Figuratively Speaking

Average amount the tooth fairy is offering per tooth (up from $4.83 last year), according to a study by RoosterMoney: $5.06

Ranks of cellphones, Legos, tablets, Nintendo Switch and dolls on the list of the most popular things kids have been saving for: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of cleaning the car ($5.47), gardening ($4.85), mopping floors ($2.41), cleaning windows ($2.11) and cleaning the bathroom ($1.86) on the list of the most lucrative chores for kids: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: RoosterMoney.

Percentage of professionals who say they will only agree to be a reference if they have good things to say, according to a survey of professionals by Korn Ferry: 51

Percentage of professionals who say that if candidates received negative references, they would still consider hiring them if they were a good fit for the role: 93

Percentage who said they only check references some of the time: 31

Source: Korn Ferry International.

Percentage of Americans reporting poor financial health who are not diligent about getting routine checkups, according a Lending Club survey: 41

Percentage who do not get regular exercise: 40

Percentage who are not optimistic about life in general: 37

Of those Americans, approximate percentage who are unmotivated to improve: 20

Percentage of Americans who may be avoiding learning about finances, as they say talking or thinking about it drains them mentally: 56

Percentage who have no consistent savings plan or don't save at all: 66

Source: Lending Club.

Percentage of Americans who agree that government at all levels should prioritize the use of recyclable products/materials when making purchasing decisions, according to a survey conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries: 80

Percentage who also agree that recycling collection sites need to be more readily accessible to consumers: 86

Source: The Harris Poll.

Amount the average parent would give their child to help pay down debt without the expectation of being reimbursed, according to a CreditCards.com report: $5,705

Amount they would give if they do expect to get their money back: $7,936

Percentage of parents who would give something in either circumstance -- whether they assumed they'd get paid back or not: 90

Percentage of parents who would never help pay for a child's gambling debt, while just 5 percent would have no objection doing so: 57

Percentage who would have no objection to helping with medical debt, while only 2 percent would never help: 68

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of workers in the U.S. who wouldn't accept a job that was a perfect match if they clashed with the corporate culture, according to a survey by Robert Half: 35

Percentage of managers who said a candidate's fit with the organizational culture is equal to or more important than their skills and experience: 91

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who are willing to sacrifice convenience in the name of health, according to a recent Ipsos Global Trends Survey: 63

Percentage who say that because they are consuming fewer sweets, their standards for those infrequent indulgences are higher: 62

Source: Ipsos Global.

Percentage of Americans who report there is at least one part of their body they would like to change, most notably the midsection (47 percent) and teeth (33 percent), according to a survey conducted on behalf of Real Self: 80

Ranks of "cosmetic dentistry" (e.g., invisalign, whitening, veneers) and "nonsurgical fat reduction" on the list of the top nonsurgical procedures: 1, 2

Ranks of "tummy tuck" and "liposuction" on the list of the top surgical procedures: 1, 2

Source: RealSelf.

Rank of falls on the list of causes of preventable death for adults age 65 and older, according to the National Safety Council: 1

Percentage increase in falls among those 75 and older in the last 15 years: 130

Number of deaths in all age groups attributed to falls in 2016: 34,000

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of Protestant churchgoers who say they take an intentional day of rest -- and most do so on Sunday -- according to a study of Protestants who attend church once a month or more from LifeWay research: 77

Percentage who say taking a day of rest is a biblical command that still applies today: 56

Percentage who disagree: 25

Source: LifeWay Research.

Idle Thought

"The truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is." -- Nadine Gordimer, novelist, Nobel laureate

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

When asked what one food or dish they most look forward to eating each year during the holiday season, percentage of people who cited turkey, according to the Harris Poll: 32

Ranks of stuffing, ham, pie, sweet potatoes/yams and mashed potatoes on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5 (tie)

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of Americans (and nearly 3 in 4 millennials) who agree that ringing in the new year in Times Square is on their bucket list, according to a survey from Barefoot Wine and Bubbly: 50

Source: Barefoot Wine and Bubbly.

Percentage of respondents who usually make New Year's resolutions, according to University of Scranton's Journal of Clinical Psychology: 45

Percentage who absolutely never make New Year's resolutions: 38

Percentage who are successful in keeping their resolutions: 8

Percentage who have infrequent success: 49

Percentage who never succeed: 24

Source: University of Scranton.

Ranks of "enjoy life to the fullest," "live a healthier lifestyle," "lose weight," "spend more time with family and friends," "save more, spend less" and "pay down debt" on the list of top New Year's resolutions in a survey by GoBankingRates.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Percentage who decided that making one resolution was enough: 55

Percentage of Americans who are setting a money goal: 58

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

Percentage of Americans who say, "Christmas should be more about Jesus" (down from 79 percent in 2014), according to a study from LifeWay Research: 65

Percentage of Christians who find the greeting "Happy Holidays" to be offensive, compared to 12 percent of members of other religions and 15 percent of the non-religious: 40

Source: LifeWay Research.

Among Americans, ranks of Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Orlando and Denver on the list of the most popular U.S. cities in which to spend New Year's Eve this year, according to Skyscanner: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of New York City; Nassau, Bahamas; Edinburgh, Scotland; Las Vegas; Quebec City and Vienna, on the list of the most popular cities worldwide to spend New Year's Eve: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Skyscanner.

Percentage of Americans who have concerns about isolation related to automation, according to an Ipsos Survey: 57

Percentage who have concerns about job destruction: 49

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Number of years that Butterball has staffed its Turkey Talk-Line with experts who answer all turkey-related questions throughout the holidays, according to research by Genesys: 35 plus

Source: Genesys.

Percentage of "dog people" who say their pup helps them cope with stressful events during the holiday season, including being around difficult family members (46 percent), having arguments among family (33 percent) or going to extended family's house (22 percent), according to a survey by BarkBox: 85

Percentage of dog people who have taken their dog for a walk or played with them to escape family during the holidays: 40

Percentage who can't imagine the holidays without their dog: 85

Source: BarkBox.

Percentage of professionals who said they get more work done during the holidays, according to an Accountemps survey: 65

Of the respondents who see their output falling this time of year, ranks of personal commitments and greater year-end workloads on the list of the main culprits: 1, 2

Source: Accountemps

Idle Thought

"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope." -- Maya Angelou

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

Rank of Bethlehem on the Lonely Planet's 1,000 Ultimate Experiences list of the best places in the world to experience the Yuletide spirit: 1

Ranks of Santa Claus Village, Finland; New York City; Bondi Beach, Australia; and Midnight Mass at the Vatican on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: The Lonely Planet.

Of the millions of Americans who intend to travel home for the holidays, percentage who will experience stress over having to stay with family or friends -- typically due to crowding (hello, basement air mattress) and lack of privacy (how many cousins can share one bathroom?) -- according to a survey from Motel 6: 67

Of those who travel with their significant others, percentage who agree that they would get along better as a pair if they didn't have to stay with relatives over the holidays: 51

Source: Motel 6.

Estimated number of Americans who have had packages stolen by "porch pirates," according to a survey by Insurance Quotes.com: 25.9 million

Number who have had decorations stolen or vandalized: 22.6 million

Source: InsuranceQuotes.com.

While holiday tunes accounted for just 1 percent of all streams in early November -- climbing to 5 percent by Thanksgiving weekend -- peak percentage stream on Christmas Day, according to research by Statista: 22

In 2017, ranks of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Last Christmas" by Wham! on the list of the most popular streams: 1, 2, 3

Source: Statista.

Percentage of respondents to the Marriage Proposal survey by Chilisauce who chose Christmas Eve as the best time to pop the question: 31

Percentage of all proposals that are expected to happen around Christmas: 40

Source: Chillisauce Ltd.

Percentage of adults who say their at-home children believe in Santa Claus, according to a new Pew Research Center poll: 19

Percentage of children who plan to "pretend" that St. Nick will visit their house on Christmas Eve: 70

Percentage of parents who said that Santa "visited" their homes with presents years ago when they were kids: 72

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

Number of children Santa must visit in a matter of hours according to the Ministry of Fun: 2.1 billion

Number of stops he must make (assuming the global average of 2.5 children per household applies): 842 million

Speed at which he must travel (this need for speed may explain why he's so tricky to spot sometimes): 1,280 miles per second

Source: Ministry of Fun.

Probable First Flight of Santa, according to NORAD, which confirmed it will track Santa's Christmas Eve flight and released a fact sheet with "technical data" on the sleigh, designed and built by K. Kringle and Elves Inc.: Dec. 24, 343 A.D.

Length of sleigh, equivalent to 150 lollipops: 75 candy canes

Width: 40 candy canes

Weight at takeoff: 75,000 gum drops

Passenger weight at takeoff: 260 pounds

Source: NORAD.

Percentage of Americans who say the thing they most look forward to during the holiday season is spending time with friends and family, according to The Harris Poll: 52

Percentage of Americans who say the one thing they dislike most about the holidays is spending too much money: 27

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of Americans who plan to spend more on holiday travel than gifts, according to a survey by Orbitz Worldwide: 64

Busiest day for Christmas travel: Dec. 23

Source: Orbitz.

Idle Thought

"Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be." -- Abraham Lincoln

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