Average number of years that Americans expect to live in retirement, according to Country Financial: 15

Average number of years adults under 30 expect to live in retirement: 30

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of millennials who check their smartphone before breakfast, according to a survey by Student Marketing: 90

Percentage who feel anxious when they are without their smartphone: 40

Percentage who spend more time online than offline with friends: 65

Source: StudentMarketing.

Percentage of consumers who treat themselves to dinner away from home at least once a week, according to Technomic: 64

Percentage who say that they sometimes make a dinner out of appetizers at restaurants: 32

Rank of Mexican as the fastest growing appetizer choice among consumers: 1

Source: Technomic.

Percentage of Americans who say they have a hero, according to a yougov.com survey: 50

Percentage of British who say they have a hero: 3

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of managers transitioning into a new leadership role who say they want a cleaner separation between old and new responsibilities, according to a Development Dimensions International survey: 30

Percentage of respondents who are given either written assessment results without the benefit of feedback about their results, or no assessment at all: 85

Source: Development Dimensions International.

Percentage of young adults (ages 25 to 34) who experience pressure to keep up with the types of places they eat and the gadgets they carry, according to a survey AICPA and Ad Council: 65

Percentage who had to use a credit card to pay for necessities like food or utilities: 50

Percentage who still get financial help from their family: 61

Source: The Ad Council.

Year of the first scheduled commercial radio broadcast, when KDKA in Pittsburgh carried the results of the Warren G. Harding's presidential election victory over James Cox and his vice presidential nominee, Franklin Roosevelt, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1920

Within two years, number of new stations as the popularity of radio swept the nation: 400

Today, estimated number of radio broadcast stations in the U.S., with revenues of close to $19 billion annually: 7,300

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of China, India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia on the list of countries that send the most students to the U.S. to study, according to a report from the Institute of International Education: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain on the list of the most popular study-abroad destinations for U.S. students: 1, 2, 3

Source: Institute of International Education.

Ranks of becoming unexpectedly ill or injured during their trip as the two main worries for travelers, according to a survey by InsureMyTrip.com: 1, 2

Source: InsureMyTrip.com.

Number of chocolate Easter bunnies that are produced each year for Easter, according to the National Confectioner's Association: 90 million

Percentage of Americans who say chocolate bunnies should be eaten ears first: 76

Percentage who said bunnies should be eaten feet first: 5

Percentage who favored eating the tail first: 4

Source: National Confectioners Association.

Idle Thought

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." -- Lao Tzu

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

Total amount of credit card debt in the U.S. -- a record and 47 percent more than in 2013 -- according to CardHub: $57.1 billion

Average household credit card balance: $7,200

Source: CardHub.

Percentage of teens who smoke, according to a study from Legacy for Health: 8

Percentage of 12th graders who say they have a strong interest in e-cigarettes: 17

Amount the tobacco industry spends a year on advertising and marketing its products: $8.8 billion

Source: Legacy.

Percentage of HR managers who say having a messy desk is a sign of a creative person, according to a survey by Office Team: 9

Percentage who said they would have to question an employee's organizational skills: 32

Percentage who said it is somewhat acceptable to have a messy desk: 68

Source: OfficeTeam.

Number of job cuts in the energy sector in the first two months of 2015, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas: 39,621

Percentage of all workforce reductions in the first two months of 2015 accounted for by the energy sector: 38

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Percentage of managers who feel "March Madness" activities in the workplace have a positive impact on employee morale, according to Robert Half International: 50

Percentage who say March Madness has a positive impact on employee productivity: 36

Source: Robert Half International.

Number of U.S. adults who qualify as "wealthy" -- those with at least $500,000 in annual household income (0.5 percent of the U.S. population), according to the Ipsos Affluent Survey USA: 1.9 million

Percentage of the wealthy who speak a non-English language at home: 21

Percentage who were born outside the U.S.: 15

Source: Ipsos Affluent Survey.

Median annual earnings of women 15 or older who worked year-round, full time in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: $37,791

Median annual earnings of men: $49,398

Amount that female, year-round, full-time workers earned in 2012 for every dollar their male counterparts earned: 77 cents

Of all college students, percentage who are women: 56.8

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Compared to their peers, number of times more likely 4-H participants in grades seven to 12 are to make contributions to their communities, according to a 4-H study: 4

Number of times they are more likely to make healthier choices: 2

Number of times they are more likely to participate in science, engineering and computer technology programs during out-of-school time: 2

Source: National 4-H Council.

Percentage of parents with children under 7 who admit to letting their child spend time on the Internet while they are not in the room, according to a study from AVG Technologies: 64

Percentage who are currently using any kind of restricted profile or kid zones on their children's devices -- despite 82 percent being aware of the option: 26

Percentage of respondents who admit they feel under pressure to buy their children the latest technology: 40

Source: AVG Technologies.

When recent college graduates were asked what they look for in a new job, percentage who said a company that provides "a good work-life balance," according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 65

Percentage who said a company that "provides good learning opportunities": 51

Percentage who said a company that "provides nice perks (catered lunch, concierge services, etc.)": 32

Percentage who said a company that "is a startup": 15

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Idle Thought

"To move freely you must be deeply rooted." -- Bella Lewitsky, dancer

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

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.)