Percentage of women who find wealth attractive or somewhat attractive, according to a survey by dating site Diamond Daddy: 95

Percentage of women who like a man who sometimes or always spoils them: 80

Percentage of women who say they are seeking a "sugar daddy": 3

Source: Luxury Personals.

Number of messages per day received by the average knowledge worker, according to Basex: 93

If every knowledge worker in the U.S. were to send 10 percent fewer messages, estimated annual reduction in the cost of "information overload": $180 billion

Source: Basex Inc.

Ranks of banks (88 percent), personal e-mail accounts (86 percent) and Facebook (72 percent) -- all of which are rife with sensitive information -- on the list of the most commonly used password-protected sites among consumers, according to research commissioned by Webroot: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of respondents who have shared passwords with at least one person in the past year: 41

Percentage of people who use the same password to log into multiple websites: 41

Source: Webroot Software Inc.

Percentage of Americans who express "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust in themselves to make judgments under the country's democratic system, according to a Gallup Poll: 69

Percentage who say the same of the men and women in political life: 47

Number of percentage points that trust in politicians has fallen from when Gallup first asked the question in April 1974, as Congress was embroiled in the Watergate investigation that culminated in President Richard Nixon's resignation: 21

Source: Gallup.

Despite continuing warnings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the potential dangers of in-vehicle cell phone use, percentage of drivers who admitted to having used a hand-held cell phone during the past 30 days, according to a Kelley Blue Book poll: 22

Percentage who said they had used some form of hands-free/Bluetooth device: 10

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

In spite of one of the cloudiest and rainiest years in recent memory, amount of solar energy produced by Solar Pie atop the PEMCO Insurance roof in Seattle in its inaugural 12 months of operation: 8,106 kilowatts

Length of time that amount of power will run an average household in the state of Washington: 1 year

Over the past year, number of tons of carbon offset by PEMCO's solar panels, which represents the amount of greenhouse gases that would have been emitted if the same level of energy had been produced by fossil fuels: 6

Source: Solar Pie.

Ranks of Steve Jobs, Jay-Z and Oprah Winfrey on the list of the most-admired entrepreneurs by Houston teens, according to a 2010 Teens and Entrepreneurship survey conducted by Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of respondents who said they would like to start their own businesses someday: 60

Percentage who said they were most interested in an entertainment business: 18

Percentage who were interested in a technology-based business: 10

Source: Junior Achievement.

Due to the lingering economic downturn, percentage more do-it-yourselfers who are doing even more of their own auto repairs than in 2008, according to the 2010 DIY Report from AutoMD.com: 40

Percentage of DIYers who claim savings of over $1,000 yearly: 34.9

Percentage who say they save $500-plus: 67

Source: AutoMD.com.

Since the global financial crisis, percentage of Americans who have become more concerned about the price of food, according to a survey by the Financial Times and Harris Poll: 58

As a response to rising food prices, percentage of Americans who are spending more money on the same type of food that they have always purchased: 35

Percentage who are spending less money on either less food or on less-expensive food: 23

Source: Harris Interactive.

Estimated number of temporary positions created by the economy in just 12 months, according to analysis by Dice.com of Bureau of Labor statistics numbers: 400,000

By comparison, number of years it took to achieve that kind of growth during the last recovery: 3

Source: Dice.com.

Idle Thought

"Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is." -- Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry

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

Year that the first World Series game in major league history took place as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Boston Red Sox 7-3 before 16,200 fans: 1903

Number of spectators who attend baseball games in America each year: 80 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of American invoices that were paid late, according to findings published in the Payment Practices Barometer global report, released by international trade credit insurer Atradius: 39

Percentage of U.S. businesses that reported that customers had asked for extended payment terms over the last six months: 52

Source: Atradius Corporate Communications and Marketing.

Average percentage of revenues that software companies with more than $100,000 in annual revenue spend on customer acquisition, according to a survey by TrialPay: 15

Average percentage of revenues that smaller vendors with under $100,000 in annual revenue are spending to acquire customers: 54

Source: TrialPay.

Percentage of Americans without cats who have purposely not visited a home because there were two or more cats living there, according to a survey conducted by Purina Tidy Cats: 49

Percentage of Americans without cats who went so far as to say they would be willing to give up shopping, a favorite beverage, cell phone, television or Internet access to avoid spending a week in a multiple-cat home: 60

According to the survey, percentage more likely that multiple-cat homes are than those without cats to receive guests a few times a week: 48 vs. 29

Source: Purina Tidy Cats.

Number of potential trick-or-treaters -- children 5 to 13 -- across the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau data: 36 million

Ranks of witch, ghost and clown on the list of traditional costumes most worn by trick-or-treaters: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of "Toy Story 3" characters, "Avatar" characters and "Alice in Wonderland" characters on the list of the most favored costumes of the moment: 1, 2, 3

Rank of Lady Gaga as the most favored costume for women: 1

Rank of Iron Man as the most favored for men: 1

Source: National Retail Foundation.

Ranks of certified public accountants (CPAs) (62 percent), bankers (52 percent) and financial advisers (51 percent) on the list of financial professionals most relied on for help with money management, according to a national Capstrat-Public Policy Polling survey: 1, 2, 3

Source: Capstrat-Public Policy Polling.

Percentage of students who believe they will still be somewhat financially dependent on their parents after graduation, according to a BookRenter College Experience survey: 69

Percentage who anticipate that they will be forced to move home after school: 20

Source: BookRenter.

Percentage of adults who agree that they are aware of the risks involved with managing financial accounts online, according to a survey conducted by ING: 93

Percentage of adults who agree that financial services companies should be doing more to protect their customers' personal and financial information: 90

Percentage of respondents who access financial accounts online, such as checking, savings, 401(k) or investment accounts: 75

Source: ING.

Percentage of workers with a job who say their company is understaffed, according to Gallup's Job Creation Index: 38

Percentage who say their company has about the right number of employees: 52

Percentage of American workers who believe their company has too many employees: 8

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of Americans who say they are more likely to purchase something when the ad touts it is "Made in America," according to a Harris poll: 61

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are neither more nor less likely to purchase a product when an ad emphasizes it is "Made in America": 35

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"Be good and you will be lonesome." -- Mark Twain, author and humorist

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

On average, estimated percentage of their tax money that taxpayers believe is not used in ways that serve the interests and values of the people of their country, according to the findings of a BBC World Service global poll across 22 countries, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA: 52

Percentage of people around the world, and majorities in all but one of 22 countries polled, who think that government should subsidize food to keep prices down for consumers: 78

Source: World Public Opinion.

Percentage of small-business owners who now plan to never retire until forced to do so for health reasons -- up from about 4 in 10 in 2005 and 2007 -- according to a Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index poll: 47

Percentage who plan to cut back on work but stay involved with their business when they retire: 41

Percentage who are planning to stop working in their business altogether, a drop from nearly twice that level in 2005: 10

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of car owners who are planning to drive their current vehicle for 50,000 (or more) miles longer than they drove their previous one, according to AutoMD.com: 80

Source: AutoMD.com.

Though the recession has been declared officially over, percentage of Americans who are still considering a part-time job for extra income, according to a study conducted by The Pampered Chef: 58

Percentage of adults who are more likely to consider taking a second job now than they were six months ago: 33

Amount of extra money per month Americans say would be enough to make a positive impact on most households: $100 to $600

Percentage of Americans who would use some or all of the extra income earned from a second job to pay off bills: 66

Source: The Pampered Chef.

Percentage of working adults who believe that company culture is a critical driver of business success, according to Randstad's Work Watch survey: 66

Percentage of employees who believe company culture has the greatest impact on employee morale: 35

Percentage who believe that it has the greatest impact on employee productivity: 22

Percentage of younger workers, ages 18 to 34, who say it plays the biggest role in building job satisfaction: 23

Source: Randstad-USA.

Year that one of the first communities built by a real-estate developer opened for residents to move into, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1947

Estimated number of Cape Cod and ranch houses that the town ultimately contained, all of which were snapped up by soldiers returning home from World War II and facing an acute housing shortage: 17,000

Cost of the houses in Levittown, N.Y., in 1947: $7,500

Average square footage of floor space: 800

Average square footage of living space in a new home in the U.S. today: 2,500

Average cost of a house today: $232,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank of safety and security on the list of concerns for international travelers, according to results of a survey conducted for the U.S. Travel Insurance Association: 1

Percentage of Americans who say that safety and security issues would not deter them from traveling internationally: 70

Percentage who say that safety and security concerns would influence their choice of an overseas destination: 60

Source: Kundell Communications.

Percentage increase in the number of miles driven by U.S. motorists over the past five years, according to research by State Farm: 2

Percentage increase in the number of deer-vehicle collisions in the U.S. during that time: 21

Estimated number of collisions between deer and vehicles that occurred in the U.S. during the two-year period between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2010: 2.3 million

Source: State Farm.

Percentage of teens who say bullying is a problem in their schools and communities, according to a nationally representative survey of teens and 20-somethings conducted by TRU: 64

Percentage of teens who know someone their age who has been the target of hateful or hurtful electronic communication: 52

Percentage who admit to having suffered such intimidation themselves: 29

Source: TRU.

Ranks of Ellen DeGeneres, Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Aniston, each scoring 9 out of a possible 10, on the list of celebrities' hair, according to the new Hair Q Score developed by medical doctor and prominent hair transplant surgeon, Dr. Shapiro: first (tie)

Rank of Donald Trump: last

Source: Dr. Shapiro.

Idle Thought

"Walking is man's best medicine." -- Hippocrates, the father of medicine

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