oddities

Figuratively Speaking for June 27, 2016

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | June 27th, 2016

When asked to name which skills they think recent college graduates lack for the workplace, percentage of employers who cited interpersonal skills, according to a CareerBuilder survey: 52

Percentage who cited problem-solving skills: 48

Ranks of leadership, teamwork, written communication and oral communication on the list of other skills these employers are looking for: 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of homeowners who would rather walk around in their underwear than spend money to cool down their homes in the summer, according to the Lennox Home Energy Report Card survey: 26

If homeowners could save $50 each month on their summer electric bill, percentage who would be willing to turn up the temperature on their thermostat 10 degrees or more: 10

Percentage of homeowners who adjust their thermostat while sleeping: 61

Source: Lennox Industries.

Percentage of consumers who mistakenly think their credit scores and reports are public information, according to a survey by WalletHub: 34

Percentage of people who wouldn't date someone with bad credit: 34

Percentage who wouldn't marry someone with such a rating: 49

Percentage who think a great butt is more important than a great credit score: 22

Source: WalletHub.

Across all groups of workers, median age of retirement, regardless of gender or marital status, according to EBRI's recent Retirement Confidence Survey: 65

Percentage of women who say they are very likely to live until age 85: 38

Percentage of men who say the same: 35

Source: EBRI.

For centuries, rank of the month of June as the most popular choice for weddings, traditionally a time just after May's annual bath, so the happy couple and the guests were about as clean as could be hoped, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1

Each year, estimated number of weddings held across the nation: 2.1 million

Median age at first marriage for women (up five years since 1980): 27.6

Average age for men when they first take their vows: 29.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage more shower users than bathers who admitted to taking selfies in the shower more than once a week, according to an American Standard survey: 57

Percentage of respondents who admitted to cleaning the shower naked: 50

Percentage more shower users who say they sing in the shower than bathers: 89

Percentage of survey respondents who bathe who said they've actually participated in a teleconference or work phone call from the tub: 14.3

Source: American Standard.

Percentage of Americans who report feeling financial anxiety today, according to data from Northwestern Mutual: 85

Percentage who say their anxiety has gone up in the last three years: 36

Percentage who say financial anxiety is negatively impacting their happiness: 70

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Percentage of American consumers who noticed that gas prices are higher, a rise of 18 cents over the past month, the fourth consecutive month of price increases, according to a survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 69

Price that consumers say gas would have to reach before they would reduce how much they drive: $3.51

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of Americans who favor legalizing marijuana for medical use, up from 74 percent in 2011, according to a Harris Poll: 81

Percentage of Americans who are supportive of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, up from 42 percent in 2011: 49

When asked about the effects legalizing marijuana might have, percentage of adults who expect tax revenues will increase post legalization: 75

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of American shoppers who have made an apparel purchase in the last six months, according to Nielsen Channel Track: 70

Percentage of these shoppers who made purchases at a physical store: 82

Source: Nielsen Channel Track.

Idle Thought

"Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear." -- Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for June 17, 2016

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | June 17th, 2016

Number of copies of adult coloring books that were sold in the United States last year, up from just 1 million in 2014, according to Nielsen BookScan data from the 2015 U.S. Book Industry Year Review: 12 million

Number of coloring book titles that were published last year, compared with 300 the previous year: 2,000

In the past year alone (year ended April 30), amount that Americans spent on colored pencils, a 47 percent spike from the previous year: $128.2 million

Source: Nielsen Media Research.

Percentage of people who said financial security would allow them to relocate or buy a home, according to new data from Northwestern Mutual: 34

Percentage who said financial security would allow them to leave money to loved ones: 32

Percentage of people who said they would stop working if they had financial security: 15

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Percentage of adults who reported never working on vacation, according to research from Alamo Rent A Car: 44

In both the 2015 and 2016 surveys, rank of "spending quality time together" as the most important benefit of traveling as a family: 1

Percentage of adults who said they are likely to go on vacations with extended family, up from 67 percent in 2015: 73

Source: Alamo Rent A Car.

Amount of annual revenue that comes from IRS enforcement activities, according to WalletHub: $50 to $60 billion

Amount that comes from people who "voluntarily pay what they owe": $3.3 trillion

Number of hours it takes Americans to do their taxes each year (16 hours per person): 6.1 billion

Source: WalletHub.

Rank of Mossack Fonseca on the list of the largest global firms providing clandestine offshore financial services, according to an article by Deborah Hardoon, Oxfam's deputy head of research: 4

Estimated amount that tax havens cost poor countries in lost tax revenues each year: $170 billion

Source: Oxfam.

With telecommuting, flexible schedules and an increasingly wired (and wireless) world, percentage of employees who feel their work and personal lives are becoming increasingly blended, according to the 2016 Cone Communications Employee Engagement Study: 64

Percentage who want to work for a company that cares about them as an individual: 93

Percentage of workers who say their job is more fulfilling when they are provided opportunities to make a positive impact at work: 74

Source: Cone Communications.

Year that the first recorded automobile accident involving two vehicles (a bicycle and a car) occurred, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1896

Today, average number of motor vehicle accidents that are reported to police per year: 5.7 million

Estimated number of insurance carriers in the U.S., with annual industry revenues of about $1.7 trillion: 31,000

Source: Census Bureau.

When it comes to makeup/cosmetic use, average number of days per week that women typically wear makeup, including using mascara (5 days), foundation (4.9), concealer (4.8) and eyeliner (4.8), according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Boots Retail USA Inc.: 5

When it comes to satisfaction with current cosmetics, ranks of eyeliner and mascara on the list of items that women are most happy with: 1, 2

Source: Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who believe that everyone has control over their weight, according to a survey of 1,000 overweight Americans by Mike Berland: 75

Percentage of respondents who say that all calories are the same: 82

Percentage who say dieting is expensive: 76

Source: Teszler PR Inc.

Percentage of American adults who believe musicians and comedians canceling performances will be effective in deterring the passage of anti-LGBT laws, according to a Harris Poll: 50

Percentage of Americans who are familiar with "bathroom bills" -- laws that require individuals to use the bathroom that corresponds to their sex at birth: 76

Source: The Harris Poll.

Idle Thought

"A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points." -- Alan Kay, computer scientist

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for June 10, 2016

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | June 10th, 2016

Due to a longer life expectancy, a need to earn income longer, and the fact that some people enjoy their jobs, percentage of U.S. employees who say they don't expect to retire until they are 70 years old, according to The Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, conducted by Willis Towers Watson: 25

Percentage of employees who don't ever expect to retire: 5

Percentage of men in the U.S. who are working past age 65 today: 22

Source: Willis Towers Watson.

Percentage of co-signers to loans who have had to pay some or all of the bill because the primary borrower did not, according to a new CreditCards.com report: 38

Percentage who experienced a drop in their credit score because the other person paid late or not at all: 28

Percentage of co-signers who said the experience damaged their relationship with the person they co-signed for: 26

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of Americans who report they are "living comfortably" or "doing OK," according to a survey of household economics and decision-making commissioned by the Federal Reserve Board: 69

Percentage of non-retired respondents who saved at least a portion of their income from the prior year: 68

Percentage of respondents who were mostly or completely happy with their neighborhoods: 70

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Estimated number of fathers across the United States in 2015, the most recent year for which data are available, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau: 70.1 million

Number of fathers who were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2015: 24.9 million

Number of single fathers in 2015: 1.9 million

Percentage of single parents who were men: 16

Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2015: 199,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of workers who feel they don't get enough time off, according to a survey from Accountemps: 33

Percentage of workers who forgo or take shortened vacations: 41

Percentage of workers who have not taken a vacation or have taken fewer days off because they were concerned about the amount of work that would await them when they returned: 41

Source: Accountemps.

On April 21, number of people, including the musical icon Prince, who reportedly died from prescription opioid overdose, according to research by the National Safety Council: 52

Estimated number of people who die every year from opioid overdoses: 19,000

Source: National Safety Council.

Rank of Las Vegas on the list of the most popular destinations searched on Expedia, whether in a stand-alone search for flights, hotel, car rentals or a money-saving package, according to Expedia travel analysts: 1

Ranks of Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, Los Angeles and San Diego on the Top 10 list of hotels sold over the last 10 years: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of Cancun, Mexico, on the list of the top international destinations for American travelers: 1

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of workers who have smartphones, according to a survey done on behalf of CareerBuilder: 83

Percentage of those with smartphones who keep them within eye contact at work: 82

Percentage of those with smartphones who say it's decreasing their productivity at work: 10

Percentage who say they use it (at least) several times a day while working: 66

Ranks of cellphone/texting and the internet on the list of the biggest productivity killers in the workplace cited by employers: 1, 2

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of senior managers who said employees wear less-formal clothing than they did five years ago, according to research from OfficeTeam: 50

Percentage of office workers who would prefer to be at a company with a business casual dress code: 31

Percentage who favor a casual dress code or no dress code at all: 27

Ranks of "wearing overly casual clothing" and "showing too much skin" on the list of the most common dress code violations: 1, 2

Source: OfficeTeam.

Among those who live with others, percentage of Americans who sit down to family dinner at least once a week, according to results of a Harris Poll: 87

Percentage of Americans who say cellphones don't belong at the dinner table: 90

Percentage who say they have made changes to make their family dinners healthier over the past couple of years: 79

Source: The Harris Poll and Nielsen.

Idle Thought

"I want people to talk to one another no matter what their difference of opinion might be." -- Studs Terkel, author and broadcaster

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

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