Percentage of Americans who have faked excuses who delivered their fake excuse via text message, according to a Harris Poll commissioned by Sling TV: 58
Percentage who did it via a phone call or voicemail: 55
Percentage who go the "extra mile" to embellish and make fake excuses seem more believable: 52
Ranks of refraining from going on social media, powering down mobile phones or turning off all the lights in the home on the list of lengths to which people will go to avoid being found out: 1, 2, 3
Source: Sling TV.
Despite the booming $45.4 billion coffee shop industry in the U.S., percentage of Americans who get their coffee from home during an average week, according to a survey from Reddi-wip, a Conagra brand: 89
Ranks of convenience, money management and part of their routine on the list of reasons to make their coffee at home: 1, 2, 3
Source: Conagra Brands.
Percentage of Americans who have a favorite room in their home, according to a survey from Ally Home: 88
Of those, percentage who say that room is their favorite because it is where they go to hide from their kids/spouse/partner: 13
Percentage of millennials who picked the master bedroom as their favorite room in their home: 70
Percentage of baby boomers who did the same: 84
Source: Ally Financial.
Average amount of money that shoppers say they will spend this Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation's survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics: $86.27
This year's total, expected to be the third-highest in the survey's 15-year history after the record $9.1 billion set in 2017: $8.8 billion
Source: NRF.
Percentage of people with insomnia or sleeping difficulties who agreed "having a good night's sleep" means "having a good day," according to Eisai Inc.'s survey "How America Sleeps and Wakes": 90
When they wake up the next day after not having a good night's sleep, percentage of patients who reported feeling tired or fatigued (with only 7% reported feeling "ready to start their day"): 67
Source: Eisai Inc.
When IT hiring managers evaluate entry-level job applicant resumes, ranks of most current work experience, educational background, past projects and successes, and relevant certifications on the list of factors that carry the most importance, according to research from Robert Half Technology: 1, 2, 3, 4
Source: Robert Half Technology.
Percentage of employees who have all the resources they require to be productive on Day One, according to the results of a survey by Ivanti: 15
Percentage of IT professionals who know someone who still has access to a former employer's applications and data: 52
Source: Ivanti.
Percentage of consumers who are concerned about going over their budgets this holiday season, according to a survey commissioned by Splitit Payments Ltd.: 42
Percentage of consumers who are especially concerned about expensive shipping costs: 14
Source: Splitit.
Percentage of Americans who say they can distinguish a phishing message from a genuine one, according to a report by Webroot, executed in partnership with Wakefield Research: 79
Percentage who are aware that phishing attempts can occur through email, but fail to recognize the many other ways hackers conduct phishing attacks: 81
Source: Webroot Software Inc.
Percentage of Americans who say they are annoyed when an ad interrupts a YouTube video, according to a nationwide survey about cable-cutting and subscribing to streaming services by the market research team at Colling Media: 73
Source: Colling Media.
Idle Thought
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." -- Thomas Pynchon, writer
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)