69 percent), according to a survey by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate: 93

Percentage of Americans who work with others who describe their place of employment as very or somewhat civil: 92

Percentage who work with others who report this level of civility to be an improvement compared to a few years ago: 27

Source: Weber Shandwick.

Percentage of Americans who have a side hustle -- the most popular jobs being home repair/landscaping, online sales, crafts and child care, according to a Bankrate.com report: 37

Percentage of those who earn money on the side who do it for more disposable income: 59

Percentage who say it's so they can meet their regular living expenses: 38

Average monthly amount that men earn from their ancillary gigs, almost three times the $361 that women earn: $989

Source: Bankrate.com.

Globally, percentage of people who report that they will watch FIFA World Cup games with friends and family, according to an Ipsos report: 84

Percentage who plan to join with work colleagues to watch the games: 49

Percentage who will even miss work or school to watch: 24

Percentage who keep a good luck charm with them when they watch: 25

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of disagreements while traveling that revolve around the kids, specifically their arguing or being fidgety, according to a study by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 45

Ranks of "to use the bathroom," "get gas," "buy food or drinks" and "see a landmark or attraction" on the list of the top reasons people stop during summer drives: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Of workers who have a child living at home, percentage who say it's possible to be successful in your career and as a parent, according to a survey conducted for CareerBuilder: 78

Percentage of workers with a child in the household who say they feel equally successful in their role at work and as a parent: 51

Percentage of working dads who feel this way, compared to only 47 percent of working moms: 56

Percentage of working moms who say they feel more successful as a parent, compared to 22 percent of working dads: 33

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Ranks of pickpocketing/purse snatching, credit card fraud, identity theft and taxi scams on the list of the top four risks women consider before or during a trip: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of sharing an itinerary with a friend or family member and purchasing travel insurance (emergency travel medical coverage, emergency travel evacuation coverage or both) on the list of actions women take with a goal of increasing their personal safety: 1, 2

Source: AIG Travel.

Percentage of 4th of July shoppers who will not earn rewards on their purchases, according to a WalletHub survey: 39

Percentage of Americans who are prouder of their credit score than of their country: 44

On the list of things people would like to declare independence from, ranks of overeating (24 percent), social media (22 percent), credit card debt (20 percent) and bad credit (11 percent): 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"The dangerous man is the one who has only one idea, because then he'll fight and die for it." -- Francis Crick, physicist, biologist, neuroscientist, Nobel laureate

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