Percentage of American workers who say their take-home pay is less today than it was a few years ago, according to Mintel research: 17

Percentage of all respondents who say it's dangerous to go into debt: 69

Percentage of all respondents who say it is important to make sacrifices in order to pay off debt: 81

Source: Mintel.

Percentage of Americans who say a college degree is beneficial but not essential to succeeding later in life, according to global research company YouGov: 54

Percentage who say a degree is not essential to a successful career: 12

Percentage who say a college education is essential to have a successful career: 20

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of global respondents who would rather wait for something to catch on before they try it, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos OTX: 37

Ranks of Italy (63 percent), Turkey (57 percent), Indonesia (55 percent), India (52 percent) and Japan (52 percent) on the list of countries where citizens are most hesitant to try something before it catches on: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of the United States (48 percent) on the list: 7

Source: Ipsos Open Thinking.

Percentage of Americans who report they will get a head start on holiday purchases this season, according to trending searches and user polls by Ask.com: 30

Percentage of consumers who will avoid crowds by hitting the stores before Black Friday, traditionally considered the official start of the holiday shopping season: 40

Source: Ask.com.

Rank of Baltimore Ravens fans on the list of the most superstitious fans in the NFL, according to the Bud Light NFL Fans Superstition Survey: 1

Percentage of Raiders fans who are likely to wear the same article of clothing on game day to boost team performance: 51

Percentage of Carolina Panthers fans who are likely to have a relationship end due to their game-day superstitions (four times the NFL fan average of 2 percent): 8

Source: Bud Light.

When asked what the most important business goals are in driving their organization's efforts around marketing and sales alignment, percentage of sales and marketing professionals who cited "increase top-line revenue," according to findings from Aberdeen Research for Corporate Visions: 68

Percentage who said "increase quality of leads provided by marketing and sales": 45

Percentage who cited "improve ability to differentiate from the competition; better articulate value proposition": 40

Source: Corporate Visions Inc.

Percentage of Americans who felt that bacon was the foodstuff most worth the mess and ensuing cleanup, according to a survey by the Clorox Co.: 18

Ranks of bacon and hot dogs (25 percent) on the list of the top foods professional eaters would choose to eat in competitions: 1, 2 

Source: Clorox Co.

Year that one of the nation's enduring symbols, the Statue of Liberty -- a gift from France (the statue's full name is "Liberty Enlightening the World") and the work of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi -- was dedicated on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1886

Estimated number of immigrants whose first glimpse of America was the Statue of Liberty: 20 million

Year of the greatest influx, when some 15 percent of the U.S. population was foreign-born: 1910

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who think it's likely that the world will experience a major catastrophe, according to the results of a survey gauging the nation's preparedness for impending disasters and timed to the premiere of "American Blackout," a two-hour movie that imagines such a disaster: 88

Percentage of these folks who believe it will occur less than a year from now: 32

Percentage of Americans who believe the U.S. is likely to be hit by a catastrophic cyber attack during their lifetime: 77

Source: National Geographic.

Percentage of U.S. companies that plan to pursue an acquisition in the next 12 months, according to Ernst & Young's Capital Confidence Barometer: 41

Of the 1,600 companies surveyed worldwide, percentage of U.S. executives who expect U.S. deal volumes to improve: 52

Percentage who expect to see the U.S. economy improving: 48

Percentage who are upbeat about the number of acquisition opportunities, up from 40 percent a year ago: 67

Source: Ernst & Young LLP.

Idle Thought

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." -- Hans Hofmann, painter

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

Percentage of employers who reported that job candidates are required to interview with a C-level executive within their organization (CEO, CFO, COO, etc.), according to a online survey conducted within the U.S. and Canada by Inavero on behalf of CareerBuilder: 38

Percentage of employers who will use Google or other search engines to research candidates: 48

Percentage who will research the candidate on Facebook: 44

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of employees who have high levels of stress, with extreme fatigue/feeling out of control, according to report by ComPsych Corp.: 62

Percentage who report having constant but manageable levels of stress: 33

Percentage of employees who lose one hour or more per day in productivity due to stress: 34

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Percentage of global citizens who indicate they have used social media sites in the past month "to share interesting things," according to findings from a poll conducted by Ipsos OTX: 61

Percentage of global online sharers who indicate they do so "to let others know what I believe in and who I really am": 37

Source: Ipsos Open Thinking.

Percentage of respondents to a survey by YourTango.com who agree that you can be a feminist and still enjoy preparing meals for your partner: 85

Percentage of people who feel that preparing a meal for someone is a significant act of love: 79

Source: YourTango.com.

Percentage of baby boomers who support teaching proper "hashtag" usage in schools, according to results of a Google survey: 25

Percentage of respondents aged 18 to 24 who believe hashtags should not be taught in school: 68.5

Source: Marisa Murgatroyd.

Percentage of adults online who keep desktop and mobile searches hidden from their significant others, according to the Online Consumer Search Habits study by Ask.com: 35

Percentage who keep searches hidden from their friends: 35

Percentage who keep their searches hidden from adult family members: 40

Source: Ask.com.

Rank of car crashes on the list of the leading causes of death for teens in the U.S., according to the National Safety Council: 1

Rank of the first 12 months after being licensed on the list of the most dangerous times of a teen driver's life: 1

Number of times more that a teen driver's crash risk is than that of drivers ages 20 and older: 3

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of chief information officers who rate their workers' satisfaction levels fairly high, according to research from Robert Half Technology: 72

Percentage of IT workers who said they plan to look for another job in the next year: 35

Rank of "need a new challenge," "lack of advancement potential" and "not adequately paid" on the list of the primary motivations given by IT workers for leaving their current firm: 1, 2, 3

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Percentage of Jews in the United States who say that emotionally they are either very attached (30 percent) or somewhat attached (39 percent) to Israel, according to Pew Research: 69

Percentage of white evangelical Protestants who say that Israel was given to the Jewish people by God: 82

Percentage of Jews who say the same: 40

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

Among smartphone users ages 8 to 17, percentage who say that their parents occasionally check their smartphone, according to Harris Interactive's Harris Poll YouthQuery: 43

Percentage of parents (of smartphone-using kids under 18) who say they occasionally monitor their child's smartphone activity ... with their knowledge: 43

Percentage of parents who occasionally check their child's smartphone without their knowledge: 35

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"The best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with." -- Bruce Springsteen, musician

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

Percentage of U.S. respondents who think saving money is at least somewhat important to them in their everyday life, including nearly half (46 percent) who think it's very important and look for opportunities to save money every day, according to RetailMeNot's International Shoppers Trend Report: 76

Ranks of the American, Indian, Australian and Canadian on the list of international shoppers who think saving is important: 1 (tie), 3, 4

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Rank of Boston on the list of the most expensive cities in the United States based on the cost of lodging, according to a survey from CheapHotels.org: 1

In Boston, amount travelers will have to pay per night for the most affordable double room at a hotel with three stars or better: $242

Ranks of New York City, Nashville and San Francisco on the list: 2, 3, 4

Source: Cheaphotels.org.

Ranks of strengthening the economy, improving the job situation, and reducing the federal deficit on the list what Americans say should be the top priorities for the president and Congress, according to Pew Research: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of Americans who cited "reducing the federal deficit" in 2009 when President Obama began his first term: 53

Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.

Percentage of Americans who will give out candy to trick-or-treaters this Halloween, according to a Kmart survey: 51

Percentage who will decorate their homes: 34

Percentage who will dress up for the occasion: 26

Percentage who will attend a Halloween party: 22

Source: Kmart.

Ranks of Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day, on the list of the most popular holidays among 15- to 25-year-olds, according to a survey conducted by ooVoo: 1, 2, 3

Source: ooVoo LLC.

Average amount of money parents spend annually on their kids -- housing (whether renovating a room, expanding their home or moving to a larger house), child care, transportation, food, entertainment, health care and clothing -- according to a report released by BabyCenter.com: $13,000

Percentage of moms who feel that parents spend too much on their kids -- a 22 percent increase since 2012: 66

Source: BabyCenter LLC.

Percentage of women managers and executives who believe that "image" is more than twice as likely to be a factor for women than men for career progression, according to an Ipsos Reid poll of female executives commissioned on behalf of Randstad: 90

Percentage of respondents who feel that overall image (looks, personal image, etc.) is a factor and has an impact on career progression for men: 37

Percentage of respondents who believe that women need to work harder and longer hours than men in order to prove themselves in management and executive roles: 77

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Number of work days lost due to the impact of a severe flu season in 2012–2013, according to Walgreens Flu Impact Report: 230 million

Amount of money lost in wages: $8.5 billion

Number of vacations impacted: 11 million

Source: Walgreens.

Percentage of retail hiring managers who reported that they plan to hire seasonal workers this year, up from 36 percent last year and 29 percent in 2011, according to CareerBuilder's annual survey: 39

Percentage of employers hiring seasonal staff who will pay $10 or more per hour: 51

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Ranks of Minion from "Despicable Me," Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Minnie Mouse, Catwoman and Poison Ivy on the list of the top costume searches for Halloween, according to data from Experian Marketing Services: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Ranks of Minnie Mouse, Fairy, Spiderman and Batman on the list of the top adult searches: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Experian Marketing Services.

Idle Thought

"You can out-distance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you." -- Rwandan proverb

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