Percentage of small-business owners who said that providing financial stability for themselves and their family is their key motivator, according to research from specialist insurer Hiscox: 37

Percentage who cited personal ambition/recognition: 24

Percentage who cited belief in their product/service: 22

Percentage who just wanted to be wealthy: 14

Source: Hiscox.

Percentage of members of Congress who lack an academic background in business or economics, according to a study by the Employment Policies Institute: 78

Of the 23 members on the Senate budget committee, number who have a business/accounting or economics background: 5

On the House side, out of 37 members, number who hold academic degrees in business or economics fields: 8

Percentage of members of Congress who majored in either government-related fields or the humanities: 56

Percentage who majored in science or technology-related fields: 12

Source: Employment Policies Institute.

Year of the first recorded earthquake in the Eastern U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1886

Estimated reading on the Richter scale -- even now, considered among the most powerful quakes to hit the nation: 7.5

Number of people killed by two shocks, eight minutes apart in the early morning: 60

From 2000 to 2009, estimated number of earthquakes in the U.S., most of them minor: 21,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of parents who play computer games with their children every day, according to the results of an academic study by PopCap in partnership with Goldsmiths University: 32

Percentage of those who described this as quality time: 80

Percentage who reported greater bonding with their children as a result of playing these games: 33

Percentage of parents who state that their computer game-playing children also exercise regularly and eat healthily: 75

Source: PopCap Games.

Percentage of Americans who are less comfortable with their savings now compared to 12 months ago, according to the Bankrate poll: 47

Percentage of Americans who say their overall financial situation is worse now than 12 months ago: 35

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of Americans who are making fewer trips to the grocery store to save money on gas, according to Deloitte's consumer food and product insight survey: 72

Percentage who are purchasing fewer items overall: 41

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of senior leaders and hiring managers in America's Fortune 500 and large companies (5,000 employees or more) who engage in virtual teaming who said earning trust was a challenge for managers of virtual teams, according to a study conducted on behalf of Brandman University by Forrester Consulting: 57

Ranks of solid communication skills, ability to self-pace and work independently, and accountability on the list of skills for employee success in a virtual working environment: 1, 2, 3

Source: Brandman University.

Percentage of U.S. adults online who reported that they have used an online coupon or coupon code at least once, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CouponCabin.com: 74

Percentage who reported that they use online coupons or coupon codes at least once a month: 36

Percentage who said they use an online coupon or coupon code at least once a week: 11

Source: CouponCabin.

Percentage of CFOs who said employee morale has improved significantly in the last 12 months, according to an Accountemps survey: 8

Percentage of respondents who said the mood among their teams is unchanged from a year ago: 53

Source: Accountemps.

A decade after 9/11, percentage of Americans who believe terrorism is the most important issue in the world, according to a poll conducted on behalf of United Methodist Communications: 16

Percentage of Americans who cited economic weakness and unemployment as the chief concern for most Americans: 32

Source: United Methodist Communications.

Idle Thought

"The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives." -- Albert Schweitzer

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

Rank of Betty White on the list of America's favorite and most trusted personalities, and the one whose endorsement of a company would be most likely to drive business, according to an Ipsos poll: 1

Ranks of Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks: 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Paris Hilton, Charlie Sheen, Britney Spears and Kanye West on the list of the most unpopular celebrities: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Estimated number of times an area the size of Disneyland would be covered by towels laid down by holiday-makers to reserve sun loungers this summer, according to research by Virgin Holidays: 3

Number of hours of holiday time spent each year searching for a spare sun lounger by the pool or beach: 1.8 million

Percentage of those who couldn't find a sun-bed who said it was because the beds were pre-reserved with a towel: 62

Source: Virgin Holidays.

Percentage of workers who described their direct supervisor's performance as poor or very poor: 20

Rank of "plays favorites," "doesn't follow through on what he/she promises" and "doesn't listen to concerns" on the list of workers' top concerns about management: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of high school students who wished that their current high school offered financial literacy courses for them and their families to prepare for college costs, according to a study by the College Savings Foundation: 52

Percentage of students planning to borrow to go to college who have projected the total amount they will have to borrow: 30

Percentage who have projected the total monthly loan repayment amount that they will have to pay after graduation: 22

Source: College Savings Foundation.

Estimated number of U.S. adults who pay their bills late, according to a 2009 National Foundation for Credit Counseling survey: 58 million

Amount consumers spent in credit card bill late fees in 2009: $20 billion

Source: Javelin Strategy & Research.

Percentage of middle-income baby boomers between ages 47 and 65 with income between $25,000 and $75,000 who have not seen any rebound in the value of their retirement accounts, according to a study released by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement: 21

Percentage who report owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth: 16

Percentage who have less than $10,000 in retirement savings: 19

Source: Bankers Life and Casualty Co.

Percentage of workers who wish that they had more skills -- "hard" skills such as a degree or knowledge of a trade or industry and/or "soft" skills such as emotional, social, leadership and organizational intelligence, according to a survey for Randstad: 62

Percentage of employed adults who would be willing to take at least one step to get the skills needed for a better job: 64

When asked how much they would be willing to pay out of pocket for continued education or training, percentage of all employed adults who said that they wouldn't be willing to spend any of their own money: 48

Source: Randstad-USA.

Percentage of high school students who begin their college search as early as sophomore year, according to a study by Eduventures Inc. (The College Bound Market Update): 42

Mean number of applications made by high school students in their search: 7.3

Percentage of students who apply to 10 or more colleges and universities: 20

Source: Eduventures.

Percentage of Americans who interpret the Bible literally, saying it is the actual word of God, according to a Gallup poll: 30

Percentage of Americans who say the Bible is the inspired word of God, but that it should not be taken literally: 49

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of business leaders who believe a 1 percent pricing improvement can boost profits, according to a poll by Deloitte: 82

When describing their companies' current pricing management, percentage of leaders who indicated that their company doesn't pursue pricing management strategically: 22

Source: Deloitte Financial Advisory Services.

Idle Thought

"It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." -- Moliere

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

Percentage of consumers who plan to delay back-to-school spending, banking instead on last-minute offers, according to shopping website PriceGrabber: 49

In 2010, percentage of shoppers who said they were leaving their back-to-school purchases until the last minute: 38

Source: PriceGrabber.com.

Percentage of U.S. adults who believe that anonymity on the Internet has made us less civil, according to the results from an IBOPE-Zogby poll: 60

Percentage of people who say anonymity on the Internet has to go away -- that people behave a lot better when they have their real names down: 21

Percentage of respondents who believe that requiring real names suppresses dialogue about important topics: 49

Source: Zogby International.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who agree they "have become a much smarter shopper thanks to today's economic situation," according to a Ypartnership/Harrison Group survey: 77

Among leisure travelers who have used the Internet to obtain travel information or to make a reservation, percentage who say the most desirable feature in a travel-service supplier website is the ability to check the lowest fares/rates: 84

Source: Ypartnership Public Relations.

Average value of a 1- to 3-year-old used vehicle in 2008, according to the Kelley Blue Book: $15,000

In response to supply reductions due to the recession, average value of a 1- to 3-year-old used vehicle in 2011, an average increase of nearly 16 percent each year: $23,000

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of consumers who would be willing to sacrifice some convenience and provide an additional level of authentication online (something in addition to a password) before accessing their bank or investment account if the process provided greater security, according to a Zogby Interactive survey of U.S. adults: 78

Percentage of consumers who said they believe banks -- not government -- are "most responsible" for securing customers' financial assets: 66

Source: Booz Allen Hamilton.

Percentage of parents who are looking to education loans to pay for their children's college -- most of which will be signed over to their children, according to the fifth annual College Savings Foundation survey of parents: 48

Percentage of these loans that will take from five to beyond 20 years to pay off: 68

Percentage of parents who expect to cobble together some funds from current income: 60

Source: College Savings Foundation.

Number of barrels of oil consumed per day globally in 2010, an all-time high, according to a Vital Signs Online report from the Worldwatch Institute: 87.4 million

Percentage annual increase this represents, making up for the brief decline in consumption caused by the economic crisis: 3.1

Percentage of the increase in consumption that came from China, which now uses over 10 percent of the world's oil: 33

Source: WorldWatch Institute.

Percentage of companies that believe that open office plans -- which cause staff to be more visible to one another -- generally promote improved ethical behavior when compared to having individual offices, according to a survey conducted by Ethisphere Institute and Jones Lang LaSalle: 81

Percentage of respondents implementing open workspace that have not had any visible ethical violations within the past two years: 64

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle.

Percentage of British women who said they started to consider cosmetic surgery between the ages of 10 and 15, according to a survey by Liberate Cosmetic Surgery: 25

Percentage who had considered cosmetic surgery between the ages of 15 and 18: 33

Source: Liberate Cosmetic Surgery.

Percentage of marketers, communications experts and researchers from 40 countries convened at a conference in Dublin, Ireland, who indicated they believe that social marketing is at a critical turning point in driving social change, according to participants at the 2nd World Non-Profit and Social Marketing Conference (WSMC): 84

Percentage of respondents who feel that social marketing is widely used in their country to drive social and behavior change: 31

Percentage who report that it is somewhat widely used: 53

Source: Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.

Idle Thought

"It is fortunate to be of high birth, but it is no less so to be of such character that people do not care to know whether you are or are not." -- Jean de la Bruyere, essayist and moralist

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