Percentage of women who believe homeownership is essential in defining the American Dream, according to a Home Buyer Poll released by TD Bank: 64
Percentage of men who feel owning a home is important: 52
Percentage of women who consider family and children to be essential parts of the American Dream: 60
Source: TD Bank.
Average number of minutes it takes an 18- to 24-year-old in the U.S. to have a shower, a full nine minutes longer than the optimum shower time recommended to conserve water, according to a survey conducted by AXE: 17-plus minutes
Average shower duration in America: 8.2 minutes
Source: Unilever.
Number of unmarried people (widowed, divorced and never married) in America age 18 and older in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau study America's Families and Living Arrangements -- 2011: 102 million
Percentage of all U.S. residents 18 and older this represents: 44.1
Percentage of unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older in 2011 who had never been married: 62
Percentage who were divorced: 24
Percentage who were widowed: 14
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of Americans who say they are in the lower-middle or lower class, up from 25 percent in the past four years, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center: 33
Percentage of those in the lower class who say that hard work brings success, a view expressed by overwhelming majorities of those in the middle (67 percent) and upper classes (71 percent): 51
Source: Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends.
Amount of money that repairs, replacements and insurance deductibles for cracked, dropped, pummeled, kicked and water-damaged iPhones has cost Americans since their introduction in 2007, according to a study by SquareTrade: $5.9 billion
In the last 12 months alone, percentage of iPhone users who have damaged their device: 30
Number of times more common accidental damage is than loss or theft: 10
Source: SquareTrade.
Percentage of moms who report that they feel overwhelmed by financial burdens, according to findings of the Mom Money IQ Test released by CafeMom and Chase Blueprint: 70
Of moms who are actively managing their family's finances, percentage who report that they feel they are doing a good job month to month: 67
Percentage of respondents who tend to disagree with their partner on how they manage their finances: 59
Source: CafeMom.
Estimated number of Americans who remain unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 12.5 million
According to The Associated Press, percentage of bachelor's degree-holders under the age of 25 who are jobless or underemployed in the United States: 53.6
Source: Career Advisory Board.
When American voters were asked whether they currently fact-check claims made by political ads, percentage who said they frequently do, according to a survey by Politcal.com: 55
Percentage who said they sometimes or never do: 45
Source: Political.com.
Percentage of adults who say that if they were to upgrade their cellphone, it would be because their contract is over and they are eligible for an upgrade, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of RetailMeNot.com: 42
Percentage who say it would be because they want another type of phone; switching from an Android (7 percent), an iPhone (4 percent) or a BlackBerry (2 percent) to another type of phone: 13
Source: RetailMeNot.com.
Rank of "no longer need their car" on the list of reasons why of drivers across the country want out of a vehicle lease, according to a national leasing survey from Swapalease.com: 1
Ranks of financial concerns, want a new car and lifestyle changes on the list: 2, 3, 4
Source: Swapalease.com.
Idle Thought
"Ah, good taste, what a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness." -- Pablo Picasso
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)