Percentage of Americans who said their top financial priority is staying current or getting caught up on bills, according to a Bankrate.com report: 36
Ranks of "paying down debt," "building savings" and "providing financial assistance to family/friends" on the list of their top financial priorities: 2, 3, 4
Source: Bankrate.com.
For the third year in a row, percentage of North American employees who did not use all of their annual vacation time, according to Right Management: 69
Percentage who indicated they would use all their vacation by year's end: 31
Source: ManpowerGroup.
Percentage of Americans suffering from a cough or cold who are still working out at the gym, jumping on public transportation and liberally shaking hands, according to a survey commissioned by Halls: 56
Percentage who are regularly kissing their significant other: 19
Percentage of healthy Americans who make no effort to stay away from cough and cold sufferers: 23
Source: Halls.
Record low winter temperature among Lower 48 U.S. cities, held by Bismarck, N.D., according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 44 below zero
Absolute coldest temperature ever recorded in the U.S., in Prospect Creek, Alaska: 80 degrees below
To put a different perspective on the word "lowest" -- record low temperature in Honolulu, Hawaii: 53 degrees
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of Americans who selected the cast of A&E's hit television show "Duck Dynasty" as having a reason to celebrate this season, according to a Harris poll that provided a list of choices: 45
Percentage of Americans who selected Paula Deen as the celebrity having the worst year: 46
Source: Harris Interactive.
Percentage of single American women who said they wanted to be contacted within 48 hours of meeting a potential date, according to a survey by PickupMetrics.com about men's texting habits: 89
Percentage of men who don't make first contact for 3 days or more: 21
Ranks of desperate and needy texts, talking dirty, and being dull on the list of texts that make women skip the first date: 1, 2, 3
Source: Pickup Metrics.
Average age that echo boomers (those 18 to 36) say is the perfect age, according to the results of The Harris Poll: 38
Average age that Generation X (those 37 to 48) say is the perfect age: 49.
For baby boomers (those 49 to 67), their perfect age: 55
For the oldest generation, matures (those 68-plus), the perfect age cited: 67
Source: Harris Interactive.
Year Yahoo will buy Flipboard and Pinterest, according to the predictions of analyst house CCS Insight: 2014
Year Twitter will buy Snapchat: 2014
Year Orange (France Telecom) and Deutsche Telekom will merge: 2015
Source: CCS Insight.
Percentage of U.S. adults who say that they do not currently have a winter emergency kit in their car, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CarMax: 68
Percentage of car owners who report that they have an ice/snow scraper: 60
Percentage who carry jumper cables: 59
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs
Percentage of Americans who think it's likely that the planet will experience a major world catastrophe, according to a survey released by the National Geographic Channel and Kelton Research: 88
Percentage of those who believe it will occur less than a year from now: 32
Percentage of Americans who say they would rely more on their family, friends or neighbors over FEMA or a government agency (14 percent) for help in a catastrophe: 57
Source: National Geographic Channel.
Idle Thought
"It is kindness immediately to refuse what you intend to deny." -- Publilius Syrus
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)