When asked what the first thing they would do if they won a substantial amount of money in the lottery, percentage of Americans who would pay off their debts, according to research by YouGov: 34

Percentage who stated that they would quit their jobs if they won between $1 million and less than $5 million: 26

Percentage who stated that they would quit their jobs for less than a million dollars: 13

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of drivers who admit to singing out loud, the No. 1 activity performed while driving, according to a consumer survey from DMEautomotive released in conjunction with National Collision Awareness month: 56

Ranks of talking on the phone (50 percent), eating (50 percent), reading a text message (26 percent) and sending a text message (20 percent) on the list of the top five activities performed while driving: 2 (tie), 4, 5

Number of people who were killed in distracted-driving crashes in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Distracted.gov website, which does not include singing out loud on its list of distracted driving activities: 3,328

Source: DMEautomotive.

When asked what is the recommended percentage of income that should be spent on housing, percentage of Americans who answered correctly that it is 30 percent, according to the latest Country Financial Security Index: 31

Percentage of respondents who say saving for their child's college education is more important than saving for their own retirement even though one can borrow for college, but not for retirement: 43

Source: Country Financial.

Estimated amount that the average American pays in state and local taxes per year, according to a report from WalletHub's 2014 Report on the States with the Highest & Lowest Taxes: $7,000

Number of times more that taxpayers in the states with the highest taxes pay than those in the states with the lowest taxes: 4

Ranks of Wyoming (-66 percent), Alaska (-60 percent), Nevada (-52 percent), Florida (-48 percent) and South Dakota (-46 percent) on the list of states with the lowest taxes versus the national average: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

When asked about their engagement experience, percentage of brides who said they knew it was coming, according to a survey by David's Bridal: 57

Percentage who said they were surprised by the proposal: 43

When asked which leading male characters they would like to say "yes" to, percentage who chose Ryan Gosling's romantic "The Notebook" character, Noah Calhoun: 40

Percentage who chose Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack Dawson of "Titanic": 30

Source: David's Bridal Inc.

Percentage of today's consumers who say that they eat snacks at least twice a day, according to Technomic's Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report: 51

Percentage who replace one or two daily meals with a snack: 45

Source: Technomic.

Year that the first commercially available frozen food (Clarence Birdseye's fish) became available, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1925

Today, estimated number of packaged frozen food wholesalers there are in the United States, selling $85 billion worth of heat-and-eat products: 3,500

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of businesswomen from 19 different countries and 30 different industries who indicated that they were mid- or senior-level leaders, according to "Women as Mentors" research conducted by Development Dimensions International: 75

Percentage of those who had never had a formal mentor: 63

Percentage who rated mentorship as highly important in helping to advance and grow their careers: 67

Source: Development Dimensions International.

Amount of revenue generated by the youth travel sector last year -- twice as much as the global video game industry, according to StudentMarketing CEO Samuel Vetrak: $203 billion

Year by which it's expected that young travelers will surpass business travelers in the number of international arrivals and revenues generated overall: 2015

Source: StudentMarketing.

Among U.S. adults who are aware of any data breaches at notable retailers, such as Target and Neiman Marcus, percentage who believe merchants are responsible for preventing future incidents, according to a study conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Feedzai: 60

Of those aware of any data breaches, percentage who say they started using cash for more of their purchases when shopping: 40

Source: Feedzai.

Idle Thought

"It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." -- Voltaire, philosopher (1664-1778)

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

Amount of money in bonuses handed out by Wall Street banks in 2013, according to an Institute for Policy Studies analysis of New York state comptroller bonus figures: $26.7 billion

Number of full-time U.S. minimum wage workers for whom that money would more than double their pay: 1.085 million

If the $26.7 billion had gone into the pockets of minimum wage workers, amount by which the U.S. GDP would be expected to grow, more than triple the $10.4 billion boost expected from the Wall Street bonuses: $32.3 billion

Source: Institute for Policy Studies.

In 2012, amount of money contributed to the economy by manufacturers, up from $1.73 trillion in 2011 and comprising 11.9 percent of GDP, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Industry Economic Accounts: $1.87 trillion

In 2012, annual salary earned by the average manufacturing worker in the United States, including pay and benefits, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2012): $77,505

Annual salary earned by the average worker in all industries: $62,063

Source: National Association of Manufacturers.

Year that a deadly influenza, one of the most devastating public health crises in history, hit the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1918

With first cases being reported in March of that year, number of Americans who perished in the month of October, the deadliest month in the nation's history: 195,000

By 1920, estimated number of Americans who had died from this strain of the flu: 575,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of American adults who believe in sacrificing for the future, according to a survey conducted for TheStreet: 85

Despite this, percentage who are still worried about having enough money saved for retirement: 53

Percentage of respondents who are not satisfied with what they're currently putting aside for retirement: 38

Source: TheStreet Inc.

Amount of money lost by Russia's 10 richest individuals (4.7 percent of their combined net worth), according to a Wealth-X estimate, after the country's benchmark Micex index plunged nearly 11 percent due to escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine: $6.6 billion

Amount lost by Alisher Usmanov -- the country's wealthiest man with interests in mining, telecommunications, media and sports, including a more than 30 percent stake in Arsenal Football Club: $1.7 billion

Source: Wealth-X.

Percentage of people who say that being in debt makes them unhappy, according to a CreditDonkey.com survey: 82

Percentage who say that having a good financial cushion makes them happy: 74

If money were no object, percentage of respondents who said they would still prefer to work full time: 14

Source: CreditDonkey.com.

Ranks of London, Paris and Toronto on the list of Americans' most frequented international destinations, as identified by the Hotel Price Index: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., Miami and Los Angeles on the list of destinations for overseas visitors: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Hotel Price Index.

Percentage of uninsured Americans who plan to remain uninsured despite the Affordable Care Act's requirement that they obtain health insurance or pay a fine, according to a Bankrate.com report: 33

Of respondents who plan to stay uninsured, percentage who say their reason for doing so is that health insurance is too expensive: 41

Percentage of all uninsured Americans who do not know about the subsidies that reduce the cost of health insurance: 70

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of moms who believe children should be separated from peers in school based on a special-needs diagnosis (opinions were similar regardless of whether a parent had a child with special needs), according to a study released by Parents magazine: 15

Percentage of mothers of kids with special needs who say that their school meets their child's needs: 76

Percentage of moms of typically developing kids who wonder whether their child needs to be evaluated for a potential developmental disorder: 25

Source: Parents.

Percentage of U.S. retail banking executives who consider non-traditional competitors a threat, significantly higher than global counterparts overall (55 percent), according to a report from PwC: 71

Percentage of respondents from 17 countries who agree that it is important to consider how global trends (e.g., economic growth, regulation, demographic and technological changes) will impact the banking industry in 2020: 70

Percentage of U.S. executives who are less likely to believe that it is critical to form a view of the industry in 2020 as compared to executives in Asia-Pacific (71 percent), Europe (67 percent) and emerging markets (79 percent): 61

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Idle Thought

"The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think." -- Aristotle

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

Estimated percentage of all U.S. employees who spend three hours or more watching March Madness hoops during the workday, according to a survey by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas of Chicago conducted by MSN: 33

Estimated value of work not performed during the first two days of the tourney: $134 million

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Number of NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games to be played in 21 days during March Madness, according to RetailMeNot Inc.: 67

Average amount of money a fan is willing to spend vs. the average amount of money a fan of a Sweet 16-bound team is willing to spend: $40 vs. $85

Ranks of clothing, accessories, and kitchen and bar items on the list of most popular spending items: 1, 2, 3

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Parents' estimates of sleep time for their children ages 6 to 10, according to findings from the National Sleep Foundation's (NSF) Sleep in America 2014 poll: 8.9 hours

NSF recommendation for children 6 to 10: 11 hours

Parents' estimates for 11- and 12-year-olds: 8.2 hours

NSF recommendation: 10 to 11 hours

Percentage of parents who understand that quality sleep is extremely or very important for their child's performance in school, health and well-being, mood and behavior the next day: 90

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Percentage of early baby boomers who will not run short of money in retirement, according to an analysis of the EBRI retirement readiness ratings: 56.7

Percentage of Gen Xers who will not run short of money in retirement: 57.7

Source: EBRI.

Size of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2012, nearly six times the population in 1970 and a 50 percent increase since 2000, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data: 53,027,708

Percentage increase in the overall U.S. population from 2000 to 2012: 12

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of adolescents who start smoking who do so because of smoking images they have seen in the movies, according to research funded by Legacy: 44

By eliminating tobacco imagery in youth-rated movies, estimated projected percentage decline in youth smoking rates: 18

Estimated number of tobacco impressions (tobacco incidents multiplied by number of tickets sold per film) in 2013 youth-rated movies that were delivered to theater audiences, a 169 percent increase from 2010: 14.8 billion

Source: Legacy.

Percentage of small and mid-sized businesses that have loyalty programs, according to the Merchant Warehouse Resource Center study, which focuses on the benefits of loyalty programs for business owners: 40

Percentage of consumers who say that their choice of retailer is influenced by where they can earn customer loyalty/rewards program points: 69

Source: Merchant Warehouse.

Ranks of the Caribbean, Italy, French Polynesia, Thailand and China on the list of the five most popular international honeymoon destinations, according to Jetsetter.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of a free-standing, claw-foot tub in the bedroom on the list of best special requests: 1

Source: Jetsetter.com.

Percentage of parents with kids in elementary school who have traveled by air to a sun destination within the last three years or plan on doing so who are willing to pull their kids out of the classroom for a week or longer for a family vacation, according to the Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Tripcentral.ca: 80

Percentage of parents with kids in high school who are willing to do the same: 70

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

In 2010, percentage of executives who said they viewed March Madness activities, including watching games and participating in pools that don't involve money, as having an adverse effect on employee output, according to an OfficeTeam survey: 22

Today, percentage of respondents who retain that same negative view: 11

Source: OfficeTeam.

Idle Thought

"Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you." -- Aldous Huxley, author

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