Percentage of mothers who say they were looking for something special from their husbands for Mother's Day, according to a survey by C&R Research: 4

Percentage of respondents who expected their children to do something: 70

Percentage of moms who said anything handmade would be perfect: 33

Percentage of moms who wished for a day off from mom duties: 22

Source: C&R Research.

Percentage of American adults who believe that Toyota vehicles are more (17 percent) or equally (45 percent) as safe as other vehicles, according to a Zogby survey: 62

Among those who currently own or lease a Toyota, percentage who believe Toyotas are more (38 percent) or equally (44 percent) as safe as other vehicles: 82

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of Americans who have changed the way they shop as a result of the recession, according to a survey conducted by Kmart: 70

Percentage of shoppers who believe that using layaway more often is a smart financial solution that can help them better manage their spending: 73

Percentage who agreed that they would rather forgo the instant gratification of financing their purchases in favor of using layaway: 82.2

Source: Synovate.

Ranks of cell texting and cell calling on the list of preferred means of communication between teens and their friends, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project: 1, 2

Percentage of 12- to 17-year-olds who now own cell phones, up from 45 percent in 2004: 75

Percentage of teen texters who say they are more likely to use their cell phones to text their friends than to talk to them: 66

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of finance and bookkeeping professionals who admitted they had conducted a search on their own name (egosurfing) using a search engine, according to a survey by Accountemps: 69

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of brides who are either pleasantly surprised with their budget or feel like everything they want will fit into their budget, according to a survey by Get Married Media: 70

Ranks of wedding websites, wedding magazines, and friends and family on the list of the most helpful places to get advice: 1, 2, 3

Source: Getmarried.com.

When asked to select the two most important reasons for taking environmentally friendly measures, percentage of Americans who selected saving money, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Procter and Gamble: 64

Percentage of respondents who also said preserving resources for future generations: 56

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

At the beginning of 2009, percentage of firms that said they would fill fewer openings (and they did -- 27 percent fewer), according to research by Careerxroads.com: 100

This year, percentage that predicted further reductions in hiring: 10.8

Percentage that expect to grow: 48

Percentage that expect to hold steady: 41.2

Source: CareerXroads.

Percentage of Americans who agree (26 percent strongly, 40 percent somewhat) that the United States has an obligation to help poor children in other nations around the world, according to a poll conducted on behalf of Child Fund International: 66

Percentage of respondents who indicated that they've personally contributed to an international relief organization that helps the world's poor children: 62

Source: Child Fund.

Anticipated percentage increase in Mother's Day sales, according to a survey by IbisWorld: 4.2

Total amount projected to be spent: $14.88 billion

Source: IBISWorld.

Idle Thought

"The highest result of education is tolerance." -- Helen Keller, author and lecturer

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

Percentage of all workers who expect to retire at under 60 years of age, according to the EBRI 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey: 9

Percentage who expect to retire between the ages of 60 and 64: 19

Percentage who expect to retire at age 65: 24

Percentage who say they will be 66 or older when they retire: 33

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of Americans who say they have owned a recalled consumer product, according to a survey by FindLaw.com: 47

Number of consumer products that were voluntarily recalled by their manufacturers in 2009, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): 465

Number of deaths that consumer products -- both recalled and unrecalled -- are involved in each year, according to the CPSC: 8,000

Estimated number of injuries that involve consumer products each year: 14 million

Source: FindLaw.com.

Percentage of consumers who own an e-reader, or electronic reading device, according to a survey from Pricegrabber.com: 5

Percentage who plan to purchase an e-reader in the next 12 months: 33

Source: PriceGrabber.com.

Percentage more women than men who perform elder care duties, according to the book "The Daughter Trap: Taking Care of Mom and Dad ... and You" by author Laurel Kennedy: 50

Percentage of the demanding Level 5 caregiving tasks, including more that 40 hours of care per week, that fall to women: 70

In their lifetime, average number of years women will lose to caregiving: 11.5

Average number of years men will lose: 1.3

Source: "The Daughter Trap."

Year in which one of the world's greatest libraries, the Library of Congress, was founded, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1800

Number of public libraries there are in the U.S.: 16,600

Total number of people who staff these libraries: 145,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of public speaking and the annual ritual of spring cleaning on the list of activities most dreaded by Americans, according to a survey by LG Electronics USA Inc.: 1, 2

Percentage of those polled who wished there were options to make household cleaning easier: 84

Percentage of Americans who admit they tend to take short cuts in cleaning: 60

Percentage who admit they typically clean only what can be seen because it is too difficult to get to the hard-to-reach places: 54

Source: LG Electronics USA Inc.

Percentage of respondents who say that by clearly defining roles and responsibilities they can better eliminate potential conflicts, according to a study titled What Every Entrepreneur Should Know Before Starting a Business With a Family Member, commissioned by MassMutual: 56

Percentage who say that key business decisions are usually discussed between at least two people before a decision is made: 73

Percentage who said their decision-making process is effective: 68

Source: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Percentage of Americans who get stressed out about filing their tax return, according to a Zogby survey: 56

Percentage who expect a refund or have already received one: 60

Percentage who expect to seek an extension: 7

Source: Zogby International.

Number of smart phones shipped worldwide in 2009, according to Park Associates: 180 million

Percentage of the market that is shared by Nokia, Research in Motion and Apple: 60

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of all Americans who have hearing loss, according to the National Institutes of Health: 10

Percentage of people with hearing loss who can benefit from hearing aids: 95

Percentage of the 36 million Americans living with hearing loss who do not have hearing aids: 75

Source: HearUSA.

Idle Thought

"If people are good only because they fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed." -- Albert Einstein, physicist

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

Amount spent annually by U.S. marketers targeting children, up from $100 million in 1983: $17 billion

Average number of hours per week that U.S. children now spend in front of television screens, more hours than in any other activity besides sleeping: 40

Percentage of U.S. babies under the age of 1 who have a television in their bedroom: 19

Source: WorldWatch Institute.

Year that Arthur Mosher Butts, an unemployed architect who developed the board game Scrabble to pass the time with his friends during the Great Depression, was born: 1899

When the game was marketed by Macy's, amount of royalty per game that Butts received: 3 cents

Estimated number of sets that have been sold worldwide: 150 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Amount that the average woman spends per year on haircuts, according to ShopSmart Consumer Reports: $195

Estimated amount she spends on color alone: $260

Percentage of women who are trying to save money by going to the salon less often: 33

Percentage of women who have had a mood affected by a bad hair day: 44

Source: Consumer Reports.

Percentage of Americans who see the growth in reality television shows as a change for the better, according to Pew Research: 8

Percentage who say the shows have been a change for the worse: 63

Source: Pew Internet and American Life.

Percentage of Americans who said their financial professional has not broached the topic of how to fund potential long-term-care costs, according to a survey sponsored by Genworth Financial companies: 91

Percentage of Americans who say that fear of upsetting family members is the biggest barrier to talking about long-term-care plans: 65

Percentage who say becoming a family burden is their biggest concern: 55

Source: Genworth Financial.

Percentage salary premium that professionals with "cyber" on their resume can command as both the public and private sectors are becoming more aggressive in building their security-talent pipeline, according to the Dice Report: 20

As of April 1, 2010, the number of available tech jobs: 62,067

Source: Dice.

Average American mainstream videogame industry salary in 2009, a decline of more than 4 percent from 2008's figure of $79,000, according to Game Developer Research, the analysis arm of leading videogame industry publications Game Developer magazine and Gamasutra: $75,573

Source: fortyseven communications.

Percentage of women 50 years of age and older who singled out Meryl Streep as the celebrity who best personifies "50-plus Fabulous," according to a survey sponsored by Vichy Laboratories: 46

Percentage of women over 50 who reported that they experienced changes in the appearance of their skin, including increased dryness, increased wrinkles and a sagging neck once they entered menopause: 82

Source: Vichy.

Percentage of Americans who are seriously concerned about identity theft, according to the results of the Unisys Security Index: 64

Percentage who are also seriously concerned about credit and debit card fraud: 62

Percentage of Americans who are seriously concerned about the security of online transactions -- the highest level since the Unisys Security Index began three years ago: 43

Source: Unisys.

Percentage of chief information officers who have implemented stricter social networking policies, according to a survey developed by Robert Half Technology: 38

Percentage of technology executives who are reining in personal use of social media: 23

According to a previous study, percentage of companies that have social networking policies that ban the use of social networking altogether: 55

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Idle Thought

"We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin." -- Andre Berthiaume, novelist

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