Average spending per family in 2013 on the annual high school ritual of prom, according to a survey released by Visa Inc.: $1,139

Percentage of prom costs that parents are planning to pay: 59

Source: Visa.

During the first two years of the nation's economic recovery, estimated percentage rise in the mean net worth of households in the upper 7 percent of the wealth distribution, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly released U.S. Census Bureau data: 28

Estimated percentage drop in the mean net worth of households in the lower 93 percent of the wealth distribution: 4

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

When asked which tidbit of personal information they would rather divulge to a co-worker -- waist size or wallet size -- percentage of Americans who said they would rather share their real weight, according to a Country Financial Security Index survey: 63

Percentage of men who have lied about their income, compared to 18 percent of women: 22

Percentage of respondents who admit they have been scared to check their bank statement: 33

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of consumers who believe that saving money in their everyday lives is important, according to the results of a survey conducted on behalf of RetailMeNot: 93

Percentage of respondents who are saving about the same or more money per month than they were five years ago: 61

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of Americans who truly consider themselves "middle class," placing themselves on the middle rung of a five-tier economic class system which includes upper class, upper middle, middle class, lower middle and lower class, according to poll results released by The Allstate Insurance Co. and National Journal: 46

Estimated median income for a typical middle-class family of four: $68,274

Percentage of Americans who say they're concerned about falling out of their economic class over the next few years: 59

Source: Allstate Insurance Co.

Ranks of fire pits and fireplaces, grills, seating and dining areas, and lighting on the list of the expected popularity of various residential outdoor design elements in 2013, according to a survey conducted by the American Society of Landscape Architects: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: American Society of Landscape Architects.

Average base salary of executive assistants, up 5.6 percent from 2011, according to the Compdata Surveys 2012 BenchmarkPro survey results: $54,500

Percentage increase in office managers' salaries from $44,800 in 2011 to $47,000 in 2012: 4.9

Percentage increase in secretaries' salaries in 2012, to $32,400: 3.8

Source: Compdata Surveys.

Year that the Xerox Corp., then a major developer, introduced the mouse to the commercial computing world, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1981

Cost of the mouse at that time and perhaps the reason it didn't catch on: $20,000

Today, number domestic computer manufacturers in the country: 425

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Revenue for the year 2011 in the small arms manufacturing industry, according to the Research and Markets report: $3.6 billion

By adding import value to and subtracting export value from the industry's shipment value, total domestic demand for the industry in 2011: $1.9 billion

Source: Research and Markets.

Percentage of this year's U.S. vacationers who plan to take as many short trips as possible, compared to only 22 percent eyeing a more traditional, one-week or longer summer escape, according to a consumer survey by Destination Hotels & Resorts: 76

Percentage of survey participants who indicated that one of the most important elements in their final travel booking decision was value, beating out cost/budget as the prime consideration: 75

Source: Destination Hotels & Resorts.

Idle Thought

"Ambition is like hunger: It obeys no law but its appetite." -- Josh Billings, humorist

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

Percentage of employers who expect their workers to wear a business suit, according to a study conducted for CareerBuilder: 4

Percentage of employers who report having a business casual environment: 43

Percentage who allow jeans: 33

Percentage where workers wear a uniform: 21

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of hotel guests who admit to pocketing room amenities, according to a survey by accommodation booking service Hotels.com.: 35

Ranks of Denmark, Netherlands and Norway on the list of the least-sticky-fingered hotel guests: 1, 2, 3

Rank of the United States: 23

Source: Hotels.com.

Percentage of Americans who believe that organic foods are healthier than nonorganic, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 55

Percentage of respondents who know what the term "dirty dozen" (The Environmental Working Group's annual list of foods that consumers should always buy organic due to pesticide levels) means in regards to organic food: 23

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage reduction in the resale value of a home in which there are smokers, according a survey sponsored by Pfizer Canada: 29

Percentage of real estate agents and brokers who said most buyers are less likely to purchase a home where people have smoked: 56

Source: Pfizer Inc.

Percentage of single men who have received a sext (sexy photo or explicit text), according to findings from the third annual Singles in America study by Match.com: 57

Percentage of single women who have received a sext: 45

Percentage of these singles who have shared them with others: 23

Source: Match.com.

Percentage of Americans who believe that money and wealth should be more evenly distributed among a larger percentage of the people in the U.S., according to a Gallup poll: 59

Percentage who think the current distribution is fair: 33

Percentage who think the government should redistribute wealth by heavy taxes on the rich: 52

Source: Gallup.

Percentage of American adults who say they have ever tried marijuana, the highest percentage ever, according to a Pew Research Center survey: 48

Of the 48 percent who have ever used it, percentage who say they did so in the past year: 25

Percentage who say they have tried marijuana, but not in the past year: 75

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

While more companies are using mobile devices and Cloud apps, approximate number of office professionals in North America alone who get 10 hours or fewer of training every year provided by their employer, according to data drawn from IAAP and other sources: 6 million

Estimated percentage of those office professionals who are completely responsible for their own training and get little training support from their employers: 50

Source: International Association of Administrative Professionals.

Percentage of family caregivers who admit to lying to the person they're caring for, according to a survey by AgingCare.com: 73

Percentage who believe lying is justified because it either makes their own life easier, or it's for the elderly family member's "own good": 50

Source: AgingCare.com.

Ranks of Facebook ($34.3 billion), YouTube ($26.8 billion), Twitter ($23.6 billion) and the Chinese social network Qzone ($16.3 billion) on the list of the most valuable social media brands of 2013, as assessed by the department of Social Media Management of HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich, in cooperation with BV4 Certified Brand Valuation Experts: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration -- Zurich.

Idle Thought

"What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering." -- George Bernard Shaw, Nobel laureate

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

Percentage of Americans who are living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to an Allstate Insurance Co. poll: 41

Percentage of respondents who say they don't earn enough each month to pay for essentials: 8

Source: Allstate Insurance Co.

Percentage of U.S. adults who tip and use coupons or daily deals who then tip on the discounted total, resulting in a lower payday for those performing the services, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CouponCabin: 26

Percentage of U.S. adults who said they don't leave a tip when they receive less than average service: 30

Source: CouponCabin.

Number of years that banks had operated in America before someone tried to make an unauthorized withdrawal, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 50

Year that Edward Smith committed the first bank robbery in the U.S., hitting the City Bank on New York's Wall Street: 1831

Amount of money he got away with, a huge sum at the time: $245,000

After being caught and convicted, number of years he spent in New York's Sing Sing Prison: 5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of commuters who said they know sending a text or email while driving isn't safe, according to a poll sponsored by AT&T: 98

Percentage of commuters who self-reported texting while driving: 49

Source: AT&T.

Percentage of hiring managers and human resource professionals who said they are hiring more employees with college degrees for positions that were historically held by high school graduates, according to a study by CareerBuilder: 32

Ranks of financial services, health care and manufacturing on the list of industries where this trend is most prevalent: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Due to escalating prices for beef and pork, percentage of consumers who want restaurants to offer a greater variety of chicken entrees, according to research by Technomic: 55

Percentage of consumers who want to see more options for turkey entrees on the menu: 40

Percentage rise in breakfast entrees featuring chicken on the Top 500 full-service restaurant menus since 2011: 16

Source: Technomic.

Percentage of parents who believe they hold the leading influence over their kids' decisions not to drink at all or to not drink on occasion, according to a survey conducted by Toluna for the Century Council: 89

Ranks of friends/peers, brothers/sisters and teachers on the list of those adults who have the most influence on their decision: 2, 3, 4

Source: Century Council.

Percentage of vigorous exercisers who say they rarely or never have symptoms commonly associated with insomnia, including waking up too early and not being able to get back to sleep and difficulty falling asleep, according to the results of the National Sleep Foundation's 2013 Sleep in America poll: 70

Percentage of non-exercisers who say they woke up during the night: 50

Percentage who say they had difficulty falling asleep every night or almost every night: 24

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Percentage of respondents who cited booking early as the highest contributor to overall travel savings, according to a survey by ShopAtHome.com that revealed the shopping mistakes of even the savviest couponers and deal hunters: 48

Percentage of respondents who correctly cited booking packages as the highest contributor to overall travel savings: 39

Source: ShopAtHome.com.

Percentage of U.K. and U.S. consumers who say that they only buy from businesses that make it easy for them to deal with, according to research from BT and Avaya: 78

Percentage who believe convenience is more important than price: 33

Percentage of consumers who believe customer loyalty is a thing of the past: 50

Source: BT.

Idle Thought

"It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they will help us." -- Epicurus, philosopher

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