In 2010, percentage of all U.S. births that were to unmarried parents, up from 33 percent in 2000: 41
Percent of births to women ages 20 to 24 that occurred outside of marriage in 2010: 63
Between 1980 and 2010, percentage of women ages 40 to 44 who were childless, up from 10 percent: 19
Source: Population Reference Bureau.
Average number of iPhones, iPads, Galaxys, Kindle Fires and more that were activated daily during the first 20 days of December, according to Flurry Analytics: 4 million
On Christmas Day, number of devices that were activated, a 332 percent increase over the December baseline: 17.4 million
Source: Verizon Information Services.
Ranks of Italy, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and France on the list of America's most desired destinations for the new year, according to the findings of Fly.com: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)
Source: Fly.com.
Percentage of Apple fans who would like to have lunch with Steve Jobs, according to the results of a poll by ProtectYourBubble.com: 33.6
Percentage who would want to break bread with Albert Einstein: 27.3
Percentage who would want to hang out with Lady Gaga: 17.1
Source: Protect Your Bubble.
Percentage of current gym members who at least somewhat dread the New Year's resolutions crowd, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CouponCabin.com: 56
Percentage of those who have signed up for a gym membership as a New Year's resolution who quit before the year was over: 11
Percentage of those who have quit the gym within a year who quit within five months: 80
Source: CouponCabin.
Percentage of all interior designers who left the industry between May 2008 and May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 23.2
Percentage of interior designers who feel underpaid for the amount of work they do, according to Design Success University's 2013 Interior Design Fee and Salary Survey: 98.5
Percentage of interior designers who earn less than $45,000: 60
Source: Design Success University.
When moms were asked which day is more of a fresh start -- Jan. 1 or back-to-school -- percentage who said they view the new school year not Jan. 1 as a fresh start, according to Global Customer Insights and Analytics survey: 76
Source: Wal-Mart Media Relations.
Total of 2012 retail e-commerce spending online during the entire November-December holiday shopping season, marking a 14 percent increase from 2011, according to comScore: $42.3 billion
Ranks of Cyber Monday ($1.465 billion), Free Shipping Day on Monday, Dec. 17 (up 76 percent to $1.013 billion) and Christmas Day (up 36 percent to $288 million) on the list of heaviest online spending days: 1, 2, 3
Source: Comscore.
Projected percentage increase in sales of smoking cessation products from 2011 to 2012, reaching $1 billion and expected to continue to grow through 2017, according to Mintel research: 3
Percentage of Americans who currently smoke or have previously quit who say, "It's hard to motivate myself to quit, because I enjoy it": 60
Percentage who say, "Health warnings about smoking scare me": 60
Source: Mintel.
Percentage of kids ages 8 to 15 who said they had made a resolution looking ahead into 2013, according to a survey by KidSay: 48
Percentage of those who told KidSay that "good grades" was top of mind: 24
Percentage who said a "healthier lifestyle": 16
Percentage who said "better at sports/more athletic": 6
Source: KidSay.
Percentage of business travelers who said they will travel more in 2013 than in 2012, according to a survey conducted by Frequent Business Traveler magazine: 33
Percentage who said they would be traveling more compared to two years ago: 50
Source: Frequent Business Traveler.
Idle Thought
"If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him." -- Francis Bacon
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)