Forty years after the Woodstock music festival glorified and exacerbated the generational fractures in American life, percentage of adults today who say they listen to rock often or sometimes, according to a nationwide telephone survey by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends: 65

Rank of rock and roll among all genres, including country, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, classical, jazz and salsa: 1

Back in 1966, percentage of adults who said they disliked rock and roll: 44

Percentage who said it was their favorite kind of music: 4

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of people who do not expect their technology devices (mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, printers) to last more than five years, according to a global survey on behalf of Lexmark International Inc: 78

Percentage of respondents across 21 countries who believe the materials used to construct devices could be made of better quality -- suggesting that gadget failures ultimately lead people to abandon brands: 60

Percentage of people worldwide who feel guilty when they dispose of a device rather than seeking repair: 67

Percentage who admit they will trash an out-of-warranty device rather than having it repaired: 48

Source: Lexmark International Inc.

In 2000, percentage of workers who said the Internet had improved their productivity "a lot" or "somewhat," according to annual surveys by the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future: 57

Percentage who shared that opinion in 2007: 71

Source: USC Annenberg School Center.

Percentage of students who said that the price of products was somewhat or very important when choosing a college store, according to a recent survey by NACS OnCampus Research: 93

Average percentage gross margin on new textbooks: 23.1

For every dollar spent on new textbooks, amount made by the college store, the remaining money going toward the publisher, the author and freight expense: 6.3 cents

Source: National Association of College Stores Foundation.

Percentage of drivers who said they feel less safe than they did five years ago, according to the second-annual 2009 Traffic Safety Culture Index by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 35

Over the past 25 years, number of American lives that have been prematurely, violently and tragically ended in motor vehicle crashes, killing more children, teens and young adults than any other single cause, according to AAA Foundation: 1 million

Source: AAA.

Year in which a Denver restaurant owner, Henry Perky, patented the idea of shredded wheat, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1893

Number of pounds of wheat products each of us eats every year: 134

To satisfy this hunger, number of acres of wheat that are harvested annually by the nation's farmers: 51 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Of the various special things that owners do for their dogs, percentage who say the most common is feeding them treats, according to a survey of dog owners on behalf of ALPO: 79

Percentage who give their dog belly rubs: 73

Percentage who give their dog special treatment by letting them sleep in bed with them: 45

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

With 55.8 million kids enrolled in public and private schools this fall, expected percentage decline in back-to-school spending -- from the $20.42 billion generated in 2008, according to IBISWorld research: 3.4

Projected percentage of sales from the discount-retailer industry that will come from school and office supplies alone: 21.3

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of recruiters and hiring managers who said salaries for new employees are falling this year, according to a Dice survey: 57

Percentage who expect them to remain flat with 2008: 35

Source: Dice.

Percentage of American adults who say they have been following very closely or somewhat closely the news about members of Congress holding town hall meetings to discuss proposed health care bills, and the protests taking place at those meetings, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll: 69

Percentage of Americans who said that these town hall meeting protests against the proposed bills have made them more sympathetic to the protesters' views: 34

Percentage who have become less sympathetic: 36

Source: Gallup.

Idle Thought

"It is a trick among the dishonest to offer sacrifices that are not needed, or not possible, to avoid making those that are required." -- Ivan Goncharov, novelist

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

Rank of health care (32 percent), technology (32 percent), service (12 percent), agriculture (11 percent), retail (2 percent) and automobile (1 percent) on the list of industries that respondents considered as "best positioned to weather the current economic downturn": 1 (tie), 3, 4, 5, 6

When respondents were asked which nation was most likely to produce "the next Bill Gates," percentage who said the U.S.: 29

Percentage who said India: 28

Percentage who said China: 15

Percentage who said Japan: 11

Source: Zogby International.

Year one of the most notorious criminals in U.S. history -- John Dillinger -- was killed in a shootout with FBI agents outside the Biograph movie theater in Chicago, according to the Census Bureau: 1934

Estimated number of robberies that occur annually across the U.S., including an average of 28 bank robberies every day: 450,000

Average amount netted in a bank robbery today: $4,300

Source: Census Bureau.

Rank of first child, meeting partner, wedding day, buying first house and passing driving test 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

Rank of first child, meeting partner, wedding day, passing driving test and sports team victory on the list of happiest events for men: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Co-operative Bank.

On a typical day, percentage of the adults in the United States who take a nap, according to a Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends survey: 34

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

Percentage of employers who said that attainment of sales goals by millennials (people born between 1978 and 2000) was just as good or better than by non-millennials, according to a study by Sibson Consulting: 92

Percentage of millennials who thought their sales performance was as good or better than the others: 79

Rank of ambition, lack of advancement opportunities and no loyalty as the reasons most often cited by employers with regard to why millenials leave: 1, 2, 3

Source: Sibson Consulting.

Percentage of retail investors who said they do their own extensive research before they buy a stock, according to a survey conducted by online broker Zecco: 51

Percentage by which news and television reports surpassed brokers as a source of information about particular companies: 58

Source: Zecco.

Percentage of male online daters who said they Googled their blind date before going out with them, according to a survey by Avalanche: 45

Percentage of women who said the same: 42

Percentage of men who admitted having lied in their online dating profile: 42.1

Percentage of women who said the same: 31.3

Source: date.com.

Percentage of Americans who feel that there should not be a tax placed on foods higher in fat, according to a study conducted by HCD Research: 68

Percentage who feel that the rise in medical costs has been moderately or highly impacted by the increase in obesity and obesity-related conditions: 76

Source: HCD Research Inc.

Percentage of fliers who will pay up to 10 percent over ticket cost to get five additional inches of legroom, according to a survey by TripAdvisor: 42

Rank of a TV at the seat, movies and power ports on the list of the most valued in-flight entertainment features: 1, 2, 3

Source: TripAdvisor.

Rank of Florida (34 percent), California (30 percent), Arizona and Hawaii (tied at 16 percent) on the list of states that reign as the dream destination for American leisure travelers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Idle Thought

"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the same sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart." -- H.L. Mencken, writer, editor and critic

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

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

Percentage of companies that viewed their middle managers as unqualified to be promoted to the next level: 33

Percentage that rated their middle managers as "very qualified": 6

Source: ClearRock.

Percentage of Americans who say that the best way to sell their car would be to do it privately, according to a survey conducted by on behalf of CarMax: 36

Percentage who would opt to trade it in at a dealership: 30

Source: CarMax.

Percentage of working dads who report that they spend two hours or fewer per day with their children during the workweek, according to CareerBuilder survey: 39

Percentage who said they have missed a significant event in their child's life in the last year due to work: 50

Percentage who have missed more than three: 28

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of travelers who have been camping, according to the results of TripAdvisor's camping and "glamping" survey: 88

Percentage who have been "glamorous camping," which may include electricity, beds and room service: 15

Percentage who claim to be familiar with the term glamping: 13

Of those who have never been glamping, percentage who said they were more attracted to the idea of glamping than traditional camping, once given a definition: 65

Source: TripAdvisor.

In reaction to the tough economic situation of the Depression, year the Penguin Publishing House brought out the first modern paperback book, a biography of the poet Shelley, and began publishing a cheaper softcover format, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1935

In spite of competition from television and computers, estimated number of books that Americans buy annually: 3 billion

Percentage of these that are in softcover: 50

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of workers who confirmed that their workplace perks had been taken away during the current recession, according to a survey by Quiznos: 70

Percentage who indicated that a paid vacation day is the compensation they'd most like to have in return for lost perks: 60

Source: Quiznos.

Percentage of Americans who agree that they currently have access to all of the health care services they need without it costing them more than they can afford, according to an Ipsos poll: 49

Percentage of Canadian adults who feel this way: 65

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Average annual saving in gasoline bills for those consumers who replace their clunker with a new fuel-efficient vehicle, according to CashForClunkersInformation.org's statistics from their "Clunker Report": $750

Percentage of clunkers traded in that are SUVs, trucks and vans with over 100,000 miles: 79

Average age of the trade-ins: 13 years

Source: Cars.com.

Percentage of Americans who would prefer to see their child lose the "big game" but display great sportsmanship, rather than come out on top, according to the national survey fielded for the Awards and Recognition Association by TNS: 94

Percentage of Americans from ages 20 to 80-plus who still think sportsmanship is worse now than in previous years: 85

Source: ARA.

Percentage of Americans who disapprove of the new law expanding the federal government's power to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products, according to a Gallup Poll: 52

Percentage who approve off the new law: 46

Percentage of Americans who say smoking should be made "totally illegal" in this country: 17

Source: Gallup.

Idle Thought

"Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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