Percentage of professionals who believe their employers are rising to the occasion when it comes to responding to the downturn in the economy, according to a survey by Robert Half International: 69

Percentage of respondents who said their companies are doing only some things or nothing right: 30

Percentage who feel their employers will emerge from the recession stronger than before: 55

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of Americans who say that married men and women having an affair is morally wrong, according to a survey by Gallup: 92

Percentage who say sex between an unmarried man and woman is morally wrong: 40

Percentage who say that having a baby outside of marriage is morally wrong: 45

Source: Gallup.

Estimated percentage of defaults on mortgage loans that are strategic decisions, especially when home values have fallen by more than 15 percent, according to a study by the Kellogg School of Management: 25

Percentage of households that would default, even if they can afford to pay their mortgage, when the equity shortfall reaches 50 percent of the value of the house: 17

Percentage more likely people were to default when they know someone who defaulted: 82

Source: Kellogg School of Management.

Percentage of fliers who consider cabin cleanliness first when making a reservation, according to a survey by TripAdvisor: 90

For onboard comfort features, percentage who consider a full meal most important: 40

Ranks of Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Continental on the list of airlines that serve the best food: 1, 2, 3

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of American men who would say yes to a sham marriage so that a foreigner could remain in the country, with a high percentage that said they would be willing to marry strangers for cash, according to a survey by Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com: 58.8

Percentage of women who said the same: 60.9

Source: date.com.

Percentage of Americans who don't believe CEO and CFO statements about the outlook of the financial position of their companies are credible because they are reluctant to detail the real problems facing their companies in the current economic environment, according to a Zogby survey: 75

Source: Zogby International.

Although "The Jazz Singer," with superstar Al Jolson, had a partial soundtrack and had already stunned audiences when it was first released, the year the first movie with a full-length soundtrack, "The Lights of New York," about the murder of a crime boss, opened in New York, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1928

In 1928, number of times weekly the average American went to the movies: 2

Number of times per year the average American goes to the movies today: 5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of times faster that proprietorship employment grew than wage-and-salary employment between 2001 and 2006, according to research by Laurence E. Goss: 7

In 2006, number of sole proprietors in the U.S.: 20,768,555

Source: Enterprise Center at Salem State College.

Percentage of employees who would feel more freedom to concentrate on work and home responsibilities if their employer provided support for child care, according to a poll from Workplace Options: 48

Source: Workplace Options.

While the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. energy demand will increase 9 percent during the next 20 years, percentage of Americans who chose the correct answer, according to the third annual "Energy IQ" survey, conducted for the American Petroleum Institute (API) by Harris Interactive: 5

Percentage increase in U.S. energy demand projected by the majority of respondents: 16 to 21

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it." -- Dante Alighieri, poet

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

Percentage of Americans who agreed that personal style has more to do with being comfortable in your own skin, not about dressing to impress, according to a survey by Old Spice: 66

Source: Old Spice.

Ranks of strategic thinking, leadership, communication, developing direct reports and motivating people on the list of skills that middle managers need to improve, according to ClearRock, an outplacement and executive coaching firm: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: ClearRock.

Age at which Americans ages 18 to 29 believe that the average person becomes "old," according to a Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends survey on aging: 60

Age at which middle-aged respondents put this threshold: 70

Age at which respondents ages 65 and above put this threshold: 74

Source: Pew Internet and American Life.

When asked about their interest in visiting specific regions across the country during the next two years, percentage of leisure travelers who said they'd like to visit the western region of the United States, according to a survey by Ypartnership: 72

Percentage who cited the South: 62

Percentage who said the Northeast: 33

Percentage who said the Midwest: 21

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Ranks of first child (32 percent), meeting partner (13 percent), wedding day (12 percent), buying first house (6 percent) and passing your driving test (5 percent) on the list of happiest events for women, according to research by smile the internet bank from The Co-operative Bank: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of first child (20 percent), meeting partner (13 percent), wedding day (12 percent), passing driving test (8 percent) and sports team victory (7 percent) on the list of the happiest events for men: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Co-operative Bank.

Ranks of Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks as the most bankable male stars, according to the Ulmer Scale: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Ulmer Scale.

Percentage of Americans who say there is more loneliness in today's society than there used to be, according to research by Kodak: 67

Percentage who feel it is easier to connect with friends and family today than it was five years ago (a result of increased use of e-mail, text and social networks to keep in contact): 80

In spite of this technology, percentage who feel they have fewer meaningful relationships than they did five years ago: 60

Source: Kodak's Worldwide Brand Marketing and Communications.

Percentage of Americans who are closely monitoring their daily family expenditures, saying they are cutting back on their spending, according to a Gallup Poll: 71

Percentage who say they are watching their spending very closely: 88

Percentage of Americans who say they have enough money to satisfy their basic needs: 78

Source: Gallup.

Current teen unemployment rate, according to a study by Employment Policies Institute: 24

Percentage increase from earlier this summer: 12 (and 2.5 times the national unemployment rate)

For every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, the associated percentage decline in teenage employment in small businesses, according to research from the University of Georgia: 4.6 to 9

Source: Employment Policies Institute.

Year that designer Louis Reard had his models display a skimpy, two-piece bathing suit named for a Pacific atoll where atomic bombs were tested -- the bikini, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau: 1946

Number of women's clothing stores, with sales of more than $31 billion a year, that now carry the bikini, once viewed as scandalous and seen as a short-lived fad: 47,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice -- that is, until we have stopped saying, 'It got lost,' and say, 'I lost it.'" -- Sydney J. Harris, journalist

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

Year the first commercial electronic computer -- UNIVAC I, designed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly and built for the U.S. Census Bureau to tabulate the 1950 census -- was used, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1951

Year that the general public first became aware of the computer when it was used on television on election night in 1952 to predict that Dwight Eisenhower would win the presidential race: 1952

Percentage of children who now use computers in their school classrooms: 86

Percentage of students who have access to a computer at home: 69

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

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

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

When asked what red flags would prevent them from booking a property, percentage who said a dirty room: 96

Source: Hotels.com.

Percentage of American women who say they are willing to give up 10 percent of their savings in order to look a decade younger for the rest of their lives, according to a study conducted by Sustainable Youth in conjunction with Kelton Research: 33

Percentage of women with a household income of $40,000 or more who would give up 10 percent of their savings if it meant they'd look 10 years younger: 44

Source: Kelton Research.

Ranks of Kelly Ripa (26 percent), the Obamas (19 percent), the Pitt-Jolie family (16 percent), Oprah Winfrey (16 percent), Jon Stewart (13 percent) and Stephen Colbert (10 percent) on the list of celebrities Americans would most want to share a vacation rental home with if they were invited along for the trip, according to research released by HomeAway: 1, 2, 3 (tie), 5, 6

Source: HomeAway.

Percentage of consumers who said that the current economy and struggles of the American car manufacturers will have no impact on whether or not their next car purchase will be an American car, according to a recent Cars.com survey: 59

Percentage of respondents who said the threat of bankruptcy by U.S. carmakers would likely preclude them from considering an American car with their next purchase: 20

Source: Cars.com.

Percentage of Americans who believe there is no requirement for couples to earn similar amounts of money in order to be happy, according to research by smile.co.uk ("the Internet bank") from The Co-operative Bank: 54

Percentage who think it is unnecessary for couples to pursue similar careers to be happy together: 62

Source: The Co-operative Bank.

Percentage of Americans who recognize the direct link between sun exposure and skin cancer, and who agree that sun exposure can be deadly, according to a survey by Neutrogena: 80

Though skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, percentage of American adults who report that they rarely or never put on sunscreen: 60

Source: Neutrogena.

Percentage increase in 2008 in outlays by foreign direct investors to acquire or establish U.S. businesses, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: 3

Amount of money this represents: $260.4 billion ($242.8 billion to acquire existing businesses compared with $17.6 billion to establish new U.S. businesses)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Number of times more likely people are to say that they have cut back or cancelled a cell phone plan or cable TV service rather than Internet service, according to research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project: 2

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

Percentage of Americans who correctly answered that a hamburger is ready to eat when the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit (41 percent of men, 26 percent of women), according to a survey by the American Meat Institute: 34

Percentage who said that checking the middle of the hamburger to ensure that it is brown is the best approach -- a practice experts say is not an accurate indicator that a burger is thoroughly cooked: 21

Percentage who wrongly said that checking to see if juices run clear ensures food safety: 18

Source: American Meat Institute.

Idle Thought

"A fixed idea is like the iron rod which sculptors put in their statues. It impales and sustains." -- Hippolyte Taine, historian

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