Rank of manufacturers in the United States on the list of the most productive in the world, far surpassing the worker productivity of any other major manufacturing economy, according to NAM calculations based on data from the United Nations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the International Labour Organization: 1

Percentage of all private-sector research and development in the nation that is performed by manufacturers, driving more innovation than any other sector, according to the National Science Foundation: 66

Source: National Association of Manufacturers.

Ratio of single men in their 20s to single women in their 20s, according to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association: 1.2 to 1

Ratio of single men 65 or older to single women 65 or older: 0.33 to 1

Number of dating service establishments nationwide: 904

Average number of marriages annually: 2.16 million

Source: NRF.

Year that the U.S. population is expected to reach 400 million (from 319 million today), according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 2051

Year in which more than half of the nation's children will be part of a minority race or ethnic group: 2020

Year in which the minority population is expected to reach 56 percent of the total population: 2060

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of Vienna (global rank -- 1), Zurich (2), Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6) and Frankfurt (7) on the list of European cities with the best quality of living, according to the Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Vancouver (5), Toronto (15), Ottawa (16), Montreal (24) and San Francisco (27) on the list of the highest-ranking North American cities: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Mercer.

Percentage of companies that say they have not always kept commitments to employees, according to findings of a global survey of more than 1,300 organizations by American Management Association: 57

Percentage that say they have not always kept promises to consumers: 33

Source: American Management Association.

Value of the online grocery market in 2014, according to Packaged Facts: $23 billion

Projected value of the market by 2019, capturing 12 percent of total grocery spending: $100 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of the current U.S. population that is represented by minorities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 37

Percentage of positions in the financial services industry held by minorities: 8

Percentage of Hispanic and African-American respondents who believe it is in the best interest of financial services firms to focus on hiring more multicultural financial advisers, according to a survey conducted for Edward Jones: 79

Source: Edward Jones.

Amount the average consumer spends a year on beer, according to a Survey Analytics survey: $1,270

Percentage of respondents who had brewed their own beer at home: 14

Percentage who are interested in taking craft brewing lessons from their favorite craft brands: 68

Source: Survey Analytics.

Percentage of consumers who say that price is the most important factor in determining where they buy gas, according to a survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS): 66

Percentage of consumers who say that they would drive five minutes out of their way to save 5 cents per gallon: 66

Percentage who would drive 10 minutes out of their way to save 5 cents per gallon: 39

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of Americans who said the U.S. had mostly failed to achieve its goals in Afghanistan, according to a Pew Research Center/USA TODAY survey: 52

Despite the negative view of the outcome, percentage of Americans who said using military force in Afghanistan was the right decision: 51

Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.

Idle Thought

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." -- Zora Neale Hurston

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

Percentage of financial industry professionals who say too much cash is currently on the books of large, publicly owned U.S. companies, according to a survey by Convergex: 72

Ranks of capital expenditure, incremental hiring and acquisitions as their preferred use of excess cash: 1, 2, 3

Source: Convergex.

Percentage of those with a savings plan with specific goals who say they are making good or excellent progress in meeting their goals, according to the American Savings Education Council: 57

Percentage of those without a plan who say the same: 22

Percentage of those with a plan who say they are spending less than their income and saving the rest: 90

Percentage of those without a plan who said the same: 50

Source: American Savings Education Council.

Percentage of single moms who are likely to report that they are at least "somewhat" stressed, compared to 64 percent for moms who are married/cohabiting, according to a survey of moms ages 18 and over conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of the Clinton Foundation: 78

Percentage of moms with a household income below $50,000 who report at least being "somewhat" stressed compared to 63 percent for moms with a household income of $50,000 or over: 73

Ranks of managing their money/finances and thinking about their children's future on the list of the top two sources of stress: 1, 2

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs RS.

Number of people who were treated in hospitals in 2013 for a winter sports-related activity, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: 343,000

Number that were related to skiing: 138,559

Snowboarding: 95,348

Sledding: 63,000

Ice skating: 47,031

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Percentage of CFOs who say that remote working opportunities have increased at their companies over the last three years, according to a survey by Accountemps: 36

Ranks of higher morale and retention as the reasons for instituting remote working: 1, 2

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of marijuana users aged 18 to 25 who said they have been high at school, according to a nationwide survey by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation's Center for Public Advocacy: 35

Percentage who said they have been high at work: 23.1

Source: Hazelden.

Number of calories burned in a one-minute kiss, according to New York-based Manhattan Dental Arts: 26

Number of guys the average woman will kiss before she's married: 79

Percentage of all people who have their first kiss before the age of 14: 50

Source: Manhattan Dental Arts.

Percentage more time that Americans eating all-natural proteins spent exercising than the average American, according to Packaged Facts: 21

Percentage more time that Americans with household incomes above $100,000 spent exercising than the average American: 55

Source: Packaged Facts.

Year of the first successful organ transplant in the U.S., performed in Boston by Harvard's Dr. Joseph Murray, who transplanted a kidney from one identical twin to another, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1954

Estimated number of kidney transplants performed each year in the U.S., the most common and successful of the organ transplant procedures: 17,000

Estimated number of people who are on waiting lists to receive a transplanted kidney: 94,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of American adults who now believe that terminally ill patients who are in great pain should have the right to end their lives, according to a Harris poll: 74

Number of states -- Oregon, Washington and Vermont – that currently have right-to-die laws that allow physician-assisted suicide: 3

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"Familiarity is a magician that is cruel to beauty but kind to ugliness." -- Ouida (pen name of Marie Louise de la Ramee)

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

Year the first electronic computer was publicly demonstrated, developed by inventors Presper Eckert and John Mauchly to help calculate the proper ballistic trajectory for artillery shells, according to the Census Bureau: 1946

Number of vacuum tubes used: 18,000

Year the first commercial computer -- UNIVAC I, also developed by Eckert and Mauchly -- was used to help process the 1950 Census: 1951

Source: Census Bureau.

After the holiday season ended, estimated percentage rise in divorce filings in January, as many couples decide they want to begin the new year with an ending, according to a report on CNBC: 33

Rank of arguments about money -- not children, sex, in-laws or anything else -- on the list of the top predictors of divorce for both men and women: 1

Source: CNBC.

Date of the first selfie, "snapped" by Robert Cornelius of Philadelphia, according to Coyne's "State of the Selfie" report: 1839

Estimated number of selfies that are taken worldwide each day: 93 million

In the last year alone, number of times the term "selfie" was mentioned across social media channels: 154 million

Source: Coyne.

Percentage of American adults who said they would choose a sports car as the type of car they would want to buy if they were going through a mid-life crisis, according to a poll by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of CarMax: 20

Percentage who say they would choose a sports utility vehicle: 17

Percentage who said a sedan: 15

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Rank of "NCIS" on the list of America's favorite shows, according to a Harris Poll: 1

Ranks of "The Big Bang Theory" and "The Walking Dead" on the list: 2, 3

Ranks of the political thriller "Scandal" and fantasy epic "Game of Thrones" on the list: 4, 5

Source: Harris Interactive.

On average in the United States, cost of bus journeys per 100 km (62 miles), according to the GoEuro Transport Price Index compiled using train, bus and flight information from 51 countries across five continents: $7.92

Cost of train journeys: $18.61/62 miles

Cost of flights: $13.89/62 miles

Rank of the U.S. on the list of the least expensive of the 51 countries ranked in the Transport Price Index: 22

Source: GoEuro.

Percentage of Americans who said they believed a new delivery drone system from Amazon would be possible within the next five years, according to a YouGov poll: 38

Percentage of people who have "complete" trust in the ability of the government to properly regulate the use of commercial drones, according to YouGov research: 3

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of travelers who "always or sometimes" use medication or alcohol to help them sleep on a plane, while 80 percent "never" do, according to a survey by Expedia: 15

Percentage who report that they generally cannot sleep on planes: 48

Source: Expedia.

When it comes to concerns about cyber safety, percentage of global respondents who have no reservations about shopping online and using their payment card on either a smartphone or tablet device, according to a Nielsen's Global survey: 54

Percentage who are on the fence, saying they may use their credit or debit cards for online payment: 20

Percentage who say they wouldn't use their cards on either a smartphone or tablet: 26

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of CIOs who are currently taking or planning to take steps to improve information technology (IT) security at their firms, according to a survey from Robert Half Technology: 85

Percentage who are enhancing or planning to enhance employee training on security issues: 54

Source: Robert Half.

IDLE THOUGHT

"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient observation than to any other reason." -- Isaac Newton, physicist, mathematician

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

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