Number of billionaires on the planet in 2008, according to Forbes' 2009 list of the world's billionaires: 1,125

Number of billionaires on the list this year: 793

Total net worth of these billionaires last year: $4.4 trillion

Total net worth this year: $2.4 trillion

Source: Forbes.

Number of American presidents who have turned down their salaries, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless: 2 (George Washington donated his earnings back to the state; John F. Kennedy donated the money to private organizations)

Source: National Coalition for the Homeless.

Percentage of adults born in Alaska who still live there, placing it last among the 50 states on this measure of population, according to the Pew Research Center's Social Demographic Trends: 28.2

Texas, by contrast, knows how to hold 'em -- percentage of adults born in that state who still live there, making the Lone Star state the nation's stickiest: 75.8

Percentage of adult residents who live in the state of Nevada who were born in a different state: 86.4

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Average percentage more that vehicle repairs cost at new car dealerships than at independent repair shops, according to a study released by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association: 34.3

Resulting excess costs annually to consumers: $11.7 billion

Source: AAIA.

Percentage of Americans who say their personal financial situation is poor, according to a Zogby poll: 20

Percentage who have little or no confidence their children will have a better life than they had: 42

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of marketing executives who consider April Fools' jokes unsuitable for the office, according to a survey developed by The Creative Group: 71

Percentage of executives who find workplace pranks appropriate: 51

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of small business owners who agree with the statement, "Even in these turbulent economic times, the rewards and opportunities of running my own business outweigh the risks and challenges," according to the American Express OPEN Economic Pulse: 80

Source: American Express OPEN Economic Pulse.

Percentage of consumers who said that energy -- not water or time -- is most important to them when it comes to home appliance efficiency, according to a survey by Whirlpool Corp.: 84

Percentage of energy that can be saved using top-loading HE machines as compared to conventional top-loaders: 67

Percentage less water that these machines use: 70

Source: Harris Interactive.

Value of the pet business in 2008, according to the report U.S. Pet Market Outlook 2009-2010: Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Economic Times: $51 billion

Projected value of the business by 2010: $57 billion

Source: Market Research.

Percentage drop in the number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including primary residence, according to a report released by Spectrem Group: 27

Percentage drop in the number of ultra-high net worth households, those with a net worth of $5 million or more: 28

Percentage drop in affluent households, a broader group defined as those with $500,000 or more in net worth: 28

Source: Spectrem Group.

Idle Thought

"There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad." -- Salvador Dali, painter

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

Percentage of Americans who admit they have dated someone with a higher position in their company, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 34

Of those who have dated a higher-up in the last year, percentage of female workers who have dated their boss: 47

Percentage of males who have dated the boss: 38

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of those Americans who say the "American dream" does not exist who also believe the powers that be don't care about people like them, according to a survey by Zogby: 44

Percentage who say Americans shouldn't think of themselves as special and entitled to an ideal life: 29

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of U.S. couples who are finding that the worldwide financial crisis is affecting their relationships at home, causing them to argue more often, primarily about finances and household chores, according to PayPal's third annual "Can't Buy Me Love" international survey conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs: 43

In addition to arguing, percentage of couples surveyed who say they have ended a relationship due at least in part to financial issues: 11

Percentage of couples in the U.S. who are hiding purchases from their partners (18 percent in 2008) this year: 23

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of all Easter chocolate sales for which women are responsible, as reported in the Daily Telegraph: 66

Percentage of these purchases that they eat before they share the rest: 60

Source: Christian Research Association.

Percentage drop in North American car and truck production in the first seven weeks of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, according to Viraf Baliwalla, a consumer advocate for car buyers and founder of Automall Network: 40 (From 2,157,688 units down to 886,614.)

Advertised cost of a Chevy Malibu with approximately $4,000 in manufacturer rebates: $22,000

Cost to the consumer for a brand-new midsize vehicle if the government were to match the rebates rather than handing out bailouts: $14,000

Source: Automall Network.

Percentage of American adults who have not lived outside of the state in which they were born, according to Pew Research: 57

Percentage who have never left their original hometown: 37

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Percentage of Americans who feel very sympathetic or somewhat sympathetic toward the single woman in California with six children who recently gave birth to octuplets after undergoing in-vitro fertilization, according to a Gallup Poll: 26

Percentage who feel somewhat unsympathetic, or very unsympathetic: 70

Source: Gallup.

Number of intercity bus (motor coach) locations in the U.S., according to data released by the American Bus Association: 3,046

Number of airports: 604

Number of intercity rail stations: 525

On the list of the safest and greenest modes of transportation, rank of bus travel: 1

Source: American Bus Association.

Percentage of primary care physicians who reported that health care delivery will "get worse" in the next four years, after viewing video segments from President Obama's speech to Congress, according to a study conducted by HCD Research: 61

Percentage of respondents who indicated that skepticism was the emotion they felt most while watching President Obama outline his new health care reform plan: 49

Percentage who felt inspired: 21

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Percentage of respondents who say human error is the leading cause of information systems failure and fear that security attacks that exploit human error and breaches caused by distracted or disgruntled employees may be the root cause of information security failures in coming months, according to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's sixth annual survey of global financial institutions' information security efforts: 86

Percentage of respondents who expressed concern about insiders' misconduct: 36

Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Idle Thought

"It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do." -- Jerome K. Jerome, humorist and playwright

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

On average, amount that Americans spent per day in stores, restaurants, gas stations or online in the 14-day period ending Feb. 11 (figure does not include home or vehicle purchases, or normal monthly bills), according to Gallup Poll daily tracking: $61

Average spent in the same two-week period a year ago: $102

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of all the full-time positions a company fills that are accomplished through internal transfers and promotions, according to a study by CareerXroads: 38.8

Percentage of all external hires that are made through referrals (employee, alumni, vendor, etc.): 27.3

Source: CareerXroads.

Percentage of women who admit to not being able to read a traditional map, twice the number of men, according to research commissioned by Nokia: 11

Percentage of people who believe a sense of direction is genetic and that those who have a bad sense of direction are simply born that way: 18

Number of minutes wasted by the average person each time they get lost: 13

Percentage of people who blame their partners for getting lost, either because they were fighting or they were shouting directions: 30

Source: Nokia.

Percentage of respondents to a survey by Michaels Stores Inc. who said they would like to spend more time on arts and crafts activities: 84

Percentage who said they think making homemade gifts and spending time with their families are two of the "bright spots" that have emerged during this rough economy: 83

Source: Michaels Stores Inc.

Ranks of New York City, Las Vegas, Maui, Hawaii, and San Francisco on the list of U.S. vacation destinations preferred by affluent leisure travelers (those 8 percent of households with a minimum annual income in excess of $150,000, according to the Ypartnership Portrait of Affluent Travelers survey: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Europe, the Far East, Mexico and Australia on the list of international destinations preferred by affluent travelers: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Percentage of CPA executives who said they are "pessimistic" or "very pessimistic" about the U.S. economic outlook over the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School: 83

Percentage of respondents who said that they were "optimistic" about the outlook for the U.S. economy: 5

Source: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Percentage of parents who say they are very or fairly knowledgeable about how to protect their children's privacy online, according to a survey released by Consumer Policy Solutions: 69

Percentage of parents who have read the privacy policies of the Web sites their children visit closely: 31

Percentage who are unsure whether children's online activity can be tracked by companies for commercial purposes: 56

Source: Consumer Policy Solutions.

Year that the first civic and public celebrations of St. Patrick's Day in the American Colonies took place in Boston, according to the Irish Information Guide: 1737

Date that the first St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in New York City at the Crown and Thistle Tavern: March 17, 1756.

Source: Ireland Information Guide. See http://www.irelandinformationguide.com/St_Patrick's_Day

Average amount that couples spend on wedding entertainment, according to GigMasters.com: $825

Percentage of couples who had DJ's: 38

Percentage of couples who had live bands: 26

Source: GigMasters.com.

Percentage of those small and medium-sized business owners who have the capacity to process debit/credit transactions that agree they could be underestimating the degree to which fraudsters are targeting their business, according to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Visa: 41

Percentage who said that data thieves and hackers are not interested in a business of their size: 40 (10 percent strongly/30 percent somewhat)

Percentage who disagree with this premise: 59

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Idle Thought

"Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe." -- John Milton, poet (1608-1674)

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