Average amount that Americans spend annually on food (about $4,000 spent at the grocery store and about $2,600 on eating out): $6,600

Average amount that Americans spend on clothing each year: $1,600

Average amount the average person in the United States spends on health care -- insurance costs accounting for about 61 percent of total health care spending: $3,600

Average transportation expenditure, including gas, insurance and maintenance: $9,000

Source: CreditDonkey.com.

Percentage of adults whose parents read to them every day who are likely to report very strong relationships with their parents, according to a Harris Poll: 74

Among adults whose parents read to them every day, percentage who strongly agree that they love to read: 72

Among adults who were read to daily or at least weekly, percentage who are significantly more likely to report six-figure incomes than those who were read to less than once a week or never: 31, 29 respectively

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of working-age adults who see good opportunities around them for starting a business, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor with sponsors Babson College, Universidad Del Desarrollo, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak and Tecnologico de Monterrey: 42

Percentage who feel constrained due to fear of failure: 33

Percentage of the working-age population, on average, who feel they have the ability to start a business: 50

Source: Babson College.

Year in which more electronic mail was being sent than postal mail in the United States, according to a report by the Radicati Group on global email use: 1996

In 2015, the number of emails sent every day: 2 billion

Number of registered email accounts: 4.35 billion

Source: Radicati Group.

Once they decide to stay at home for the evening, percentage of people who say they negotiate with their spouse, partner or significant other when deciding which shows to watch, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Netflix: 71

Percentage of respondents who say shows are a focal point of a relationship because they are more fun when watched together: 67

Source: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs.

Rank of coral/pink, emerald green and goldenrod/yellow on the list of the most popular colors for hard-boiled Easter eggs, according to research from The American Egg Board: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of Americans who use store-bought dye (or decorating kits) to decorate their eggs: 68

Ranks of egg hunts, decorating eggs and Easter brunch on the list of favorite Easter activities: 1, 2, 3

Source: American Egg Board.

Percentage of people who have elected to extend a vacation because of a romance begun while travelling, according to an Expedia survey: 5

Percentage who say they would consider extending that relationship once the vacation concludes: 23

Percentage who said they would not: 32

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of Americans who have made impulse purchases, according to a CreditCards.com report: 84

Percentage of people who have ever made an impulse purchase who said the most common recipient was themselves: 47

Percentage who said the most common recipient was a child: 21

Source: CreditCards.com.

Rank of "The Sound of Music" and "Titanic" on the list of the most iconic award-winning movies that showcased the most beautiful smiles, according to a survey done on behalf of the makers of the Invisalign: 1 (tied at 17 percent)

Percentage of Americans who would rather have their own smile than that of any actor or actress nominated in 2016 (47 percent of men and 52 percent of women): 49.5

Source: Invisalign.

Percentage of people who plan to look for a new job in 2016, according to a survey by SKOUT: 55

Percentage who say they have gotten a job because of a friend: 53

Source: Skout.

Idle Thought

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." -- Mark Twain

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

Percentage of managers who feel that March Madness activities in the workplace have a positive impact on employee morale, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 32

Percentage of managers who feel that March Madness activities have a positive impact on employee productivity: 22

Percentage of employees who are distracted from work by major sporting events: 38

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of American mobile phone owners who have broken or lost a mobile phone -- in fact, on average, they've broken or lost two -- according to a new study by Verizon and KRC Research: 49

Percentage who have sent their phone through the wash: 42

Percentage who have found a pet chewing it: 20

Source: Verizon Information Services.

Percentage of employed millennials who reported feeling a sense of shame for taking or planning a vacation compared to those 35 or older (41 percent), according to research from Alamo Rent A Car: 59

Percentage of all workers who said they felt a sense of shame or guilt at their workplace for taking time off to go on a vacation: 47

Source: Alamo Rent A Car.

Percentage of credit card holders who asked for a late fee waiver and had their request granted, according to a report from CreditCards.com: 89

Percentage who requested a lower interest rate and received one: 78

Number of cardholders (out of five) who made such a request: 1

Source: Creditcards.com.

Percentage of Americans who plan to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, according to WalletHub: 52.3

Estimated amount of money that will be spent to celebrate St. Patrick's Day: $4.6 billion

Estimated number of pints of Guinness that will be consumed worldwide: 13 million

Estimated number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry, seven times the population of Ireland: 33.3 million

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of employers who say they have no problem with the occasional late arrival as long as it doesn't become a pattern, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 33

Percentage of employers who say they don't need employees to be punctual if they can still get their work done: 16

Ranks of traffic, oversleeping, bad weather and lack of sleep on the list reasons why employees are late for work: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of consumers who have had a bad experience with a product who told their friends, family or colleagues about it, according to an Ipsos survey: 52

Percentage who indicated they have shared a good experience with others: 56

Percentage of consumers who had a bad experience who shared it on a social media platform: 12

Percentage of those who had a good experience who did the same: 10

Source: Ipsos.

Rank of pepperoni on Americans' list of favorite pizza toppings, according to a Harris poll: 1

Rank of anchovies, on Americans' list of least-favorite pizza toppings: 1

Ranks of sausage, mushrooms, cheese/plain and onions on the list of favorite toppings: 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of thin crust, regular crust and deep dish on the list of favorite crust styles: 1, 2, 3

Source: The Harris Poll.

Today, approximate number of egg-producing companies with 1 million-plus hens, representing about 85 percent of total U.S. production, according to the American Egg Board: 62

Number of companies with greater than 5 million hens: 16

As of September 2015, total percentage of hens that are cage-free, totaling 23.6 million hens: 8.6

Of this figure, percentage (11.4 million hens) that were USDA Organic: 4.2

Source: American Egg Board.

Amount the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States collectively paid in state and local taxes, according to a 50-state study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: $11.64 billion

Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Idle Thought

"The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped." -- Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher

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

Around the world, rank of the $100 bill on the list of the most popular "Made in America" products, according to research by Convergex: 1

As of the end of last year, estimated value of all $100 bills in circulation: $1 trillion

Number of countries on the planet that have a GDP of at least $1 trillion: 15

Percentage of the bills that are held outside the United States, according to the Federal Reserve: 65

Source: Convergex.

Whether out to dinner and sending a text, on vacation and searching the Web, or simply hanging at home and watching a show -- percentage of American adults who say unplugging for more than a few hours at a time is unrealistic, according to a Harris Poll: 37

Percentage who say it's difficult because their business never sleeps: 27

Percentage of Americans who indicate they make an attempt to unplug at some point during the year: 67

Percentage who say they try to unplug at least once a week: 45

Source: The Harris Poll.

Amount of money that can be saved by choosing an average used car instead of the average new car, according to research by Kelley Blue Book 2015: $13,500

After three years, percentage of the original price that your new car will be worth, according to Consumer Reports: 54

Because today's cars, trucks, SUVs and vans simply last longer, age (a record high) of the average car driving on American roads, according to IHS Automotive: 11.5 years By 2020, projected percentage rise in the number of 12-year-old vehicles still in operation: 15

Source: Kelley Blue Book.

Percentage of Americans who have looked for work in the last two years who utilized online resources, according to a survey by Pew Research Center: 79

Percentage who say these online resources were the most important tool available to them: 34

Percentage who made use of close personal connections: 66

Percentage who used professional contacts: 63

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

Total sales value of salty snacks in the United States during 2015, according to research from Packaged Facts: $22 billion

Rank of potato chip sales among all salty snacks: 1

Value of potato chip sales in 2015: $7.5 billion

Value of the second-ranked tortilla and tostada chips: $5.2 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of people who say they perform a random act of kindness daily, according to a survey by SKOUT: 65

Percentage who say they randomly do something kind for someone at least once per week: 83

Percentage of people who perform random acts of kindness who do so because it just makes them feel good: 56

Source: Skout.

Percentage of Americans who favor drafting women as well as men if the military draft was reinstated, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs: 63

Percentage who favored this notion in 2005: 42

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who believe that intelligent aliens exist, according to a poll by YouGov: 54

Percentage of Americans who assert that there is no intelligent life outside of Earth: 25

When Americans who said smart aliens don't exist were asked to explain why, percentage who responded that it's because "humans were created by a God or another higher being": 66

Source: YouGov.

Rank of Wyoming as the best state for retirement, according to a report from Bankrate.com: 1

Ranks of South Dakota, Colorado, Utah and Virginia for retirement: 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of New York as the worst state for retirement: 1

Ranks of West Virginia, Oregon, Arkansas and Louisiana as the worst states for retirement: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Bankrate.com.

In 2012, total election-related promotional product spending fueled by giveaways like bumper stickers, yard signs and candidate brochures, according to ASI estimates: $870 million.

Last fall, according to a campaign finance report, amount that candidate Donald Trump spent on branded merchandise, with his investment in promotional products outpacing his spending on any other single category in the quarter: $825,000

Source: Advertising Specialty Institute.

Idle Thought

"What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish and radishes, and out comes sighs, laughter and dreams." -- Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist

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

-u