Percentage of workers who said multiple people talking at the same time is the most annoying behavior on conference calls, according to a new OfficeTeam survey: 37
Percentage who cited excessive background noise: 24
Percentage of workers who said that attendees not paying attention was most annoying: 9
Source: OfficeTeam.
Number of text messages that are exchanged by Americans every minute, according to CTIA -- The Wireless Association: 3.6 million
Estimated number of videos and photos that are exchanged every minute: 300,000
Source: CTIA -- The Wireless Association.
Estimated number of new cars and trucks that will be delivered to customers this year, the highest number recorded since 2005, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association: 17 million
Average out-the-door cost of a new vehicle, about $1,000 higher than it was a year ago, according to Kelley Blue Book: $33,340
Source: Kelley Blue Book.
Percentage of Americans who are satisfied with their jobs, according to a survey from Ipsos Public Affairs' Omnibus Division: 85
Percentage of men who would like a more appropriate salary (compared to 34 percent of women): 27
Percentage who would like more benefits, compared to 19 percent of women: 17
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
When asked about the types of changes that must be made to the traditional curriculum, percentage of more than 23,000 Laureate students and more than 4,000 non-Laureate students in 22 countries who responded that innovations in higher education -- such as career-oriented education, lifelong learning, paid apprenticeships and courses taught by employers -- would help achieve their career goals, according to the 2015 Laureate/Zogby Student Survey: 66
Percentage of students who said that universities should work directly with employers to help teach students the skills they need to be successful: 93
Source: Laureate Education Inc.
Year that Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, was founded, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1636
Year it opened the first dental school associated with a medical school: 1867
Today, number of dental schools at universities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico: 65
Number of dental offices today, employing over 880,000 people: 134,000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of Americans who have at least one pet in their household, with ownership highest among the two youngest generations tested (65 percent among millennials, 71 percent among Generation X), according to the results of a Harris Poll: 62
Percentage of all pet owners who consider their pets to be members of the family: 95
Source: The Harris Poll.
Number of guns per 100 people in the United States, or about 270 million guns, which is the highest total and per capita number in the world, according to ProCon.org: 88.8
Percentage of Americans who own one or more guns (35 percent of men, and 12 percent of women): 22
Source: ProCon.org.
Estimated percentage of all high school students who have sent or received a "sext," according to TeenSafe: 40
Percentage of boys who say the reason for sexting is to initiate sex: 77
Percentage of girls who say sexting is humorous: 40
Source: TeenSafe.
Projected value of the augmented and virtual reality devices business by 2018, according to CCS Insight: $4 billion
Number of virtual and augmented reality devices that are expected to be sold this year: 2.5 million
Number of these devices that are expected to be sold in 2018: 24 million
Source: CCS Insight.
Idle Thought
"I feel fairly certain that my hatred harms me more than the people whom I hate." -- Max Frisch, architect, playwright and novelist
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)