Percentage of salespeople (67 percent men, 33 percent women, average age 40) in more than 1,000 U.S. companies who said established forms of communication (face-to-face and telephone contact) were most helpful in generating new sales, according to the results of two surveys presented by Behavioral Sciences Research Press at the 2012 annual convention of the Southwestern Psychological Association: 70

Percentage who claimed email was most effective: 10

Source: Behavioral Sciences Research Press.

Since crooning a few lines of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at a New York fundraising event, spot claimed by President Obama with 29 percent in the National Association of Music Merchants' annual survey on America's favorite "unexpected musician": 1

Ranks of actress Meryl Streep (violin/24 percent), actor Robert Downey Jr. (piano, vocals/24 percent), funnyman Steve Carell (flute/10 percent) and "The Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence (guitar/5 percent) on the list: 2 (tie), 4, 5

In response to a Gallup poll, of those Americans who do not play a musical instrument, percentage that wish they did: 85

Source: NAMM.

Percentage of respondents who say they sleep most nights with a significant other, according to the National Sleep Foundation poll: 63

Percentage of Americans who say they have a bedroom television, of which 11 percent say they leave it on all night: 71

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Value of the horticulture business -- the supply of all the plants for home gardens and landscaping in the U.S. -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau: $11.6 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of millennial moms (aged 18 to 35) who use their phone in the bathroom, according to a Meredith parents network survey: 21

Percentage of moms who said shopping was the No. 1 way they use their smartphone: 81

Average number of apps they have loaded on their phones: 13

Source: Meredith's Parents Network.

Percentage of Americans who believe having a strongly sexual relationship with someone online counts as cheating, according to a survey by Euro RSCG Worldwide: 73

Percentage who know someone whose offline relationship ended because of their actions online: 32

Source: Euro RSCG.

Percentage of consumers who said they are not very satisfied with technology's ability to make their life simpler, according to a survey by Ketchum: 76

Percentage of consumers who prefer technology that simplifies their life vs. entertaining them (35 percent) or signaling who they are to the world (11 percent): 46

Source: Ketchum Global Research Network.

Percentage of Americans who wish it were more socially acceptable to discuss bathroom behaviors without relying on crass bathroom humor or euphemisms, according to a survey by Georgia-Pacific and conducted by Strategy One: 33

Percentage of people who say talking on the phone in the bathroom bothers them: 25

Percentage who are taken aback by people who eat in the bathroom: 52

Source: Strategy One.

Of mothers offering specific grades ("A" to "F"), percentage who graded their area's public schools "A" or "B," according to data compiled by Braun Research Inc.: 65

Percentage of moms who gave the same high marks to parochial or private schools: 83

Source: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.

Percentage of Americans who are using social media to shop -- equating to nearly 95 million social shoppers in the U.S. -- according to a study released by Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide: 42

When asked how often social media is used to shop today versus a year ago, percentage of people who confirmed they are using it more: 73

Source: Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide.

Idle Thought

"It has been said that a pretty face is a passport. But it's not. It's a visa, and it runs out fast." -- Julie Burchill, writer and journalist

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

Percentage of women who see a glass ceiling in corporate America, according to Treasury and Risk, the leading Summit Business publication and website for CFOs, treasurers, risk managers and senior financial executives: 82

Percentage of men who see a glass ceiling: 41

Source: Summit Business Media.

Percentage of men and women across the U.S. who said it was important to recognize a person by name when doing business, according to a survey conducted by Social Science Research Solutions for Imprint Plus: 96

Percentage of all respondents who stated that it is important to identify a sales person by name: 70

Source: Social Science Research Solutions.

Percentage of all exported tequila, 108 million liters per year, that is purchased in the United States, which now consumes more tequila than Mexico, according to research by Corcoran Associates and CRT Consejo Regulador del Tequila A.C.: 80

Source: CRUZ del Sol Tequila.

Ranks of going to the movies (35 percent), going out for dinner (23 percent), going to a party (17 percent), going for a walk or outdoor adventure (13 percent), or even mini-golf (1 percent) on the list of the most popular first dates, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos Reid: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage who agree that they like to incorporate going to a movie into a date night: 57

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Percentage average salary increase for nurses over the last year, according to UBM Medica's Physician's Practice 2012 Staff Salary Survey: 4

Percentage average salary increase for nurse managers over the last year: 12

Source: UBM Medica U.S.

Percentage of teens who say it would be much easier for them to postpone sex and avoid teen pregnancy if they were able to have more open, honest conversations with their parents, according to a survey from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy: 87

Percentage of young people age 12 to 19 who agree with the statement: "It doesn't matter whether you use birth control or not, when it is your time to get pregnant, it will happen": 42

Source: National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Percentage of Americans who say they are concerned about being able to support themselves financially should they become disabled and unable to work, according to research from the nonprofit LIFE Foundation: 75

Percentage of working Americans who say they would have trouble supporting themselves financially "immediately" following a disability that keeps them out of work: 25

Source: LIFE Foundation.

Percentage of Americans who would rather get a good night's sleep than have sex, according to a national survey by the Better Sleep Council: 61

Percentage of women who agreed: 79

Estimated percentage of Americans who fall asleep somewhere other than their bed at least once a week: 50

Source: Better Sleep Council.

Increase in the percentage share of babies born to unmarried mothers from 1960 to 2008, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: 800

By 2008, percentage of all babies born in the U.S. who were born to an unwed mother: 40

Percentage of millennials (ages 18 to 30) who see it as a change for the worse, compared to 62 percent of Gen Xers (ages 31 to 46), 67 percent of baby boomers (ages 47 to 65) and 76 percent of the silent generation (over 65), according to a survey conducted in 2011: 52

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

Percentage of consumers who said the great outdoors is their preferred place to cook during the warmer months, according to nationwide poll results released from the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association: 85

Percentage of grill and smoker owners who cook year-round: 62

Source: Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association.

Idle Thought

"A man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of life getting his living." -- Henry David Thoreau

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

Percentage of native-born American citizens who failed the civics portion of the U.S. naturalization test, according to a survey from Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream: 33

Pass rate among immigrants applying for citizenship: 97.5

Source: Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream.

Percentage rise in the yearly costs to own and operate a sedan in the U.S., according to the results of AAA's annual Your Driving Costs study: 1.9

Based upon 15,000 miles of annual driving, average cost per mile in 2012, up 1.2 cents from 2011: 59.6 cents

Average cost per year: $8,946

Source: AAA.

Year of America's worst waterborne disaster when the wooden steamboat Sultana's boilers suddenly exploded and the boat burned and sank as it moved up the flooded Mississippi River near Memphis at night, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1865

Number of people who lost their lives: 1,700

Number of people who lost their lives in the Titanic disaster: more than 1,500

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of "a stronger economy in my country," "better living conditions" and "strengthening family relationship" on the list of the top three important factors for improving personal well-being, general health and quality of life, according to a survey of citizens in 24 countries: 1, 2, 3

Source: Ipsos Global Public Affairs.

Percentage of Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus test-takers who are female, according to L'Oreal: 46

Percentage of AP Computer Science test-takers who are female: 19

Percentage of all professional jobs in the U.S. work force that are held by women: 56

Percentage of IT jobs that are held by women: 25

Source: L'Oreal.

With 82 percent of U.S. consumers affected by the economic downturn, the percentage who are personally involved in a good cause, down from 60 percent in 2010, according to the 2012 Edelman "Goodpurpose" study: 53

Percentage of Americans who believe the responsibility of tackling society's issues falls most heavily on the shoulders of "people like me": 35

Percentage who believe the responsibility should fall on government: 22

Source: Edelman.

Percentage of young women ages 18 to 34 who rate "career" high on their list of life priorities, compared with 59 percent of young men, according to a Pew Research Survey: 66

In 1997, percentage of young women, compared with 58 percent of young men, who felt the same way: 56

Source: Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends.

Percentage of 17- to 25-year-old drivers who agree that smartphone apps are causing young people to be more distracted at the wheel, according to survey findings from Ingenie: 58

Percentage who admitted to answering their phones while driving without a hands-free set: 40

Percentage who said they had sent a text message: 44

Source: Ingenie.

Percentage of airline passengers across 40 countries worldwide who voted the front six rows of the plane as the most popular, according to a poll by flight comparison site Skyscanner: 45

Percentage of passengers who cited a preference for a window seat: 60

Percentage who preferred an aisle seat: 39

Source: Skyscanner.

Percentage less likely that women are than men to make time for physical activities they enjoy, according to a survey from the American Cancer Society: 10

Percentage of women who said they would be more physically active in their free time if it felt less like work and more like play: 40

Percentage of the women who do make time for physical activity they enjoy, who also say they do so because it is good for their mind: 63

Source: American Cancer Society.

Idle Thought

"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play." -- Heraclitus, philosopher

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