Percentage of workers who think people become less courteous as they climb the corporate ladder, according to a survey by Accountemps: 70

Source: Accountemps.

Amount of money the average person is planning to spend on candy, cards, gifts and more this Valentine's Day, up from $126.03 last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation: $130.97

Projected total spending: $18.6 billion

Percentage who will give flowers, with total spending expected to top $1.9 billion: 37

Percentage who will treat their special someone to jewelry, spending more than $4.4 billion on diamonds, gold and silver: 20

Source: National Retail Federation.

Number of American men who have a hidden bank account or credit card, according to Creditcard.com: 4.4 million

Number of American women who have a hidden bank account or credit card: 2.8

Percentage of men who say it is OK for their partner/spouse to make a purchase of $500 or more without their knowledge: 31

Percentage of women who say the same: 18

Source: Creditcards.com.

Number of stadium seats that were empty when the first Super Bowl was held in the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1967, according to Convergex: 30,000

Cost of a ticket: $12

Median online price a week prior to this year's Super Bowl: $5,684

Source: Convergex.

Projected average amount that diners plan to spend to celebrate Valentine's Day, 63 percent more than the typical check average of $85 per couple, according to a survey released by OpenTable: $139

Percentage of respondents who say talking and texting at the table is the biggest dining faux pas a date can commit: 58.5

Source. OpenTable.

Amount Americans estimate that the federal government wastes of each tax dollar, according to a survey by Gallup: 51 cents

Amount Americans estimate that state governments waste of each tax dollar: 42 cents

Amount Americans estimate that local governments waste of each tax dollar: 37 cents

Source: Gallup Organization.

Decade when Percy Spencer of the Raytheon company, working on a military radar device, noticed that his candy bar had gotten soft, and, intrigued, experimented with irradiating some kernels of popcorn, which promptly burst: 1940s

Year the first consumer model microwave ovens were introduced, costing only a little less than a new car ($1,200) and requiring professional installation: 1955

Today, percentage of homes across the country that have microwave ovens: 90

Estimated annual value of the manufacturing of microwave ovens and other electric cooking range business: $2.5 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of American adults who agree that "doing what's right regardless of personal consequences" is the trait that makes a person most worthy of admiration, according to a Harris poll: 76

Of those who admire a specific U.S. president, percentage who do so because they "command the support and respect of others": 66

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of families with heads ages 55 to 64 who are carrying some debt (averaging $73,211), according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute: 78.5

Percentage of income that is devoted to debt: 10

Source: EBRI.

Ranks of Orlando, Las Vegas, New York City and Miami on the list of the most popular domestic destinations for the 2014-2015 winter season, according to members of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA): 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Cancun, Rome, London and Paris on the list of the most popular international destinations for the 2014-2015 winter season: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: American Society of Travel Agents.

Idle Thought

"The truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is." -- Nadine Gordimer, Nobel laureate

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

Year that direct-dial telephone area codes for transcontinental calling were introduced, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1951

Number of exchanges there were at the beginning: 86

Average amount that American residential customers pay annually for their home telephone service: $434

Despite our familiarity with do-it-yourself calling, number of telephone operators still on the job: 28,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Of the 2,325 billionaires globally in 2014, percentage who have tertiary education (bachelor's degree or higher), according to the recently released Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census: 65

Of the top 10 billionaire-producing business schools globally, number that are in the United States: 7

Of the 10 business schools with the most billionaire alumni, rank of Harvard, with 64: 1

Source: Wealth-X.

Percentage of airplane fliers who agreed with the statement, "A little small talk is fine, but I prefer to keep to myself during the flight," according to an Expedia survey: 78

Percentage of Americans who said they "use flights as an opportunity to talk to and meet new people": 16

Source: Expedia.

Overall male-to-female ratio among single adults ages 25 to 34, according to a Pew Research Center report: 115:110

When the number of young men is limited to those who are currently employed, male-to-female ratio becomes: 84:100

Ranks of San Jose, California, and Denver on the list of large metro areas having the best "marriage market" for women seeking a male partner with a job: 1, 2

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

Percentage of Americans who have dinner with their family virtually every day, according to research by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship: 68.5

Percentage who see or hear from friends and family at least a few times a week: 76

Source: Corporation for National and Community Service.

According to the USDA, ranks of Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl game day on the list of the largest food consumption days: 1, 2

On Super Bowl Sunday, estimated number of pounds of snacks Americans will eat: 30 million

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of adults who admit that they have used a dating site or app to cheat on a significant other or partner, according to a survey by YouGov: 27

Percentage of people who say they have been cheated on by a partner at least once in their lifetime: 44

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of Americans who believe "most workers' compensation claims are made by people who don't want to work," according to a survey commissioned by Summit Pharmacy Inc.: 37

Percentage of American workers who believe that if they were injured on the job, "it would be a nightmare process to get the pain medication(s) my doctor prescribed": 34

Percentage who agreed with this statement: "You need a Ph.D. to complete all the necessary paperwork associated with a worker's compensation claim": 35

Source: Summit Pharmacy Inc.

On average, percentage of all smart devices acquired in 2013 that were gifts, according to a survey by Parks Associates: 32

Percentage of U.S. broadband households whose members are unfamiliar with smart home products or services: 66

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"Patience is also a form of action." -- Auguste Rodin

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

Percentage of employees who report excessive pressure to get work done, according to the 2014 Global Workforce Study and the 2014 Global Talent Management and Rewards Study by Towers Watson: 33

Percentage of all respondents who ask managers for help to cope with stress: 27

Percentage of employees who say their organization should understand them to the same degree they are expected to understand customers: 70

Source: Towers Watson.

Percentage of 2014 grads who say "making a lot of money" is more important in their job than "making a difference" who are in full-time positions (compared to 28 percent of those who think the reverse), according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 51

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Internet users who agree with the statement "people who use online dating sites are desperate" -- down from the 29 percent in 2005: 21

Percentage of all Americans who know an online dater: 42

Among adults, percentage of all committed relationships in America today that began online: 5

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

Of the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, number where a median-income household can afford a median-priced home, according to a new Interest.com report: 10

Ranks of Minneapolis, Atlanta, St. Louis and Detroit on the list of cities where a median-income household can afford a median-priced home: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of San Francisco, San Diego, New York and Los Angeles on the list of areas where a median-income household can least afford a median-priced home: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Interest.com.

Since 2000, percentage increase in the number of breast augmentation procedures, according to polls taken by the National Institutes of Health: 45

Percentage of people who said they would consider plastic surgery procedures, up from 23 percent 14 years ago: 54

Percentage of respondents who state they would not view someone who underwent cosmetic surgery negatively: 72

Source: Beverly Hills Physicians.

Percentage of parents who say their kids are more tech-savvy than they are, according to a poll commissioned by BullGuard: 53

Percentage of parents who say it would ease their mind if parental controls were installed on devices connected to the Internet: 84

Source: BullGuard.

Percentage of Americans who say they recycle 75 percent or more of their recyclable items, according to a survey conducted for Plastics Make It Possible: 50

Among those who say they don't recycle all the time, percentage who say it's because they don't know which plastic items are recyclable: 28

Source: Plastics Make It Possible.

Percentage of Americans who deem it "unacceptable" to drive when they are so tired that they have a hard time keeping their eyes open, according to research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: 95

Percentage who admit to doing so in the last month: 28

Source: AAA.

Year that Massachusetts Bay Colony authorities ordered that every township with 50 or more householders assign at least one person to teach children to read and write, with the teachers paid by the children's parents or the general village population: 1647

Estimated amount of money that state and local governments spend annually: $3.2 trillion

Percentage that goes to education ($861 billion): 27

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of adults in the U.S. who say there is an area within a mile of where they live where they would be afraid to walk alone at night, according to a Gallup Poll: 37

Percentage of women (compared with 27 percent of men) who say they do not feel safe walking alone at night: 45

Source: Gallup Organization.

Idle Thought

"Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity." -- Albert Camus, writer

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