Year that a device was demonstrated in Philadelphia (and that sparked a revolution in the way most Americans now live and work), the first commercial electronic computer, UNIVAC I, built for the U.S. Census Bureau to tabulate the 1950 Census: 1951
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Year the public first became aware of the computer when it was used on television on election night to predict that Dwight Eisenhower would win the presidential contest: 1952
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of men who say that when they are on a first date the thought that is going through their head is: "Could I have a relationship with this person?" -- according to a poll by the dating service It's Just Lunch: 47
When women were asked the same question, percentage who said, "Do I want to see him again?": 50
Source: It's Just Lunch/American Way.
Percentage of Americans who have a six-month emergency savings cushion, according to a survey conducted by Bankrate.com: 24
Percentage who have no emergency savings whatsoever: 24
Source: Bankrate Inc.
Percentage of America's middle-income baby boomers who say that their financial situation, not age, is now the key trigger for when to retire, according to a study conducted by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement: 73
Percentage of middle-income Americans between ages 47 and 65 with income between $25,000 and $75,000, who say they expect to retire after the traditional retirement age of 65: 33
Source: Bankers Life and Casualty Co.
Equivalent number of the 1.8 zettabytes of information that is forecast to be created and replicated in 2011, according to the IDC Digital Universe study and sponsored by EMC: 1.8 trillion gigabytes
If every person in the U.S. were to tweet three tweets per minute for 26,976 years nonstop, number of zettabytes of data that would produce: 1.8
If every person in the world were to have more than 215 million high-resolution MRI scans per day, number of zettabytes of data that would produce: 1.8
Source: EMC Corp.
Percentage of men who say they do most of the household cleaning, up from 17 percent in 2006, according to research from Mintel: 31
Percentage of men who do household cleaning who say cleaning the house gives them a sense of accomplishment (compared to 62 percent of women): 55
Source: Mintel.
Percentage of employees who have little to no anxiety about missing work while on vacation, according to a survey by Aerotek: 68
Percentage of respondents who have no qualms about using some or all of their allotted vacation time: 65
Percentage who completely disconnect while on vacation: 52
Source: Aerotek.
In the U.S., percentage of women who say they like shopping for clothes, according to a Gallup Poll: 39
Percentage who go shopping when the clothes they currently own are literally wearing out and need to be replaced: 30
Source: Gallup.
Percentage of working fathers laid off over the last 12 months who say they have found full-time employment, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 84
Percentage who report working more than 50 hours per week on average, up from 19 percent last year: 22
Percentage who spend two hours or less with their children each day: 39
Percentage who spend one hour or less: 16
Source: CareerBuilder.com.
Percentage of employees in the U.S. who tend to regard talent development programs as unfair and political, according to a survey of senior managers and executives conducted by AMA Enterprise (American Management Association): 24
Percentage who consider efforts to identify and develop future leaders flawed, but well-intentioned: 27
Source: American Management Association.
Idle Thought
"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." -- Thomas Macaulay
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)