Percentage of all working adults who have people that they would consider friends at work, according to a Randstad survey: 95

Percentage of respondents who say that having friends at work makes their job more enjoyable: 67

Percentage who say it makes their job more satisfying: 55

Source: Randstad.

Increase over the past 20 years in average annual Social Security benefit payments to seniors who retired in 1990, according to an analysis conducted by The Senior Citizens League: $4,967

During the same time period, total raise in annual pay for members of Congress -- 1,458 percent more than seniors: $77,400

Number of times more quickly that congressional pay grows than Social Security checks: 15

Source: Senior Citizens League.

Number of flight cancellations caused by the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll: 100,000

Estimated cost to the airline industry: $1.7 billion

Percentage of Americans who were affected: 14

Source: Gallup.

Despite rooms filled with all manner of electronic distractions, approximate percentage of the nation's children age 7 or younger who most often opt for a bedtime story before turning in for the night, according to a survey commissioned by SleepBetter.org: 50

Percentage of Americans who say that "Goodnight Moon," Margaret Wise Brown's perennial classic first published in 1947, is America's favorite bedtime story: 23

Percentage of parents of children age 7 or younger who say they have made up stories, and that these stories are the overwhelming choice of their children: 74

Source: SleepBetter.org.

Percentage of global executives who said they are willing to relocate to a different region, state or country, according to Korn/Ferry's Executive Quiz: 82

Percentage of respondents who said that career acceleration is the primary reason to move: 78

Percentage who also chose "job title and promotion" or "salary" as the top motivator: 20

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Current average personal debt of an individual in the U.K. (excluding mortgages), according to research carried out by the Post Office: 9,731.51 pounds

Percentage of consumers who admitted to hiding their debt from their partner: 20

Percentage of those with hidden debt who have never been open about the true extent of their debt: 78

Of the 22 percent who were open, percentage who were discovered rather than chose to come clean: 60

Source: Baines and Ernst.

Percentage of Americans who said they have shared a negative product or service experience with others on Facebook, YouTube or another social networking site, according to a survey sponsored by the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies: 20

Percentage of respondents who said their company had no policy for talking about the company on social networking sites: 64

Of the 36 percentage who said their company had a policy, percentage who said they were encouraged to talk about the company: 18

Source: Chubb Group.

In 1990, percentage of all U.S. babies who were born to teen mothers, according to a report by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau: 13

In the same year, percentage of babies who were born to women age 35 and older: 9

In 2008, percentage of births that were to teens: 10

Percentage that were to women age 35 and older: 14

Source: Pewsocialtrends.org.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have two or more computers: 57.7

Percentage of U.S. adults who purchased a laptop computer in the past 12 months: 12.9

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Year that a radical new building began to take shape in Chicago -- America's first skyscraper, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1884

Number of stories high that designer William Jenney was able to build the structure using a metal frame for support, with walls hung like curtains on the frame (previously, walls supported buildings, limiting the height that could be safely reached): 10

Amount of money that the U.S. construction industry spends erecting nonresidential buildings every year: $263 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else." -- Charles Dickens

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

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.)