In 2010, percentage of all U.S. births that were to unmarried parents, up from 33 percent in 2000: 41

Percent of births to women ages 20 to 24 that occurred outside of marriage in 2010: 63

Between 1980 and 2010, percentage of women ages 40 to 44 who were childless, up from 10 percent: 19

Source: Population Reference Bureau.

Average number of iPhones, iPads, Galaxys, Kindle Fires and more that were activated daily during the first 20 days of December, according to Flurry Analytics: 4 million

On Christmas Day, number of devices that were activated, a 332 percent increase over the December baseline: 17.4 million

Source: Verizon Information Services.

Ranks of Italy, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and France on the list of America's most desired destinations for the new year, according to the findings of Fly.com: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)

Source: Fly.com.

Percentage of Apple fans who would like to have lunch with Steve Jobs, according to the results of a poll by ProtectYourBubble.com: 33.6

Percentage who would want to break bread with Albert Einstein: 27.3

Percentage who would want to hang out with Lady Gaga: 17.1

Source: Protect Your Bubble.

Percentage of current gym members who at least somewhat dread the New Year's resolutions crowd, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CouponCabin.com: 56

Percentage of those who have signed up for a gym membership as a New Year's resolution who quit before the year was over: 11

Percentage of those who have quit the gym within a year who quit within five months: 80

Source: CouponCabin.

Percentage of all interior designers who left the industry between May 2008 and May 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 23.2

Percentage of interior designers who feel underpaid for the amount of work they do, according to Design Success University's 2013 Interior Design Fee and Salary Survey: 98.5

Percentage of interior designers who earn less than $45,000: 60

Source: Design Success University.

When moms were asked which day is more of a fresh start -- Jan. 1 or back-to-school -- percentage who said they view the new school year not Jan. 1 as a fresh start, according to Global Customer Insights and Analytics survey: 76

Source: Wal-Mart Media Relations.

Total of 2012 retail e-commerce spending online during the entire November-December holiday shopping season, marking a 14 percent increase from 2011, according to comScore: $42.3 billion

Ranks of Cyber Monday ($1.465 billion), Free Shipping Day on Monday, Dec. 17 (up 76 percent to $1.013 billion) and Christmas Day (up 36 percent to $288 million) on the list of heaviest online spending days: 1, 2, 3

Source: Comscore.

Projected percentage increase in sales of smoking cessation products from 2011 to 2012, reaching $1 billion and expected to continue to grow through 2017, according to Mintel research: 3

Percentage of Americans who currently smoke or have previously quit who say, "It's hard to motivate myself to quit, because I enjoy it": 60

Percentage who say, "Health warnings about smoking scare me": 60

Source: Mintel.

Percentage of kids ages 8 to 15 who said they had made a resolution looking ahead into 2013, according to a survey by KidSay: 48

Percentage of those who told KidSay that "good grades" was top of mind: 24

Percentage who said a "healthier lifestyle": 16

Percentage who said "better at sports/more athletic": 6

Source: KidSay.

Percentage of business travelers who said they will travel more in 2013 than in 2012, according to a survey conducted by Frequent Business Traveler magazine: 33

Percentage who said they would be traveling more compared to two years ago: 50

Source: Frequent Business Traveler.

Idle Thought

"If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him." -- Francis Bacon

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

Percentage of business leaders from both U.S. domestic and multinational companies who said they would be willing to accept the repeal of certain tax incentives in exchange for a lower overall tax rate, according to a survey by KPMG: 80

Source: KPMG LLP.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have gone shopping or purchased something solely because they were in a bad mood, otherwise known as "retail therapy," according to a CouponCabin.com survey: 24

Percentage of women who said they've shopped in pursuit of retail therapy: 31

Percentage of those who have gone shopping for retail therapy who said they felt happy afterward: 33

Source: CouponCabin.

Ranks of Amazon, Target, Best Buy and J.C. Penney, as the leading dot-com e-tailers as measured by website visits and searches, according to information from Experian Marketing Services: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Uggs, Kindle Fire, iPad, Amazon Kindle and Barbie on the list of top-searched retail products: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Experian Public Relations.

Percentage of employed Americans who believe there is still room to grow in their current careers, according to a survey from University of Phoenix: 89

Percentage of Americans, not currently in school full-time, who plan to return to school at some point in the future: 41

Percentage of these education-seekers who expect to do so in the next two years: 64

Source: Kelton Research.

Percentage of teenagers who have seen their home or a friend's home damaged as a result of hosting a party, according to research from Allianz Your Cover Insurance: 56

Percentage of teenagers who confessed they had covered up damage by enlisting friends to help or they hid it themselves: 19

Percentage who have lied to their parents: 32

Source: YourCoverInsurance.co.uk.

Ranks of Denzel Washington, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and Mark Wahlberg on the list of the top money-making stars of 2012 in Quigley Publishing Co.'s 81st annual poll of motion picture exhibitors: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Quigley Publishing Co.

Percentage of U.S. parents of children ages 6 to 17 who want to choose a New Year's resolution for their child or children, according to a survey for K12 Inc.: 87

Ranks of clean up their room more often (47 percent), be more engaged in school (33 percent) and have healthier eating habits (33 percent) on the list of resolutions that parents would choose for their kids: 1, 2, 3

Source: K12 Inc.

Ranks of Blue Ivy (Beyonce, Jay Z) and Lukensia (Jillian Michaels, Heidi Rhoades) on the list of the worst baby girl celebrity names of 2012, according to BabyNames.com: 1, 2

Ranks of Lion (Alex O'Loughlin, Malia Jones) and Kash Kade (Kim Zolciak, Kroy Biermann) on the list of the worst baby boy celebrity names of 2012: 1, 2

Source: BabyNames.com.

Percentage of global citizens who indicate they "definitely would" consider traveling to another country to receive medical or dental care if the cost were significantly lower in that country, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Reuters News: 18

Percentage who say they "probably would": 36

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Estimated amount of money that international students and their families contributed to the U.S. economy during the 2011-2012 academic year, according to a NAFSA report: $21.8 billion

Number of American students studying abroad during the 2010-2011 academic year, up by 1.25 percent from 270,604 in 2009-2010, according to figures released by the Institute of International Education: 273,996

Source: NAFSA.

Idle Thought

"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." -- Voltaire

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

Percentage of U.S. adults who are optimistic that 2013 will be a better year for them financially than years past, up from 48 percent who said the same at the start of 2012, according to a CouponCabin.com survey: 52

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they plan to overhaul their finances in 2013: 39

Source: CouponCabin.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have some type of goal that they would like to achieve in 2013, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Strayer University: 93

Percentage of adults who have health-related goals, such as being more active, eating more healthily or getting more sleep: 54

Percentage who have a socially oriented goal: 37

Percentage who have a leisure-related goal: 34

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

With winter officially under way, the record low winter temperature among continental U.S. cities, held by Bismarck, N.D., according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 44 below zero

Absolute coldest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. in Prospect Creek, Alaska: 80 below zero

To put a different perspective on the word "lowest," record low temperature in Honolulu, Hawaii: 53 degrees

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Value of the sapphire-and-diamond pacifier in the classic Princess Diana style that was offered to Kate Middleton and husband Prince William on the same day that Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple were expecting their first child, according to Mead Jewelers: $1.5 million

Source: Mead Jewelers.

Ranks of dentist, registered nurse, pharmacist and computer systems analyst on the list of the best jobs of 2013, classified as such by offering a mosaic of employment opportunities, good salary, manageable work-life balance and job satisfaction: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: U.S. News & World Report.

Ranks of Sophia, Emma, Olivia and Isabella on the list of the top 100 baby names for girls in 2012, according to Baby Center's annual baby names survey: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Aiden, Jackson, Ethan and Liam on the list of the top 100 baby names for boys in 2012: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: BabyCenter LLC.

Percentage of American workers who had not yet taken all of the vacation days allotted to them by their employer, as of the end of November, according to a survey by Adecco: 75

Percentage of workers who are allotted three weeks or more of vacation time annually: 36

Source: Adecco.

Percentage of employees who said they plan to actively look for a new position in 2013, according to a poll of U.S. employees by Right Management: 86

Percentage who said they may do so and are already networking: 8

Source: Right Management.

Percentage of U.S. workers who expect either "weak" or "robust" economic growth in the next 12 months, according to the results of the 2012 Mercer workplace survey: 73

Percentage who anticipate a recession, down from 40 percent a year earlier: 27

Percentage of workers who are still concerned about losing their jobs: 36

Source: Mercer.

Ranks of Bella, Max, Buddy and Daisy on the list of the top 10 dog names of 2012, according to information from the Banfield Pet Hospital: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Kitty, Bella, Tiger and Max, on the list of the top 10 cat names of 2012: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Banfield Pet Hospital.

Idle Thought

"It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen." -- Jerome K. Jerome, humorist and playwright

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