Percentage of Americans who say the technology sector has a positive reputation, according to a Harris survey: 77

Percentage who say the energy sector has a positive reputation: 45

Percentage who say the financial services sector has a positive reputation: 35

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of people without children who say they are happy, according to a Care.com and Yahoo survey: 91

Percentage of parents who say they are happy: 81

Percentage of people who were child-free who thought they would be happier if they were a parent: 54

Percentage of parents who think they are happier than those without kids: 30

Source: Care.com.

Purse in the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao title match, according to Wealth-X: $300 million

Amount Mayweather has taken home from the fight: $180 million

Percentage by which his net worth increased (to $330 million): 37

Source: Wealth-X.

Percentage of Americans who say they would delay their retirement by a year in exchange for a trip of their dreams, according to a survey by Country Financial: 49

Percentage who would swap their current job for a lower-paying one if it meant they could have more time to travel: 11

Source: Country Financial.

Average percentage of the U.S. population that Americans estimate to be gay, according to a poll by Gallup: 23

Percentage of the population who actually identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender: 3.8

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of the top 10 training courses offered by the American Management Association that have to do with communications, according to an AMA study of 25,000 individuals taking courses in 40 cities: 80

Number of years in a row in which communications courses have held such a rank: 3

Source: American Management Association.

Percentage of accounting and finance professionals who say solving problems gives them the most career satisfaction: 41

Percentage who say their greatest satisfaction comes in working with numbers: 32

Source: Robert Half Finance & Accounting.

Number of unintentional drownings that happen every day in the United States, according to the Red Cross: 10

Percentage of parents who report that their child cannot demonstrate all five basic skills that could save their lives in the water: 61

Percentage of adults who are not able to perform all five water-safety skills who expect to supervise a child near water this summer: 18

Percentage of parents who expect their children will engage in some form of water activity this summer: 94

Source: American Red Cross.

Percentage of all cyber attacks that involve a weak password, according to a study by Modis: 80

Percentage of cyber breaches that are deliberate and malicious: 90

Estimated average financial loss from a cyber security incident (globally): $2.7 million

Source: Modis.

Percentage of all patients undergoing cosmetic procedures in 2014 who were between the ages of 45 and 54, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons: 49

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgery.

Idle Thought

"Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." -- Flannery O'Connor, writer

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

Percentage of employees who post about their employer on social media, according to a survey by Weber Shandwick.com: 50

Percentage whose posts include praise or positive comments: 39

Percentage whose posts are negative or critical: 16

Percentage of employees who regret posting about their employer: 14

Source: Weber Shandwick.

Percentage of men in millionaire households who say that financial decisions are made jointly, according to a survey by the Spectrem Group: 43

Percentage of women in millionaire households who say decisions are made jointly: 74

Percentage of men who report they make the financial decisions: 55

Percentage of women who say men make all the financial decisions: 10

Source: Spectrem Group.

Number of people worldwide who do not have enough food to eat, according to the World Food Programme: 805 million

Percentage of deaths of children under five years of age that is caused by lack of proper nutrition: 45

Source: The National Center For Public Policy Research.

Percentage of an average white person's neighborhood in metropolitan America that is comprised of white people, according to a Brown University and Florida State University study: 75

Percentage of an average black person's neighborhood in metropolitan America that is comprised of black people: 45

Source: Urban Institute.

Percentage of Americans who say that it is the "texter" who causes the most road rage, according to an Expedia.com survey: 26

Percentage who say it is the "tailgater": 13

Percentage who say it is the "left lane hog": 12

Source: Expedia.com.

Percentage of Americans who say they feel less secure in their job than they did a year ago (the lowest percentage on record), according to Bankrate.com: 11

Percentage of Americans reporting higher net worth than one year ago: 29

Percentage who report a lower net worth: 14

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Overall U.S. unemployment rate in January 2015, according to IBIS World: 5.7

Overall unemployment rate for those with a university degree: 2.7

Source: IBIS World.

Projected growth of the worldwide Internet of Things (IoT) market in 2015, according to a report by IDC: 19

Projected growth in the value of digital signage usage from 2013 ($6 billion) to 2018 ($27.5 billion): $21.5 billion

Source: IDC.

Percentage of managers who said employees are asked to contribute money for celebrations at least once a year, according to a survey by Robert Half International: 54

Percentage of workers who say it is OK every so often: 51

Percentage who say it is annoying: 16

Source: Robert Half.

Ranks of free Wi-Fi, free breakfast and free parking as the top three factors when choosing a hotel for leisure stays, according to survey by hotels.com: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of global travelers who say mini bars aren't worth the hype: 24

Percentage of Americans who say they have taken stuff from a hotel room: 48

Source: Hotels.com.

Idle Thought

"It's best to give while your hand is still warm." -- Philip Roth

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

Value of the annual credit card rewards that Americans leave on the table every year, according to a Cardhub report: $4 billion

Value of the credit card debt in the U.S. in 2014: $57 billion

Difference in rewards value between the best rewards credit card from the best issuer and best rewards card from the worst issuer over the first two years: $739.01

Source: CardHub.

Percentage of non-retirees who name Social Security as a major source of retirement income (the highest percentage in 15 years), according to a survey by Gallup: 36

Percentage who expect to rely on retirement investment accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs: 49

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of American parents who say they are one of their teens' primary driving teachers, according to the National Safety Council: 88

Percentage of parents who use their cellphones while driving when their teens are in the car: 91

Source: National Safety Council.

Number of people who ride a bicycle to work, about 0.06 percent of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 882,198

Number of people who walk to work, about 2.8 percent of the population: 4,000,459

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Number of minutes longer that Americans who say they have very good or excellent health and quality of life sleep versus those who say they only have good, fair or poor quality of life, according to the National Sleep Foundation: 36

Source: National Sleep Foundation.

Percentage of Americans who consider themselves libertarians, according to a survey by Reuters and Ipsos Data: 20

Percentage of those who think the U.S. military should be involved only if the United States faces a direct threat: 61

Percentage who say the government shouldn't be involved in deciding who can and can't marry: 61

Source: Ipsos Data.

Percentage of people who wish they could still take a "spring break" like they did when they were in school, according to a survey by RetailMeNot.com: 74

Percentage of consumers who consider warm-weather vacations to be more desirable than cold-weather vacations: 66

Percentage of vacationers who prefer to take several smaller trips throughout the year than a single big trip once per year: 61

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of companies that agree their sales teams' ability to articulate "value messages" is one of the most critical factors in closing deals, according to a survey by Corporate Visions: 85

Percentage of companies that ask their salespeople to perform "stand-and-deliver" or "role-play" to practice their value messages: 41

Source: Corporate Visions Inc.

Percentage of Americans who have asked their car insurance provider for common discounts, according to Bankrate.com: 16

Percentage less the average person should pay for car insurance if they drive less than 5,000 miles annually versus those who drive 15,000 miles, according to Bankrate.com: 8 (25 percent in California)

Although all of the 10 largest car insurers give good student discounts, percentage of millennials who have asked for one of these: 20

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who say that football is their favorite sport (up from 24 percent in 1985), according to a Harris poll: 32

Percentage who say baseball is their favorite (down from 23 percent in 1985): 16

Rank of men's college football and auto racing: 3, 4

Source: Harris Interactive.

Idle Thought

"All of life is a foreign country." -- Jack Kerouac, author

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