Percentage of consumers who report that the state of the economy will have some impact on their holiday shopping this year, according to a poll conducted on behalf of Offers.com: 66

Of those, percentage who say that it will motivate them to seek out bargains and coupons this holiday season: 41

Percentage of U.S. adults who make a holiday gift list: 51

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

In the United States, number of cars and light trucks on the road in 2013, according to the latest Vehicles in Operation (VIO) market analysis announced by Experian Automotive: 247.9 million

Average age of vehicles on the road in the second quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, almost a full year older than was recorded in the second quarter of fiscal 2009: 10.9 years

Source: Experian Public Relations.

Percentage of young adults who use their friends' financial habits to determine their own, according to a survey by AICPA and the Ad Council: 78

Percentage of these young adults who say they want to keep pace with their peers on where they live: 66

Percentage who say the same thing about what they wear: 64

Source: The Ad Council.

Percentage of employed Americans who hit the snooze button at least once a week, according to a survey by Royal Phillips: 50

Percentage who skipped breakfast: 50

Source: Royal Phillips.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who use some kind of shopping list (68 percent specifically use or bring a paper list) to stay organized, according to a survey conducted by Synqera: 92

While most Americans frequently make unplanned purchases, percentage who describe themselves as impulsive shoppers: 50

Source: Synqera.

Percentage of Americans who say they didn't allocate any savings toward holiday gift buying this year, according to GoBankingRates.com polls: 63

Percentage who said they had saved over $1,000 for their holiday gift shopping: 12

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

Percentage of brides who considered planning their wedding on the last expected iconic wedding dates for this year, 11-12-13 (Nov. 12 in U.S. dating format; Dec. 11 in international dating format), according to the David's Bridal annual survey, "What's on Brides' Minds": 40

Final consecutive series of the century will occur next year: 12-13-14

Estimated number of couples who tied the knot on 07-07-07: 65,000

Source: David's Bridal Inc.

Year that push-button, or touch-tone, phones made their debut, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1963

In 1963, percentage of U.S. homes that had telephones: 81

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of business decision-makers who believe their internal IT organizations have the ability to regularly deliver projects on time and on budget, according a commissioned study conducted on behalf of EffectiveUI: 39

Percentage of IT leaders who cite ever-changing business and user requirements as one of the top reasons they struggle to keep up: 56

Percentage who say they are trying to do too much at once: 50

Source: EffectiveUI.

Percentage of shoppers who would like to receive home decor or furniture-related gifts under the tree this year, according to the National Retail Foundation: 20.8

Source: NRF.

Idle Thought

"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist

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

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.)