Percentage of Americans who haven't had a vacation in more than two years, down 5 points from last year, according to a survey for Allianz Global Assistance: 39
Percentage who won't take a summer vacation, but intend to take an annual vacation at some other point in time this year: 13
Source: Allianz Global Assistance.
Percentage of Americans who say that legal recognition of same-sex marriage is "inevitable," including 85 percent of gay marriage supporters, as well as 59 percent of its opponents, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center: 72
Percentage of the public who favor same-sex marriage: 51
Today, percentage of the public who say they know someone who is gay or lesbian, up from 61 percent in 1993: 87
Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
Percentage of Americans who believe that people typically end up splurging and spending more money than they planned to during road trips, according to surveys conducted by RetailMeNot in conjunction with The Omnibus Co.: 95
Ranks of staying within budget, finding affordable gas and locating restaurants with good deals on the list of factors that people most commonly find hard to do: 1, 2, 3
Source: RetailMeNot.com.
Percentage of senior managers who said not asking others for help is the top networking mistake, according to an OfficeTeam survey: 42
Percentage who said failing to keep in touch with contacts is a mistake: 28
Percentage who said not thanking people for their help is the biggest mistake: 17
Source: OfficeTeam.
Percentage of Americans who expect the bride to wear a white dress: 54
Percentage who believe in "waiting" for the wedding night: 51
Source: Harris Interactive.
Rank of the Ritz Carlton Central Park in New York City on the list of the most expensive luxury hotels in America, with an average price tag of $874 per night for the least-expensive double room, according to luxury-hotels.com: 17
Source: Luxury-Hotels.com.
Percentage of Americans traveling by plane who have ever been on a flight with somebody suffering from air rage, according to research by YouGov: 13
Percentage of travelers who admit to feeling their own stress-related rage while flying: 17
Ranks of cost, small seats, a lack of seating space and security checkpoints on the list of things about flying that frustrate almost half of Americans: 1, 2, 3 (tie)
Source: YouGov.
Though many may pine for the physical appearance they had in their younger years, percentage of America's seniors who indicate that they always feel good about their physical appearance, compared with 61 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds: 66
Percentage of middle-aged Americans who report feeling good about their appearance: 54
Source: Gallup Organization.
Ranks of local banks, online retailers, credit card companies and online e-commerce companies on the list of companies that are most likely to be seen as doing a good job of protecting their customers' personal information and privacy, according to a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs: 1, 2, 3, 4
Percentage of Americans who have experienced negative consequences as the result of a data breach, including those who lost money but were reimbursed (13 percent), those who lost money and were never reimbursed (5 percent) and those who had their identity stolen (5 percent): 20
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
IDLE THOUGHT
"The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it." -- Jean-Paul Sartre, writer and philosopher
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)