Rank of Texas on the list of magnet states in 2010, according to Allied Van Lines' 43rd Annual Magnet States Report, which tracks inbound and outbound moves to determine U.S. migration patterns: 1

In the last 6 years, number of times Texas has placed first on the list: 6

Ranks of Colorado, Florida, South Carolina and Arizona on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania on the list of the highest net relocation losses (more outbound than inbound shipments): 1, 2, 3

Source: Allied Van Lines.

Should they be lucky enough to win the lottery, percentage of people who say that paying off debt would be the first thing on their list, according to a Market Strategies study: 33

Percentage who said that buying a house would be first on their list: 25

Percentage who would either A) help family and friends, or B) save or invest (tie): 15

Source: Market Strategies International.

Total annual economic cost of overweight (body mass index between 25.0 and 29.9) and obesity (BMI of more than 30) in the U.S., according to a study released by the Society of Actuaries: $270 billion

Total cost of excess medical care caused by overweight and obesity: $127 billion

Economic loss of productivity caused by excess mortality: $49 billion

Source: Society of Actuaries.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the year that a widely accepted habit of many generations of Americans came under official attack when Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first government report that smoking may be dangerous to health: 1964

Estimated percentage of adult Americans who smoke: 20

Estimated percentage of the residents of Kentucky who smoke -- the state with the highest proportion of smokers: 28

Estimated percentage of the residents of Utah who smoke -- the state with the lowest proportion of smokers: 12

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of women who aspire to dress younger than their years, according to research carried out by Debenhams: 89

Percentage who cite 70 as the age they felt they would either be or had been happy to dress their age: 55

Percentage of women who said that their 70s would be no barrier to dressing and looking younger: 45

Source: Debenhams.

On the heels of the announcement that Time magazine had named Mark Zuckerberg 2010's "Person of the Year," percentage of teens who responded that they have a Facebook page, according to a poll of American teens conducted by Ipsos Reid: 75

Percentage of those who admit to accessing their Facebook page continuously throughout the day: 27

Percentage of teens who can access the Internet through their mobile device who are continuous Facebook users: 65

Source: Ipsos Reid.

Estimated increase in the number of gym memberships, from 29.5 million in 1998 to more than 40 million in 2010, according to a special report from IBISWorld: 10.5 million

Number of cigarette and tobacco manufacturing plants -- the number having dropped at an annualized rate of 9.5 percent since 2005: 77

Source: IBISWorld.

Percentage of mobile Internet time spent on e-mail, according to the State of the Media Fact Sheet compiled by the Nielsen company: 38.5

Percentage of time spent on social networking: 10.7

Percentage of time spent on news and current events: 7.2

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Projected number of sales worldwide by 2015 of Internet-connectable TV devices (consisting of Internet-connectable HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, game consoles and digital video players), according to Parks Associates: 350 million

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of Americans who plan to spend at least some of the extra money they will receive through the one-year Social Security payroll-tax reduction that became effective Jan. 1, 2011, according to The RBC U.S. Consumer Outlook Index: 74

Percentage who plan to spend all or most of it: 42

Source: RBC.

Idle Thought

"You can't shame or humiliate modern celebrities. What used to be called shame and humiliation is now called publicity." -- P.J. O'Rourke, writer

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

Percentage of people who say relatives overstay their welcome after a day or less, according to a special edition of the "HomeAway Vacation Rental Marketplace Report": 22

Ranks of "leaving their belongings all over the place" (31 percent), "not helping with the cooking/cleaning" (26 percent), and "wanting to be entertained constantly" on the list of the most annoying habits of houseguests: 1, 2, 3

Source: Home Away.

Rank of Johnny Depp on the list of top money-making stars of 2010 in Quigley Publishing Co.'s 79th annual poll of motion picture exhibitors: 1

Number of times Depp has appeared in the poll, including two other first-place finishes in 2007 and 2006: 6

From 1949 to 1974, number of times John Wayne was voted one of the top 10 money-making stars: 25

Source: Quigley Publishing Co.

Percentage of Americans who say religion is losing its influence on American life -- one of the highest such responses in Gallup's 53-year history of asking this question, according to a Gallup Poll: 70

Source: Gallup.

When consumers were asked to cite the kind of advertising they're most likely to ignore, percentage who cited Internet banner ads, according to an AdweekMedia/Harris Poll: 43

Ranks of search engine ads (20 percent), TV ads (14 percent), radio ads (7 percent) and newspaper ads (6 percent) on the list of advertising they were most likely to ignore: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: AdweekMedia/Harris Poll.

Between 1970 and 2000, percentage growth in the undergraduate student population, according to Universities.com: 72

According to information from the National Center for Educational Statistics, percentage of students who are part-time: 39

Percentage of postsecondary students who are 25 years of age or older: 39

Source: Universities.com.

Percentage of Internet users who have paid to download or access some kind of online content from the Internet, according to a Pew Internet & American Life survey: 65

Percentage of Internet users who say they have paid for digital music online: 33

Percentage who have paid for digital newspaper, magazine or journal articles or reports: 18

Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of employers who plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2011, up from 20 percent in 2010 and 14 percent in 2009, according to CareerBuilder's annual job forecast: 24

Percentage who plan to decrease headcount, an improvement from 9 percent in 2010 and 16 percent in 2009: 7

Percentage who anticipate no change in their staff levels: 58

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of U.S. homes that have a digital video recorder, according to Nielsen research: 38

Percentage of time-shifted prime-time broadcast programming that is played back the same day it was recorded: 49

Percentage that is played back within three days: 88

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of households that have made home improvements to save on their utility bill, according to international research from Parks Associates: 68

Percentage who cite personal comfort as another primary reason for making upgrades: 65

While consumer awareness of smart grids remains low, percentage of U.S. households that are still taking energy-saving actions themselves, and making energy-related improvements in their home: 80

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of new-car shoppers who say they are waiting to find the right deal before making their final purchase decision, according to the latest study from Kelley Blue Book: 72

Percentage who say they have not yet finalized their purchase or lease decision because they are still undecided on the specific vehicle they want to purchase: 43

Percentage of new-car shoppers who have delayed their purchase in the past year: 52

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Idle Thought

"Every man's work, whether it be literature, or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself." -- Samuel Butler, poet

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

Percentage of unemployed workers who have received at least one job offer since they have become unemployed, according to a survey from Personified: 17

Of these workers, percentage who rejected the offer: 92

Percentage who reported the pay was more than 25 percent below the salary they earned in their most recent position: 54

Source: Personified.

Ranks of the personal computer (78 percent) and the Internet (77 percent) on the list of inventions of the past 25 years that were voted to have made life better, according to USA WEEKEND: 1, 2

At 33 percent, rank of the cell phone on the list of inventions that changed the lives for the worse: 1

Rank of the cell phone (64 percent) on the list of inventions that changed the lives for the better, which goes to show that we have a love/hate relationship with our cell phones: 3

Source: USA WEEKEND.

Year that one of the world's most popular word games (the crossword puzzle, created by journalist Arthur Wynne) was printed for the first time in the Sunday edition of the New York World, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1913

At the time Arthur Wynne's puzzle first appeared, estimated number of Americans who read daily newspapers: 29 million

Today, estimated number who read newspapers on both weekdays and Sundays: 49 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of baby boomers (ages 45 to 64) who say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country today, according to a Pew Research: 80

Percentage of those ages 18 to 29 (millennials) who say the same: 60

Percentage of those ages 30 to 45 (generation X) who agree: 69

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

Percentage of Americans who believe God created humans in their present form about 10,000 years ago, according to a Gallup Poll: 40

Percentage who believe God guided a process by which humans developed over millions of years from less advanced life forms: 38

Percentage who believe humans developed over millions of years, without God's involvement: 16

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of people, and majorities in 19 out of 22 countries, who think that government regulation and oversight of their national economy needs to be increased -- with the U.S., Turkey and Spain as the only exceptions -- according to the findings of a BBC World Service global poll across 22 countries, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA: 67

In 14 of 22 countries, average percentage of people who favor an increase in government spending to stimulate the economy -- including large majorities of Egyptians (91 percent), Mexicans (80 percent), Russians and Indonesians (both 78 percent) and Nigerians (73 percent): 56

Ranks of Germany (66 percent), France (63 percent) and the U.S. (58 percent) on the list of industrialized countries that had large stimulus programs and are opposed to an increase in spending: 1, 2, 3

Source: World Public Opinion.

Percentage of CFOs who say that other than technical or functional expertise, the trait they look for most is "integrity": 33

Percentage who said "interpersonal/communication skills": 28

Percentage who said "initiative": 15

Percentage who said "ability to motivate others": 12

Source: Robert Half Finance & Accounting.

Percentage of U.S. adults who said they want more control over the information that is available about them online, according to an online survey conducted for Intelius: 90

Because professionals, friends and colleagues routinely use websites and search engines to gather personal insight about them, percentage of respondents who believe their online identity is now as important as their "offline" personal or professional reputation: 80

Percentage of consumers who said they believe it is very important to look up information about people and/or businesses online before deciding to interact or do business with them: 78

Source: Intelius.

Percentage of executives who cite effective management of remote employees as their biggest concern in managing a mobile workforce, according to a survey by Runzheimer International: 54

Despite this concern, percentage who cited employee satisfaction as one of the top benefits gained with a mobile workforce as well as cost savings: 26

Percentage of survey respondents who believe their companies are effectively managing mobile workforce programs, but do not necessarily have measurement mechanisms in place: 60

Source: Runzheimer International.

Percentage of business professionals who said they were "highly confident" that private enterprises have sufficient controls in place to minimize the occurrence of cyber crime, according to a poll conducted by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services: 5

Percentage of respondents who are "not confident" in controls implemented by private enterprises: almost 40

Percentage of respondents who believed it was "likely" or "extremely likely" that an electronic security breach would occur in the next 12 months: 42

Source: Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP.

Idle Thought

"Would the boy you were be proud of the man you are?" -- Laurence J. Peter, educator and author

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