Percentage of moms who say their children think that money "grows on trees," according to a survey by Mom Central: 24

Percentage of moms who indicated that trying to save money was a significant stressor: 66

Source: Mom Central Inc.

Percentage of hourly hiring managers with responsibility to recruit summer employees who are most looking for eagerness to have the job and a positive attitude in their seasonal employees, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs poll conducted on behalf of SnagAJob.com: 36

Percentage who are most looking for someone who has the ability to work the daily schedule they need: 27

Percentage who are looking for previous experience in the industry, with the company or that particular location: 25

Percentage who most want the commitment to work for the entire summer and not to quit early: 12

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Percentage of all U.S. industries that are fortunate enough to be positively impacted by the recession, according to recent Recession Updates published by industry research firm IBISWorld: 5

Percentage of all industries that are negatively impacted: 60

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of Americans who agree that stocks remain a good long-term investment, according to a Gallup Poll: 53

Percentage of stock owners who agree with this statement: 67

Source: Gallup.

Number of hot dogs that will be served in ballparks around the country this season (enough to round the bases 30,186 times and stretch to and from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., the two sites of the 2008 World Series), according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council's (NHDSC) annual survey: 21,733,839

Source: NHDSC.

Number of people worldwide who received a micro loan (generally a loan under $1,000) in 2007, according to the Microcredit Summit's 2009 State of the Campaign Report by Sam Daley-Harris: 154 million

Of these people, number who were among the world's poorest, i.e. those making less than $1 per day: 106 million

Number who were women: 109 million

According to the report, number of family members that this financing likely affected: 533 million (a figure that roughly equals the total population of Latin America)

Source: Microcredit Summit.

Ranks of Internet/broadband/World Wide Web, PCs/laptop computers, mobile phones, e-mail, and DNA sequencing and testing/human genome mapping on the list of the top 30 innovations of the past 30 years as selected by a panel of judges at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Knowledge@Wharton.

Percentage of employers surveyed who have a severance policy in place, according to the 2008 Compensation Data results: 57.9

Percentage of organizations that calculate severance pay based on years of service: 44.9

Source: Compdata Surveys.

Estimated total consumer debt in the U.S., according to the U.S. Federal Reserve and reported in a survey of working adults commissioned by Workplace Options: $963.5 billion

Percentage that is personal credit card debt: 98

Source: Workplace Options.

Among U.S. adults who use online resources to research and plan a vacation, average number of hours they spend doing so, according to findings from a hotels.com survey of U.S. adults: 8 (an increase of 48 minutes over the previous year)

Average number of reviews they read prior to booking a hotel: 8

Source: Hotels.com.

Date that P.T. Barnum and James A. Bailey merged their circuses to form Barnum and Bailey, the first circus to feature three rings and that became known as "The Greatest Show on Earth," according to the U.S. Census Bureau: March 28, 1881

Number of circuses operating in the U.S. today: 58

Estimated number of amusement and theme parks in the U.S., where most Americans now go for entertainment: 600

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"Society is like a stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you get a lot of scum on the top." -- Edward Abbey, naturalist and author

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

When managers become stressed, percentage less likely their employees are to feel valued, when compared to employees working for unstressed managers, according to a survey from Sirota Intelligence: 7

Percentage less likely they are to feel recognized: 6

Percentage less likely they are to feel their managers are "walking-their-talk": 6

Source: Sirota Survey Intelligence.

Given the current state of the economy, average number of months that a senior manager can be out of work before his or her career prospects are adversely affected, according to a survey of executives developed by Robert Half Management Resources: 9

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of Americans who cite quality of goods and trust in the brand as their criteria for buying a product, according to survey by The Body Shop: 70

Percentage who say they purchase based on the ethical reputation of a company: 39

Percentage who say price and value are their criteria for purchase: 38

Source: The Body Shop International.

Percentage of Americans who say they have started at least one small business, according to a survey by FindLaw.com: 30

Percentage who have thought about starting their own business at some point in their lives: 31

Source: FindLaw.com.

Percentage of travelers who consider checked bags the most annoying airline fee, according to a TripAdvisor flier survey: 54

Percentage of fliers who have been surprised by the cost of checked baggage fees at the airport: 36

Percentage who said they always carry on a bag to avoid additional fees: 19

Percentage who said they often do: 39

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of Americans who are concerned they or someone they know will face foreclosure in the next six to 12 months, according to a survey commissioned by Move Inc., the operator of Realtor.com: 52

Percentage of homeowners who plan to take advantage of the administration's new program to help prevent foreclosures: 18.9

While searching for answers in the past 12 months, percentage of all homeowners with a mortgage who contacted a lender to restructure their loan: 21

Source: Move Inc.

Percentage of Americans who believe that their boss's management style brings out the best in their work, according to a "WorkWatch" survey, released by global staffing agency Randstad: 51

Percentage who said that their boss is respected for his/her business expertise, but doesn't have people skills: 38

Source: Ranstad.

Percentage of Americans who said small business leaders and entrepreneurs will lead the U.S. to a better future, according to a We Media/Zogby survey: 63

Percentage who said the same of science and technology leaders: 52

Source: Zogby International.

Projected percentage decline in Easter holiday expenditures, according to industry research firm IBISWorld: 8

Estimated total sales from Easter clothing, candy, flowers, decorations, food and greeting cards in 2009: $13.6 billion (down from $14.8 billion in 2008)

Projected percentage rise in supermarket food sales as families prepare their holiday meals at home, rather than dining out: 3.5

Source: Mom Central Inc.

Percentage drop in prices for hotel rooms in North America last year, according to the Hotels.com's Hotel Price Index: 12

Percentage drop in prices for hotel rooms in Europe: 10

Percentage drop in the Caribbean and Latin America: 7

Percentage drop in Asia: 2

Source: Hotels.com.

Idle Thought

"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." -- Marcel Proust, novelist

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

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.)