Estimated number of "stay-at-home" dads across America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 147,000

Percentage of fathers with employed wives who are the primary caregiver for their preschooler: 20

Percentage of dads with full-time jobs who regularly worked evening or night shifts and were the primary source of care for their preschoolers during their children's mother's working hours: 32

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of months that The New York Times reports consumers are holding onto new cars, up 4.5 months from a year ago and up 14 percent since the end of 2008: 63.9

When you add used cars, average length of ownership, according to the American Automobile Association: 52.2 months

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.

Percentage of human resources managers who said it's at least somewhat common for their company to award promotions without pay increases, according to an OfficeTeam survey: 22

Percentage of workers who said they would be willing to accept a promotion that doesn't include a raise: 55

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of executives who said employees who socialize outside of the office enjoy more productive working relationships, according to a survey by The Creative Group: 64

Percentage who disagreed: 19

Source: The Creative Group.

Percentage increase in sales of organic fruits and vegetables over 2009, which represents 39.7 percent of total organic food value, and nearly 12 percent of all U.S. fruit and vegetable sales, according to findings from the 2011 Organic Industry Survey: 11.8

Percentage increase in organic dairy, the second-largest category, achieving a value of $3.9 billion, and capturing nearly 6 percent of the total U.S. market for dairy products: 9

Source: Organic Trade Association.

Percentage of Americans who attribute the series of public sex scandals in recent years involving politicians more to the heightened scrutiny they face than to lower moral standards among elected officials, according to a national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and The Washington Post: 57

Percentage who say elected officials have lower moral standards than ordinary Americans: 19

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

Ranks of audiologist, dietitian and software engineer on the list of the nation's least stressful professions, according to the CareerCast.com 2011 report on the least and most stressful jobs: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of commercial airline pilot, public relations executive and corporate executive on the list of the nation's most stressful professions: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerCast.com.

Percentage of daily deal buyers who never redeem the daily deal vouchers they've already paid for, according to Utpal Dholakia, associate professor of management at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business in his third study done to date on the daily deals industry: 21.7

Percentage of businesses that reported making money: 55.5

Percentage that lost money: 26.6

Source: Rice University.

Percentage of U.S. small businesses that have done a security audit review in the past six months, according to a survey by Shred-it: 24

Percentage of companies that have no protocol in place for storing and disposing of confidential data: 35.5

Source: Shred-it.

Percentage of smartphone owners who are interested in being notified directly by their carrier with suggestions for cellphone plan upgrades, discounts and special offers, according to the findings released by Upstream: 70

Percentage of cellphone users who prefer two or fewer notices from their carriers each month: 74

Source: Upstream.

Idle Thought

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." -- Henry David Thoreau

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

Ranks of Apple, Google, IBM, McDonald's, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Marlboro, China Mobile and GE on the list of the world's most valuable brands, according to the sixth-annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Combined value of all the brands in the top 100: $2.4 trillion

In terms of geography, number of the Top 100 brands that now originate in "BRICs" (Brazil, Russia, India, China) markets, compared to only two in 2006: 19

Source: Millward Brown.

Average number of apps that smartphone app downloaders have on their phones, according to the State of the Media Fact Sheet compiled by the Nielsen company: 27

Percentage of mobile phone owners who have smartphones: 30.9

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of Americans who bought their first home in the past 12 months who expected to meet their mortgage repayment obligations in the coming year, according to the Genworth International Mortgage Trends Report: 87

Due to affordability issues -- high home prices, higher costs of living or fear of rising interest rates --average age at which a person in the U.S. is able to purchase a first home: 31.6

Average age of a first-home purchaser in the 1970s: 27.3

Source: Genworth Financial.

Percentage of American workers who think they will continue working full- or part-time after they reach retirement age, according to a Gallup Poll: 80

Percentage of these workers who say they will do so because they "want to": 44

Percentage who say they will do so because they "have to": 36

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of men with children under 18 years of age in the household who can be classified as "The Partner Dad," which means he works with his partner doing the shopping, the cooking and the dishes before relaxing in front of the TV, according to a study by The Martin Agency: 25

Percentage of dads who can be classified as "The Renaissance Dad," which means he strengthens the family through togetherness and learning, makes it a point to be home for dinner every night, and who reads or jogs in his spare time: 19

Percentage who can be classified as "The Hip-Hop Dad" and, while he's not a pushover, he does like spoiling his kids every once in a while: 14

Source: Martin Agency.

Percentage of Americans who have a pet, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 62

Among pet owners, percentage who have a dog: 69

Percentage who have a cat: 51

Percentage who have a fish: 11

Percentage of pet owners who have a bird: 7

Source: Harris Interactive.

Of employers hiring in 2011, ranks of sales, IT, customer service and engineering on the list of the top functional areas for recruitment: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Internet users age 16 and older who are worried about companies checking their actions on the Internet, according to the Center for the Digital Future: 48

Percentage of Internet users age 16 and older who are concerned about the government checking what they do online: 38

Among these Internet users, percentage who said that it is safe to voice their views about politics while online: 33

Source: Center for a Digital Future.

Number of calories in one medium-size (5.3 ounce) skin-on potato, according to the US Department of Agriculture: 110

Percentage of the daily value of vitamin C provided by that one potato: 45

Amount of fat, sodium or cholesterol contained in the potato: 0

Rank of potatoes on the list of fruits and vegetables that provide the largest and most affordable source of potassium and fiber, according to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: 1

Source: United States Potato Board.

Percentage of men who find it easier to care for their cars than for their personal health, according to findings from a new survey of men ages 45 to 65 commissioned by Men's Health Network and Abbott (NYSE: ABT): 70

Percentage of men who do not visit the doctor regularly: 28

Percentage of their significant others who reported they are worried about their spouse's or partner's health: 40

Source: Abbott.

Idle Thought

"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: All of them make me laugh." -- W.H. Auden

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

Percentage of full-time employees who consider themselves to be overqualified for their job, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs-Randstad survey: 33

When it comes to how well workers' education prepared them for their current position, percentage of respondents who said that while their education helped, they learned most of their skills on the job: 50

Percentage who reported that their education completely prepared them for their current job: 21

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

In the past year, percentage of Americans who have made an economically driven change that could impact the cost of their car insurance, according to a survey released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners: 53

Percentage of respondents who are driving less overall and/or taking public transportation more frequently: 40

Percentage of car owners who traded in a vehicle for a lower-priced model or got rid of a second vehicle entirely: 20

Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Percentage of drivers who do not know where to find the correct inflation pressure for their vehicle's tires, according to a survey by the Rubber Manufacturers Association: 62

Percentage of drivers who do not know that tires should be checked "cold" -- before driving: 43

Percentage who do not know how to tell if their tires are bald: 52

Source: Rubber Manufacturers Association.

Percentage of Americans who said they'd like to have Vince Lombardi or Oprah coach them through their trials and tribulations -- someone who would provide encouragement, give incentives and push them hard, according to an Anthem Blue Cross survey: 25

Source: Blue Cross.

During the past 12 months, percentage of American adults on a diet who were successful in losing weight, according to a national survey by the Calorie Control Council: 45

Percentage of these dieters who were unable to keep the weight off past six months: 66

Over a 12-month period, percentage of all dieters who attempted two or more weight-loss efforts: 50

Source: Calorie Control Council.

Ranks of vitamins, protein, minerals, fiber, omega 3 and antioxidants on the list of benefits consumers value most from their foods, according to a global study conducted by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Ipsos Marketing, Global Consumer Goods Sector.

Percentage of Americans who say taking a vacation away from where they live this year is important, although most anticipate they will have to spend more on transportation costs than they did last summer, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll: 60

Percentage who said they will "travel less" this summer: 29

Percentage of Americans who mentioned gas prices as the most important problem facing the country today: 8

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of Americans who believe the U.S. has made real progress on economic opportunity, saying the country is doing a better job now at creating equal opportunity across ethnic and racial lines than when they were younger, according to the Allstate-National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll: 55

Source: Allstate Insurance Co.

Percentage of parents of 2- to 12-year-old children in the U.S. who agree that spending more time at a community playground increases a family's sense of well-being, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Foresters: 77

Percentage of parents who agree that the more time a family spends together being active, the better their sense of family well-being: 95

Source: Foresters.

Ranks of Brazil, Uruguay and Chile on the list of top-ranked developing countries for global retail expansion, according to the Global Retail Development Index released by A.T. Kearney: 1, 2, 3

Rank of Peru on the list: 8

Average 2010 percentage GDP growth in South American countries: 6

Source: A.T. Kearney.

Idle Thought

"A man who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away." -- Charles M. Schwab

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