Average daily spending by American consumers in stores, restaurants, gas stations and online, according to findings based on aggregated Gallup daily tracking polls: $63

Average daily spending by men: $73

Average daily spending by women: $53

Source: Gallup.

Number of e-mail messages received daily by the typical Intel employee, according to Basex research: 50 to 100

Percentage of e-mails at Intel that were unnecessary: 30

Approximate number of e-mail messages received every day by top Intel executives: 300

Approximate number of e-mail messages received every day by Intel as a company: 3 million

Source: Basex Inc.

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they see value in a decision to enroll in a career college, according to a survey by the Career College Association: 89

Percentage of adults who agree with the idea that in order for the U.S. to be competitive in the global marketplace, every American needs at least one year of college education: 67

Source: Career College Association.

Of the 80 new CEOs appointed among Fortune 1000 companies in 2008, number who were promoted from within (55 percent), according to executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles: 44

While almost all companies technically have a succession plan in place, percentage that had to go outside to hire a CEO -- indicating that many of these plans failed to hit the mark: 45

Source: Temin and Co.

Ranks of "no physical attraction" (54 percent), "lack of personality" (48 percent), "boring conversation" (46 percent), "no shared interests" (39 percent) and "different outlook on life" (38 percent) on the list of factors that singles take into consideration within the first 30 minutes of a first date, according to a survey by American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines, and by specialty dating service It's Just Lunch: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of respondents who said they believe there were many potential matches they could be happy with: 81

Percentage who believe "there is one true love for each person in the world": 19

Source: It's Just Lunch/American Way.

Percentage of senior executives and managers who say that communication would increase productivity within their organization, according to a global survey of business leaders conducted by NFI Research: 48

Percentage of respondents who say that collaboration would increase productivity: 46

Source: NFI Research.

Percentage of Internet users who now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others, according to Pew Internet and American Life Project: 19

Estimated percentage of tweets accounted for by the top 10 percent of prolific Twitter users, according to an analysis of a random sample of 300,000 Twitter accounts by Harvard Business School researchers: 90

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of shoppers who report seeking products on sale and comparing prices between brand names and store brands when buying groceries or household products, according to a study by The Integer Group: 80

Percentage of consumers who believe brand names to be more expensive -- suggesting that brand names must offer incentives to consumers or they risk losing them to private labels indefinitely: 84

Source: Integer Group.

Year that Mary Anderson was granted a patent for the first hand-operated windshield wiper, saving people from having to reach outside to clear their windshields when it rains or snows, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1905

Year such wipers became standard equipment on all automobiles and streetcars: 1916

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage increase in the amount of time Americans spent on social networking sites from 2008 to 2009, according to a study by ProCon.org: 83

Estimated amount U.S. advertisers spent to place ads on social networking sites in 2008: $1.4 billion

Projected advertising expenditures by 2012: $2.6 billion

Source: ProCon.org.

Idle Thought

"Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on Earth." -- Fyodor Dostoevsky

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

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they worry "frequently" or "occasionally" about being a victim of identity theft, higher than reported anxiety about 11 other types of crime and the only crime that a majority worry about at least occasionally, according to a Gallup Poll: 66

Percentage of Americans who worry frequently or occasionally about having their cars stolen or broken into: 47

Percentage who worry about having their homes burglarized when they are not there: 46

Source: Gallup.

Percentage decrease in the number of hourly seasonal jobs this year as opposed to 2007, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs poll conducted on behalf of Snagajob.com: 45

Hourly wage that hiring managers expect to pay this year compared to $10 last year: $10.40

Percentage of their seasonal hires that managers will ask to stay on after the holiday season is over: 51

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of workers who reported that they don't pay attention to benefit changes, figuring the same benefits would roll over from the previous year or feeling that the whole process is too confusing, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 25

Percentage of hiring managers who estimate more than 10 percent of their employees miss annual open enrollment deadlines each year on average: 15

Percentage of human resource managers who said missing open enrollment costs employees, on average, at least $500 in out-of-pocket expenses: 34

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of employees who are considering changing jobs in the next 12 months, according to a Work Watch Survey conducted by Randstad: 12

Percentage of employees who expressed feeling envious of those who have left their organization: 12

Source: Randstad U.S.

For the first time in U.S. history, estimated record number of checks and electronic transactions for debit cards, credit cards and automatic payments by the end of 2009, according to Moebs Services: 100 billion

Percentage of these transactions that will be debit card transactions: 33

Percentage that will be paper checks: 24

Percentage that will be credit card transactions: 23

Percentage that will be ACH (automatic payments): 20

Percentage of all banks and credit unions that have income from overdraft fees that is greater than their net income: 44.5

Percentage of all financial institutions that allow consumers to overdraw their accounts at an ATM or with a debit card, charging a median of $26 for this service: 35

Source: Moebs Services.

Percentage of American males 15 and older who are currently married but not separated, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey cited by Pew Research: 55

Percentage of females 15 and older who are married, but not separated: 50

Nationally, the median age at first marriage for men: 28

Nationally, the median age at first marriage for women: 26

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

Being the first to publish pictures of a Turkish Airlines plane crash and to publish pictures of U.S. Airways Flight 1549's dramatic crash into the Hudson River earlier this year (putting Twitter on the leading edge of all news), percentage of all traffic on Twitter that goes to news sites, according to a breakdown of traffic by the online ad network Chitka: 28.49

Percentage that goes to movies: 22.56

Percentage that goes to tech: 13.39

Source: Chitka Inc.

Percentage of chief financial officers who expect improved business conditions in 2010, according to a poll conducted at Deloitte's CFO Vision 2009 conference: 57

Percentage of CFOs who said ending the recession should be the top public policy issue for the Obama administration: 43

Percentage who felt tax reform should be the top public policy issue: 19

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of U.S. adults who report that at least one member of their immediate family lost health insurance coverage within the past year, according to a Zogby Interactive poll: 26

Percentage of those in households earning $35,000 and less who report having a family member lose health insurance coverage: 37

Source: Zogby International.

Idle Thought

"What you cannot enforce, do not command." -- Sophocles

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

Percentage of search firm consultants who believe age becomes a significant factor in a hiring decision when a candidate is over the age of 50, according to surveys conducted by ExecuNet: 91

Percentage who report that age is never a factor when candidates are evaluated for a new opportunity: 5

Percentage of business leaders (with an average age of 50) who believed their age was working against them in a job search: 41

Source: ExecuNet

Estimated amount of money collected by banks and credit unions in overdraft fees last year, according to a study by the Center for Responsible Lending: $24 billion

Percentage increase from just two years ago: 35

Source: Center for Responsible Lending.

Projected sales of costumes, scary makeup, wigs, Halloween decorations for inside and outside, and, of course, pumpkins and candy, for America's darkest holiday, (up 4.2 percent from the $5.77 billion generated last year), according to industry research firm IBISWorld: $6 billion

Amount the average person is estimated to spend on Halloween treats in 2009: $22.50

Source: IBISWorld

Percentage of workers who don't think their boss is honest, according to a survey by the Adecco Group: 53

Percentage of employees who even go so far as to say that they believe their boss is dishonest about their job security: 25

Percentage who would lay off/fire their boss if given the option: 28

Source: Adecco

Ranks of princess, witch and Spider-Man on the list of top costumes for kids this Halloween, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of pumpkin, devil and fancy collars on the list of top costumes for pets this year: 1, 2, 3

Source: National Retail Federation

Percentage of moms who feel lonely and unsupported in their day-to-day lives and turn online to form new friendships based on shared interests, life events and parenting support, according to research from Mom Central Consulting: 60

Percentage of moms who feel they lack enough friends in their lives: 80

Source: Mom Central Inc.

Percentage of administrative professionals who said that the level of autonomy in making decisions has increased in the last five years, according to a survey from the International Association of Administrative Professionals: 72

Percentage who have increased responsibility at work: 73

Percentage who have seen their overall contribution to their organization increase: 85

Source: International Association of Administrative Professionals

Percentage of parents today who admit to using alcohol or other drugs to get drunk or high when they were teenagers, according to findings in the "Four Generations Overcoming Addiction" survey of teens and parents' attitudes toward parent-child communications about alcohol and drugs, commissioned by Minnesota-based addiction treatment center Hazelden: 50

Percentage of teens who say they've seen their parents high or drunk: 26

Source: Hazelden

Percentage of toilets in the U.S. that leak, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 25

Estimated number of gallons of water that one leaking toilet can waste in a year: 70,000

Each day in the U.S., estimated number of gallons of water that is used for all purposes, including generating electricity and irrigation: 400 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

With all the possible Halloween festivities, ranks of watching a scary movie (23 percent), costume parties (17 percent) and trick-or-treating (17 percent) on respondents' list of favorite Halloween activities, according to the Redbox "Halloween Thrillers" survey: 1, 2 (tie)

Ranks of "The Exorcist" (19 percent), "Halloween" (11 percent) and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (11 percent) on the list of the best horror movies of all-time: 1, 2 (tie)

Rank of Hannibal Lecter from "The Silence of the Lambs" on the list of the most frightening movie villains: 1

Source: Redbox Automated Retail LLC.

Idle Thought

"A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

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