Estimated amount of money that U.S. employers will be required to contribute into their defined benefit plans this year, according to Watson Wyatt Worldwide: $108.7 billion

Estimated amount of money that employers would have had to contribute without the passage of a new pension-funding relief law late last year: $125.1 billion

Source: Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Percentage of all travel in the U.S. accounted for by corporate meetings, events and incentive travel programs, according to the U.S. Travel Association: 15

Amount of spending generated: $244 billion

Amount of tax revenue at the federal, state and local level generated: $39 billion

Source: U.S. Travel Association.

Number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 36.5 million

Estimated population of Ireland itself: 4 million

Percentage of Massachusetts residents who are of Irish ancestry: 24

Percentage of the nation as a whole who are of Irish ancestry: 12

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank of Randy Jackson on scales of likability, believability, sincerity and fairness among "American Idol" judges, according to a study conducted by HCD Research: 1

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Rank of Canada (with rating of 90 percent favorable) among a list of 19 nations, according to a Gallup survey of Americans: 1

Ranks of Great Britain (89 percent), Japan (81 percent), Germany (79 percent), and India and France (64 percent): 2, 3, 4, 5 (tie)

Number of years that Canada has topped the list since 2006: 4

Source: Gallup.

Percentage less likely that people were to develop memory loss if they participated in social activities and read magazines during middle age than those who did not do those activities, according to a study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Seattle: 40

Percentage decrease in the risk of developing memory loss in later years by those who enjoyed reading books, playing games, participating in computer activities and doing craft activities such as pottery or quilting: 30 to 50

Source: American Academy of Neurology.

Number of cell phones collected and processed for reuse and recycling in 2008 by ReCellular, the world's leading electronics sustainability firm: 5.5 million

Percentage increase this represents year-over-year: 35

Number of Boeing 747-400s it takes to equal the weight of these recovered phones: 3

Source: ReCellular.

Percentage of young adults aged 18 to 30 who plan to get married and stay married for life, according to a survey by National Healthy Marriage Resource Center: 82

Estimated percentage of first marriages that end in divorce: 40

Ranks of "love" (87 percent) and "lifelong commitment" (72 percent) on the list of reasons to get married: 1, 2

Percentage who said "having children": 31

Source: National Healthy Marriage Resource Center.

Eight years ago, percentage of Americans who reported that they slept less than six hours a night, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation: 13

Percentage of Americans who say that today: 20

Percentage drop over the last eight years in those who reported sleeping eight hours or more: 10 (38 percent to 28 percent)

Percentage of Americans who agree that sleep is as important as diet and exercise to overall health and well-being: 40

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Percentage of new parents who rank money worries as their greatest challenge, ahead of sleep depravation and the rigors of caring for their baby, according to survey results released by Visa: 21

Percentage who said being responsible for someone else is their greatest challenge: 15

Estimated cost for a middle-class family to raise a child until the age of 17, according to computations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: $195,000

Source: Visa Inc.

Idle Thought

"What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?" -- Thomas Carlyle, historian and essayist

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

Based on a nearly 1,300-square-foot apartment in the city center, rank of Monte Carlo on the list of the world's most expensive real estate markets in 2009, according to the Global Property Guide: 1 (At $4,180 per square foot, it's more than twice as expensive as the runner-up.)

Ranks of Moscow ($1,937), London ($1,928), Tokyo ($1,672), Hong Kong (1,498) and New York ($1,384) on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Global Property Guide.

Percentage of elite professionals (those earning more than $200,000 per year) who say networking impacts income, according to a study from Upwardly Mobile Inc. with the assistance of the Graziadio School of Business Management at Pepperdine University: 80

Percentage who believe a skilled networker could see up to a 100 percent increase in income: 58

Percentage of respondents who said networking is how they found their current job: 40

Source: Upwardly Mobile.

Number of days that employed Americans said their immediate household would be able to survive before it would be unable to pay for basic expenses such as rent/mortgage, food and transportation, should they lose their job, according to a poll commissioned by SnagAJob.com: 120

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Comparing employer "approval ratings" to past U.S. presidents -- percentage of employees who would "re-elect" their boss if they could, according to a "WorkWatch" survey, released by global staffing agency Randstad: 66

Percentage who said their boss should be impeached: 27

Source: Ranstad.

Percentage of consumers who say they don't know how to tell if green product claims are true: 30

Percentage of consumers who say a product's reputation is the biggest factor they weigh when making purchasing decisions: 21

Percentage who say they trust word-of-mouth: 19

Percentage who cite brand loyalty: 15

Source: Green Seal.

Percentage of workers who say they would have chosen a different career path if they could start their career over again, according to an "Workplace Insights" survey from Adecco Group North America: 54

Percentage of U.S. workers who appreciate having a job so much that any dread they may have about starting a new workweek is not a consideration: 41

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of epicurean adventurers who typically indulge at eateries that are $25 and less per person, according to TripAdvisor's dining out survey: 75

When it comes to restaurant cuisine, percentage who said their favorite is Italian: 31

Percentage who cited American: 18

Percentage whose preference was Mexican: 14

Source: TripAdvisor.

Rank of managers maintaining engagement with surviving employees of current recessionary layoffs, as it relates to the employees' morale, innovation and effectiveness, according to a survey from Sirota Intelligence: 1

When managers become disengaged, number of times more likely that their employees are to be disengaged: 3

Percentage more likely employees are to be frustrated with the company's systems and processes: 33

Source: Sirota Survey Intelligence.

Percentage of American adults (approximately 114 million) who play video games, according to a report from Packaged Facts: 52

Number of adults included in the total gamer population who are in the 55 and older age bracket: 25 million

Number who are retirees: 13 million

Number who are grandparents: 28 million

Source: Packaged Facts.

Estimated revenue lost by the U.S. Postal Service over the past two years -- accounted for by sharp declines in the amount of mail being sent, according to a Gallup Poll: $8 billion

When given a choice of three options for helping the U.S. Postal Service out of its financial difficulties, percentage who were willing to give up some of the conveniences the Postal Service has long offered, including six-day-a-week delivery and thousands of local post office branches: 57

Percentage who were in favor of raising stamp prices: 14

Source: Gallup.

Idle Thought

"Death tugs at my ear and says, 'Live, I am coming.'" -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., poet, novelist, essayist and physician

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

Percentage of Americans who had problems with one or more spellings in a test of 10 everyday words, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Spelling Society: 50-plus

Percentage of respondents who had initially believed that they had a problem spelling: 25

Percentage who admitted being reliant on spell-checkers for tasks such as completing job application forms or writing important letters: 33

Ranks of women and men when it comes to spelling: 1, 2 (The only word that men spelled better than women in the U.S. was "liaison.")

Source: Ipsos Mori.

Percentage of car buyers who said that their worst mistake when purchasing a car was overpaying for a new car that quickly depreciated in value, according to a survey of U.S. adults conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of CarMax: 26

Percentage who said that their worst mistake was not doing enough research: 22

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of workers who revealed that they have dated a co-worker at some time during their careers, with 18 percent admitting to doing it twice or more, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual office romance survey: 40

Percentage of male workers who currently work with someone they would like to date: 14

Percentage of women who said the same: 5

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Ranks of environmental services/clean technology, health care, life sciences/pharmaceuticals and energy on the list of industries recruiters expect will generate the greatest growth in executive-level job opportunities in 2009, according to a survey of executive search firms conducted by ExecuNet): 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of business development, sales, operations management and finance on the list of functions expected to be in greatest demand during the year ahead: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: ExecuNet.

Percentage of affluent Americans (incomes of over $100,000) who say the economy is their greatest concern, according to an Ipsos Mendelsohn survey: 60

Percentage who cited unemployment and jobs: 30

Source: Ipsos Mendelsohn.

Percentage of alternative energy investors and analysts who expect alternative energy stocks to outperform the broader markets in 2009, according to a survey by global public relations agency Waggener Edstrom Worldwide: 50

Percentage who see the Obama administration as a "positive" or "very positive" performance catalyst: 82

Source: Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.

Cost per compromised customer to U.S. companies of data breach incidents, according to the results of a U.S. Cost of a Data Breach Study by PGP Corp. and the Ponemon Institute, which examined 43 organizations across 17 different industry sectors: $202

Since the study's inception in 2005, estimated growth per victim of this cost component (nearly a 40 percent increase): $64

Source: Ponemon Institute.

Percentage of Americans who say the biggest communication faux pas is when their loved ones expect them to always answer when they call, according to a survey commissioned by SpinVox conducted by Kelton Research: 28

Percentage who say it's when their honeys return their calls before listening to the voice mail they left: 27

Source: Kelton Research.

Percentage of baby boomers caring for an aging parent who say that it has put a strain on their marriage, according to a research study conducted by Caring.com: 80

Percentage of divorced baby boomers who said caregiving played a major role in their divorce: 25

Source: Caring.com.

Idle Thought

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in." -- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. President

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