Percentage of workers who said they have gained weight in their current jobs, according to a new CareerBuilder survey: 43

Percentage who said stress has contributed to their weight gain: 24

Percentage of respondents who blamed sitting at a desk most of the day for their weight gain: 36

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Out of seven factors impacting job security, percentage of workers who selected their own performance as having the most impact, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs survey conducted on behalf of Kenexa: 26

Percentage who said the U.S. economy had the most impact: 26

Percentage who selected their skills and education as the most important factor: 14

Percentage of respondents who said that the performance of their organization as a whole had an important impact: 18

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia on the list of states in which it's best to do business, according to Chief Executive magazine's annual Best and Worst States survey: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Number of years Texas has held the No. 1 position: 7

Source: Chief Executive Group. Contact Marshall Cooper at 203-930-2704 or email mcooper@chiefexective.net.

Percentage of respondents who admitted they have sex once or twice a week, according to the results from the Great American Sex Survey by Adam and Eve: 26

Percentage who said they enjoyed sex more than once a day: 1

Source: Adam and Eve.

Percentage of working Americans who consider their paycheck to be their most valuable asset, according to a new survey from the nonprofit LIFE Foundation: 16

Amount of money a 25-year-old worker who makes $50,000 a year could lose in future earnings if he or she were to become permanently disabled and unable to work and earn an income: $3.8 million

Percentage chance there is of suffering a disabling illness or injury that could keep a worker out of work for three months or more: 30

Source: LIFE Foundation.

Decade culinary historians note that sausages joined peanuts, popcorn and soda on the concession menus at ballparks, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council's annual report: 1890s

Number of sausages projected to be sold this season at Miller Park in Milwaukee -- the only stadium in Major League Baseball where sausages outsell hot dogs and home to the world-famous Klement's Sausage Race in the sixth inning of each game: 900,000

Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

Since the release of Barack Obama's long-form birth certificate in late April, percentage of Americans who now say he was definitely born in the United States -- up from 38 percent before its release, according to a Gallup Poll: 47

Percentage who still say he was probably or definitely born in another country: 13

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of Americans who say that as America faces increasing global competition, U.S. schools are not focused enough on providing entrepreneurial skills, according to the Zogby/463 poll commissioned by Cogswell College: 66

Percentage who said that launching a business while still in college will make students more successful in creating jobs and opportunities after graduation: 76

Percentage of Americans who currently think that college is where students become entrepreneurs: 5

Source: Cogswell College.

Percentage of global consumers who believe that financial institutions don't care about the customer, according to the Consumer Financial Monitor by Corporate Executive Board: 50

Percentage of global consumers who believe institutions don't share the values of their customers: 51

Source: Corporate Executive Board.

Nationwide last year, number of postal employees who were attacked by dogs, according to the U.S. Postal Service: 5,669

Estimated cost to the U.S. Postal Service in medical expenses from dog attacks last year: $1.2 million

Source: U.S. Postal Service.

Idle Thought

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." -- Greek proverb

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

Rank of Apple on the list of the most valuable brands in the world, after registering a staggering 84 percent increase in value over the past year, ending the four-year reign of Google at the top of the table, according to the sixth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study: 1

Value of the Apple brand, as calculated by dollar value, an analysis based on financial data combined with consumer measures of brand equity: $153.3 billion

Percentage increase in value since 2006: 859

Source: Millward Brown.

Projected cost of the 200-mile-per-hour hybrid car that Jaguar plans to introduce, according to the Kelley Blue Book: $1.2 million

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of Americans who say they have already cut back or canceled vacation plans due to high gas prices, with the summer vacation season fast approaching, according to this month's RBC Consumer Outlook Index: 47

Percentage who say they have scaled back their plans because of high airfares: 20

Percentage of consumers who have already reduced their discretionary spending: 30

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs (MG).

Percentage of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year -- approximately 1.4 billion tons -- that gets lost or wasted, according to an FAO-commissioned study: 33

Amount of food wasted by consumers in rich countries every year: 244.7 million tons

Entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa: 253.5 million tons

Source: FAO.

Percentage reduction in annual energy use by the Empire State Building as a result of its retrofit project, according to Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator: 38

Estimated reduction in carbon emissions over the next 15 years: 105,000 metric tons

Source: Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI).

Percentage of consumers who believe that grocery prices have risen in the past three months, according to a consumer sentiment and behavior survey by Technomic: 84

Percentage who believe restaurant prices have risen: 62

Percentage of consumers who believe packaged food sizes have gotten smaller: 50

Source: Technomic.

Percentage of Americans who say all new drivers should be required to complete a driver education course before they can get a driver's license, according to a survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and conducted by Knowledge Networks: 86

Rank of road accidents on the list of causes of death for young people worldwide (including in the U.S.): 1

Source: AAA.

Percentage of people who would save family photos above all other possessions in the case of fire and after knowing their loved ones were safe, according to an Eye-Fi survey: 53

After family photos, rank of other miscellaneous items, electronics, a specific item of clothing, jewelry, and a particular book on the list of people's most treasured possessions: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Eye-Fi.

Percentage of workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last year who reported they found new positions, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder: 59

Percentage of workers who took jobs in new fields, reflecting a growing trend where workers are re-educating themselves and/or repackaging their skill sets, up from 48 percent last year: 60

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who believe Social Security and Medicare costs are already creating a crisis for the federal government, according to a Gallup poll: 34

Percentage who believe Social Security and Medicare costs will create a crisis within 10 years: 33

Source: Gallup Organization.

Idle Thought

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." -- John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer

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

Percentage of parents who report that their children typically go to mom first with money questions, according to a survey by T. Rowe Price: 61

Percentage of moms who grade themselves with an "A" on their financial knowledge: 17

Percentage of dads who grade themselves with an "A": 28

Source: T. Rowe Price.

Projected wealth among millionaire households in 25 of the world's major economies in 2020 (from an estimated $92 trillion this year), according to a report from the Deloitte Center for Financial Services: $202 trillion

Ranks of China, Brazil and Russia on the list of countries expected to be the driving forces in the growth of millionaire wealth: 1, 2, 3

Rank of Switzerland on the list of countries having the highest per capita wealth among millionaires ($4.2 million in 2011): 1

In 2020, predicted percentage of the world's wealth held by millionaire households in the U.S.: 43

Source: Deloitte LLP.

Ranks of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Charlie Sheen, Gary Busey, Lindsay Lohan and The Situation on the list of the "least desired" celebrity travel companions, according to an Expedia.com poll: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Ellen Degeneres (earning twice as many votes as the second-place candidate), Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray on the list of favorite daytime-talk-show-host travel companions: 1, 2, 3

Source: Expedia.

Year that the word "locavore" -- or one who eats food grown locally whenever possible -- was chosen by the New Oxford American Dictionary as the word of the year, according to Mintel: 2007

Percentage growth in the "local" claim on U.S. restaurant menus in the past year alone: 13

Source: Mintel.

Ranks of Norway, Australia, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark on the list of countries where it's best to be a mother, according to Save the Children's 2011 State of the World's Mothers report, which ranks 164 countries on women's access to health care, education and opportunities: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of the United States on the list: 31

United States' rate for maternal mortality -- the highest of any industrialized nation: 1 in 2,100

Source: Save the Children.

Percentage of American singles who say that if a first date isn't going as planned, they would actually call it a night and leave within the first 30 minutes of the date, according to Match.com: 12

If your date isn't getting the hint that you aren't a match made in heaven, percentage who agree you should politely explain you aren't interested: 52

Percentage of singles who disapprove of ending the date between the sheets: 80

Source: Match.com.

Ranks of Cape Town, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; and Machu Picchu, Peru, on the list of travelers' choice destinations, according to a survey by TripAdvisor travelers: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of New York City, Honolulu and San Francisco on the list of top choices in the U.S.: 1, 2, 3

Source: TripAdvisor.

In 2010, number of stranded motorists who were helped by the AAA during the summer driving season, with nearly half a million receiving assistance during the Memorial Day holiday weekend alone, according to the American Automobile Association: 9.3 million

Number of driving miles logged by Americans in 2010, the most vehicle miles traveled since 2007, according to Consumer Reports: 3 trillion

Source: AutoMD.com.

Year of the Battle of Puebla (when outnumbered Mexican troops defeated the invading French forces of Napoleon III), according to Chase's Calendar of Events and the U.S. Census Bureau: 1862

Date this victory is celebrated annually -- the celebration evolving from one of military victory to a colorful and vibrant event celebrating Mexican culture: May 5 (Cinco de Mayo)

Number of people of Mexican descent in the U.S. -- 10 percent of the total population: 31.7 million

Number of these who live in either California or Texas: 19.6 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Estimated percentage of IT professionals of Indian origin who are planning to return to their homeland, according to a survey conducted by Corp-Corp.com: 50

Percentage of Indians with permanent residency or citizenship elsewhere who intend to return: 57

Percentage of respondents who said their primary reason for the return to India is to rejoin their family members: 51

Source: Corp-Corp.com.

Idle Thought

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him." -- Aldous Huxley, novelist

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