Ranks of telemarketer, ex, debt collector and friend on the list of the various persons whose calls smartphone users block, according to a study by WhitePages: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Dotted Line Communications.

Percentage of male bosses who admit to having an inappropriate relationship with their secretaries, according to a poll by SeekingArrangement.com: 28

Percentage of men who reported they had not slept with their secretaries -- but they would if given the chance: 25

Source: SeekingArrangement.com.

Average percentage lower tax rates that S&P 100 companies pay on international taxes than U.S. taxes, according to analysis by WalletHub: 30

Percentage lower tax rates that tech companies -- including Apple, EBay and Google -- pay abroad than in the U.S.: 80

Number of S&P 100 companies that are actually paying a negative overall tax rate and are therefore due a tax refund (Abbott Laboratories, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, AIG, Bristol-Myers and Verizon): 6

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of U.S. chief information officers (CIOs) who said communication (lack of face time) is their greatest challenge in managing a remote workforce, according to a survey by Robert Half Technology: 30

Percentage who cited productivity (lack of insight into how work gets done): 22

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Percentage of Americans who consider their lifestyle to be mostly or completely "green," according to a survey by RetailMeNot.com: 44

Percentage of respondents who say the top reason they have for not living a completely green lifestyle is because it is too expensive: 42

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Participation rate in the overall labor force of non-institutionalized Americans near or at retirement age (ages 55 or older) in 2013, according to a report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), using the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey: 40.3

In 2012, percentage of the workforce represented by Americans aged 55 to 64: 19.2

Percentage of the workforce represented by Americans aged 65 or older: 7

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of Americans who believe economic inequality in the U.S. today is a problem, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 79

Percentage who believe more specifically that it's a major problem: 54

Source: Harris Interactive.

In 2010, of the 64.8 million children of a "householder" who were under the age of 18, percentage who were the biological children of the householder, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 93

Percentage who were stepchildren: 4

Percentage who were adopted children: 2

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of grill owners who feel happy when they fire up the grill, according to the 25th annual Weber GrillWatch survey: 56

Ranks of relaxation, a sense of accomplishment, excitement and being adventurous on the list of positive feelings evoked by the act of grilling: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Weber-Stephen Products Co.

Percentage of Americans who confirm their town or city offers "curbside collection" of recyclables, according to a survey commissioned ahead of Earth Day by the National Waste & Recycling Association: 55

Percentage of Americans who say they're clear on what materials go in recycling bins: 67

Percentage who know it is necessary to rinse used food containers before placing them into recycling receptacles: 64

Source: National Waste & Recycling Association.

Idle Thought

"Broaden your horizons / Open different doors / You may find a you there / That you never knew was yours." -- Mary Poppins

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

Percentage less that a 25-year-old single man pays for car insurance than a 20-year-old single man, according to a study for Bankrate.com: 49

Percentage less that a 25-year-old woman pays than a 20-year-old woman: 39

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of Americans who say it's not possible or are unsure if it's possible for someone to achieve financial security with a middle-class income, according to the Country Financial Security Index: 59

Percentage of Americans who say $50,000 to $100,000 is enough to live comfortably in the current economic environment: 48

Percentage of Americans who consider someone earning a $50,000 to $100,000 income as "financially well-off": 34

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of baby boomers who postponed their plans to retire during the past year, according to the Insured Retirement Institute: 25

Percentage of boomers who plan to retire at age 70 or later: 28

Percentage who prematurely withdrew savings from a retirement plan during the past year: 10

Source: Insured Retirement Institute.

Percentage of consumers who indicated they would put money from a tax refund into savings or investments, according to the results of a survey by RetailMeNot: 42

Percentage of respondents who indicated they would spend their refund on food: 21

Percentage who would spend it on luxuries like travel: 19

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage rise in the number of U.S. mothers with children under age 18 who do not work outside the home, up from 23 percent in 1999, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data: 29

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

Percentage of global adults who watch TV who indicate they usually watch TV programming "live," according to the findings of a poll conducted in 20 countries byby Ipsos OTX: 86

Ranks of streaming or downloading from a computer (27 percent), streaming from the Internet to TV (16 percent), using a DVR or other recording device attached to a TV (16 percent) and on a mobile device (11 percent) on the list of other popular modes of watching that are catching on: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Ipsos OTX MediaCT.

Rank of Italy on the list of places to go for the best local cuisine for its diversity from region to region, as well as its consistently high quality, according to a survey by the American Society of Travel Agents: 1

Rank of Paris on the list, cited for its excellent chefs, venues and the use of local produce: 2

Rank of New Orleans on the list, famous for melded flavors of Cajun, Creole and French that create wonderful and varied meals: 3

Source: American Society of Travel Agents.

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the United States heated by wood, representing 2.1 percent of all homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 2.4 million

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country totally heated by solar energy: 42,747

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by utility gas -- 49.4 percent of all homes: 57 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of students who feel they don't know enough about personal finances, according to a recent survey by H&R Block's Dollars & Sense program: 75

Percentage of teens who worry about being worse off financially than their parents: 58

Source: H&R Block.

Percentage of IT companies that say security tops their clients' concerns, ahead of support for the cloud (52 percent), mobile-device management (46 percent) and data management (45 percent), according to the Autotask 2014 IT Service Provider Benchmarking Survey: 54

Source: Autotask Corp.

Idle Thought

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." -- Carl Sandburg, poet

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

Percentage of Americans who agree that the SAT should be required for college admissions, according to YouGov Omnibus research: 37

Percentage who believe the SAT is a good indicator of future college performance: 36

Percentage who believe the SAT is a good indicator of how well an individual will do in life: 22

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of consumers who lack confidence in their knowledge or understanding of their personal finances, according to findings from a personal finance survey conducted for RetailMeNot: 49

Percentage of respondents who do not have enough money saved to last them more than a month if they were to lose all sources of income: 48

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Ranks of staying physically and mentally fit, spending time with family, eating healthy and maintaining an active social life on the list of the top priorities expressed by older consumers across 60 countries in a Nielsen global survey: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of shoppers who said they often or sometimes feel guilty about purchases, according to a CreditDonkey.com survey: 54

Percentage who said they rarely feel that urge to return their purchases: 41

Percentage who never feel nagging guilt: 5

Source: CreditDonkey.com.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who use their mobile device to take photos, according McAfee's 2014 Love, Relationships & Technology survey: 98

Percentage who send or receive intimate content, including video, photos, emails and messages: 54

Percentage of respondents who are securing their smartphone with a password or passcode, a 30 percentage point increase from last year's result: 69

Source: McAfee Inc.

Years of Prohibition in America, considered a noble experiment that failed as the subsequent crime associated with bootlegging caused problems worse than the lone problem of drunkenness: 1920 to 1933

Year Congress amended the Volstead Act to permit beer of 3.2 percent alcohol to be brewed and sold: 1933

Today, estimated number of beer, wine and liquor stores in the U.S., with sales of over $36 billion: 31,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of teens who believe in God, compared to 74 percent of adults, according to a Harris poll: 80

Percentage of teens who believe in miracles, compared to 72 percent of adults: 76

Percentage of teens who believe in the devil, compared to 58 percent of adults: 65

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of chief financial officers who said the job interview is where candidates make the most mistakes, according to a survey by Accountemps: 43

Percentage of executives who felt applicants most frequently slip up when writing their resumes: 19

Ranks of interview follow-up (11 percent), cover letter (10 percent) and phone interview/screen on the list of areas where CFOs said job candidates make the most mistakes: 3, 4, 5

Source: Accountemps.

Overall sales in U.S. convenience stores in 2013, in-store sales climbing 2.4 percent to $204 billion combined with motor fuel sales of $491.5 billion, according to figures released by the National Association of Convenience Stores: $695.5 billion

Percentage of in-store sales accounted for by tobacco (cigarettes and other tobacco products): 37

Percentage accounted for by food service (prepared and commissary food, and hot, cold and dispensed beverages): 18

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of nonprofits that reported an increase in demand for services, the sixth straight year of increased demand, according the results of the Nonprofit Finance Fund's 2014 State of the Nonprofit sector survey: 80

Percentage who were unable to meet demand in 2013 -- the highest reported in the survey's history: 56

Percentage who expect 2014 to be easier than 2013 for the people they serve: 11

Source: Nonprofit Finance Fund.

Idle Thought

"Several excuses are always less convincing than one." -- Aldous Huxley

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