Rank of the Japanese, British and Germans as the overall best tourists, according to the findings of a global survey of hoteliers by Expedia: 1, 2 (tie)

Rank of Americans overall: 11

Rank of the Americans, Canadians and Russians as the most generous: 1, 2, 3

Rank of the Americans as those who lead the way with putting effort into learning a few key sayings in the local language and sampling local delicacies: 1

Source: Expedia.

Rank of Hong Kong (.hk) as the most dangerous country to surf and search on the Web, according to a McAfee survey: 1

Rank of People's Republic of China (.cn), Philippines (.ph), Romania (.ro) and Russia (.ru) on the list of dangerous surfing places: 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage increase over 2007 in the chance of downloading spyware, adware, viruses or other unwanted software: 41.5

Source: McAfee Inc.

Percentage of workers who report they have taken office supplies for personal use in the past year, according to a Spherion Workplace Snapshot survey: 19

Of those who admit to having stolen office supplies, percentage who felt guilty or regretted the act: 22

Percentage of workers who feel it is wrong to take office supplies: 74

Source: Spherion.

Percentage increase in the number of stay-at-home dads over the past decade, according to the Census Bureau: 50

Percentage of fathers who say being a stay-at-home dad is more challenging than their career, according to an Adecco USA Workplace Insights survey: 64

Percentage of mothers who agree: 71

Source: Adecco.

Number of television channels that the average U.S. home now receives, according to a report from The Nielsen Co.: 118.6.

Percentage of these channels that the average household tunes in to for at least 10 minutes per week: 13

Source: Nielsen Media Research - Communications.

Percentage of Americans who believe it is likely 100 or more of the current 535 incumbent members of Congress have had extramarital affairs, according to a survey by Wilson Research Strategies: 52

Percentage who believe 300 or more have had an extramarital affair: 25

Percentage who say nearly all (500 or more): 11

Source: Wilson Research Strategies.

Percentage of baby boomers who seem eager to retire, according to a survey of senior HR executives in North America by Novations Group: 14

Percentage who seem no more eager to retire than previous age groups: 42

Source: Novations Group Inc.

Percentage of business travelers who are now staying at less-expensive/lower-star-rated hotels to save on travel costs, according to a survey by Orbitz for Business and Business Traveler Magazine: 68

Percentage of business travelers and corporate travel managers who are feeling some degree of pressure to cut travel expenses: 79

Percentage of companies that are tightening their travel policies and implementing more restrictions on travelers for hotels and dining: 41

Source: Orbitz.

Percentage of inbound phone leads that are lost by most marketing companies, according to SecondApproach services: 60 to 80

Percentage of small and medium businesses that would pay for better online visibility and customer information: 50

Source: Targus.

Percentage of Americans who support the development and funding of solar energy, according to findings reported in the Schott Solar Barometer: 94

Percentage of Americans who feel that the development of solar power and other renewable energy sources should be a major priority of the federal government: 77

Source: SCHOTT North America, Inc.

Idle Thought

"Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of Americans who say that it is "very important" or "somewhat important" for them to be wealthy, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project: 57

Percentage who say it is not important at all: 10

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Estimated number of young urban consumers -- ages 12 to 34 -- there are in the United States, according to a report from Packaged Facts: 37 million

Aggregate income of these 37 million young urbanites in 2007: $594 billion

Projected income in 2012, much of which will be spent on luxury items: $684 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of corporate responsibility (CR) practitioners who rate their organizations favorably on their achievement of CR goals, according to a study by Sirota Survey Intelligence: 82

Percentage of providers of CR-related services (those who supply organizations and practitioners with strategic advice and counseling, management consulting, communications solutions, research and development, training/education, advertising and public relations, and other services) who say those organizations' CR efforts have attained their objectives: 53

Source: Sirota Survey Intelligence.

Ranks of Disneyland, Universal Studios, Six Flags Great Adventure, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Sea World as the top family-friendly vacation spots searched for on the Internet, according to Ask.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of the Florida Everglades, the White House, the Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore as the most popular U.S. landmarks searched for on the Internet: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Ask.com.

Estimated number of trips avoided in the last 12 months due to air travelers' frustration, according to a survey by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) and conducted by bipartisan polling firms of Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group: 41 million

Estimated cost to the U.S. economy in lost revenue: $26 billion

Estimated cost to the airlines: $9 billion

Estimated cost to hotels: $6 billion

Estimated cost to restaurants: $3 billion

Source: Travel Industry Association of America.

Percentage of college students who reported that they are confident or very confident about their ability to manage their own money, according to a survey by Higher One: 67

Percentage of students who are saving at least 5 percent of their income: 50

Percentage of them who are investing in some way: 22

Source: Higher One.

Percentage of drivers who are admittedly guilty of driving while distracted (DWD), according to a Nationwide Insurance survey: 72

Percentage of Americans -- despite their DWD habits -- who think they are safe drivers: 98

Source: Nationwide Insurance.

Although baby boomers (born 1946-1964) and "matures" (born 1900-1945) have much to offer Generation Y (born 1980-1988) in regards to knowledge and experience, percentage of boomers who report little to no interaction with their Generation Y colleagues: 51

Percentage of matures who report little to no interaction with them: 66

Source: Randstad-USA.

Number of countries that have statutes allowing parents to move to part-time work or otherwise adjust their working hours, according to a survey of 21 high-income countries (including the United States), conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research and the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law: 17

Rank of the U.S. out of the 21 nations in terms of a college-educated woman's (ages 19 to 54) likelihood of participating in the labor market: 21

Source: Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Percentage of workers age 30 and older who say their high school experience had an influence on the job they hold today, according to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com: 39

Rank of former cheerleaders among the students most likely to hold a vice president position: 1

Percentage of teacher's pets who now work in administrative/clerical positions, the highest job category percentage of any type of student: 41

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." -- Jim Ryun

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of meeting agendas that are appropriately prepared, according to Proudfoot's Consulting Business Review findings: 41

Percentage where there is clear communication and preparation before the meeting: 49

Percentage that are attended punctually and with appropriate attendance: 39

Source: Proudfoot Consulting.

Percentage of hiring managers at traditional hourly employment standbys such as retailers and restaurants who say they do not intend to take on any new seasonal workers in 2008, a consequence of the uncertain economy, according to a survey conducted by snagajob.com: 49

Percentage of hiring managers surveyed who agreed with the statement that "today's youth do not have the same work ethic as previous generations have had": 56

Percentage of hiring managers who say the most important thing they look for in an applicant is a positive attitude and an eagerness to want the job: 39

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Percentage of employees who describe their wireless device as a necessity: 38

Percentage of survey respondents who admit to putting their wireless device down only when they are sleeping: 25

Percentage of respondents who admit to being 100 percent off-line when not in the office (down from 8 percent last year): 5

Source: Yahoo! HotJobs.

Percentage of fathers who would sacrifice an exciting job for more time with their children, according to a survey conducted by Spike TV's "State of Men 2008" in partnership with national research firm Penn, Schoen & Berland: 73

Percentage of fathers today who are also at least "somewhat willing" to be stay-at-home dads -- a 13-point increase from 2004: 73

Percentage of men who indicated that what defines a man most is being a good husband and father: 80

Source: Spike TV.

Percentage of adults in the U.S. who believe that the government should tax the wealthy more, according to a Financial Times/Harris Poll: 62

Percentage of adults in France (the lowest percentage in the countries polled) who agree: 51

Percentage of adults in the U.K. who agree: 56

Percentage of adults in Japan (the highest percentage in the countries polled) who agree: 77

Source: Harris Interactive.

Average number of vehicles per household in the U.S. in both 2001 and 2008, according to U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration and Transportation Energy Consumption Surveys: 1.9

Average number of gallons of gas consumed per household in 2001: 573

Average number in 2008: 597

Average price per gallon in 2001 (allowing for adjustment in today's dollar value), according to Oil Price Information Service in cooperation with Wright Express, distributed by AAA: $1.78

Average price per gallon today: $3.80

Source: Campaign for America's Future.

Percentage of respondents who do not know that you have to pay both the interest on your entire balance as well as a late fee when making a late credit card payment, according to a survey by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy: 69

Percentage of respondents who cannot identify the percentage that service fees typically take out of a $20 ATM withdrawal: 97

Percentage of respondents who knew that you can withdraw money from a Roth IRA for education expenses, your first home purchase and retirement spending: 16

Source: Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy.

Percentage of Americans who would lose their house or apartment if hit by an unexpected short-term job loss, according to a survey conducted by Zogby International: 22

Percentage who say they know someone who has gone through or is being forced to sell their home because of a foreclosure: 30

If forced to sell their home today, percentage who say they would buy another home rather than rent: 50

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of Americans who plan to tackle home improvement projects in the next few months, most of them spending more than $1,000, according to an Ace Hardware survey: 25

Percentage who are engaging their family for time and money-saving help: 49

Percentage who are asking their friends: 46

Source: Ace Hardware.

Percentage of chief financial officers (CFOs) who said they view consulting as an attractive segue into retirement, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 75

Percentage of CFOs who identified being able to remain in the workforce but work fewer hours as one of the greatest benefits of consulting: 47

Source: Robert Half International.

Idle Thought

"It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way." -- Rollo May, psychologist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600