Date that one of the engines of business and personal life in the 21st century, the World Wide Web, was announced by two innovators at the Cern Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, according to Profile America: Aug. 6, 1991

In 1994, number of sites that were on the web: 2,700

In 1997, number of sites: 1 million

Today, number of sites estimated to be on the web: 1 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of workers who said they are always able to see the connection between their duties and their firm's performance, according to a Robert Half Management survey: 47

Percentage who also said they want greater insights on how their efforts affect the bottom line: 53

Percentage of respondents who noted they rarely or never see how their work affects the organization: 14

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of U.S. car owners who would like a feature that enables a connected car to communicate with the Internet-connected devices in their home, such as smart garage door openers and door sensors, according to a survey by Parks Associates: 27

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of employers in information technology who have argued with a co-worker about political candidates, according to a survey on behalf of CareerBuilder: 47

Ranks of manufacturing (37 percent), professional and business services (30), financial services (29), health care (24) and retail (23) on the list of fields in which employers argue about politics: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Percentage of workers who believe the workplace has become too politically correct in America: 50

Percentage of employers who say the same: 59

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

On average, amount that parents will spend for clothing, accessories, school supplies, computers and other electronics for their children this year, according to the 2016 Back-to-School Survey by Deloitte: $488

Average amount spent for those who start shopping by the end of July, compared with $424 for those starting in August or later: $537

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of Americans who said they planned to watch a "great deal" or "fair amount" of the 2016 Summer Olympics, according to a Gallup Poll: 48

Percentage of respondents who knew the Olympics would be held in Rio, with an additional 17 percent correctly identifying Brazil as the host nation: 46

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of non-retired Americans who say they have saved at least a portion of their income in the prior year, according to the Federal Reserve Board: 68

Percentage of adults who report that their income varies to some degree from month to month: 32

Percentage who say their monthly expenses vary to some degree: 43

Percentage of those with volatile incomes or expenses who say they have struggled to pay their bills at times: 42

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Even after he was announced as Hillary Clinton's pick for vice president, percentage of Americans who still hadn't heard of Tim Kaine, according to an Ipsos poll: 25

Percentage who hadn't heard of GOP VP hopeful Mike Pence: 25

Percentage who said they had heard of Mitch Kellogg, a fictitious public figure: 7

Source: Ipsos North America.

Percentage of Americans who say their mobile devices are digital portals to inspiration, according to research from AT&T: 71

Percentage of respondents who say mobile technology facilitates inspiration: 80

Source: AT&T Inc.

Idle Thought

"Hatred is the most accessible and comprehensive of all the unifying agents. Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil." -- Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author

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

Percentage of two-parent households in which both parents work full time, up from 31 percent in 1970, according to the Pew Research Center: 46

Percentage of households where a father works full time and a mother doesn't work outside the home, down from 46 percent in 1970: 26

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Date of Earth Overshoot Day this year, the date when humanity's annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year, according to data from Global Footprint Network: Aug. 8

Rank of carbon emissions on the list of the fastest-growing contributors to ecological overshoot, now making up 60 percent of humanity's demand on nature, which is also termed an "ecological footprint": 1

During the first three months of 2016, percentage of the energy consumption of Costa Rica that was generated from renewable sources: 97

In Germany and Britain, percentage of domestic energy demand that was met solely by renewables for several minutes in May 2016 -- the first time such events had occurred: 100

Source: Global Footprint Network.

Rank of credit card payments on the list of the top identified debt across all age groups, according to a survey conducted by Fifth Third Bank: 1

Percentage of millennials who have student loan debt, their second-highest debt priority: 39

Percentage of Generation X respondents who are paying off car loans: 37

Percentage of baby boomers who are still in debt for their mortgage: 34

Source: Fifth Third Bank.

Percentage of Austrians who report having disrobed fully at a public beach, edging out Germans (25 percent) and Americans (18 percent), according to the 2016 Flip Flop Report by Expedia: 28

Worldwide, percentage of beachgoers who claim to have gone nude: 10

Ranks of Malaysians and South Koreans (2 percent), and Thai and Japanese (3 percent) on the list of the world's most modest beachgoing respondents who have sunbathed in the nude: 1, 2

Source: Expedia.

Number of states that the average American has visited, according to a study Ipsos Public Affairs conducted for Livability.com: 12.5

Ranks of Florida, California, Georgia, New York and Nevada on the list of the most-visited states: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of Americans who say they have never been to a state other than the one they currently live in: 10

Ranks of Hawaii, Alaska, California, Colorado and New York on the list of the top five states Americans most want to visit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Ipsos.

Percentage prevalence of adolescent obesity in the one-quarter of preschool-aged children tested who had early bedtimes (8 p.m. or earlier), according to a study of early child care and youth development to determine whether preschool-aged children with earlier bedtimes have a lower risk for adolescent obesity: 10

Percentage prevalence in the one-half who had bedtimes after 8 p.m. but by 9 p.m.: 16

Percentage prevalence in the one-quarter who had late bedtimes (after 9 p.m.): 23

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Percentage of college graduates who say their college tuition was a good investment, according to a study by Bankrate.com: 89

Percentage of all Americans who echo that response: 73

Source: Bankrate.com.

When asked whether alcohol or marijuana impairs one's ability to drive a vehicle, percentage who said both equally, according to a Harris poll: 68

Percentage who said alcohol: 22

Percentage who cited marijuana: 3

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of women who are calling for the media to do a better job portraying women of diverse physical appearance, age, race, shape and size, according to survey by Dove: 71

Percentage of girls who are doing the same: 67

Percentage of women who say they opt out of important life activities -- such as trying out for a team or club, and engaging with family or loved ones -- when they don't feel good about the way they look: 85

Percentage of girls who say the same: 79

Percentage of girls with low body-esteem who say they won't be assertive in their opinion or stick to their decision if they aren't happy with the way they look: 70

Source: Unilever.

Percentage of Americans who say that if they could look forward to a tax-free future, they would get an "IRS" tattoo, according to WalletHub results of its 2016 Taxpayer Survey: 27

Percentage who would clean Chipotle bathrooms: 11

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." -- Alexis de Tocqueville

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

Percentage of U.S. workers who believe the traditional 9-to-5 workday is a thing of the past, according to a survey from CareerBuilder: 59

Percentage of workers who say they complete work outside of office hours: 45

Percentage who say they check or answer emails when they leave work: 49

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who have seen or heard about Pokemon Go, according to an Ipsos poll: 80

Percentage of millennials who can correctly identify a Pokemon character: 52

Percentage of those with kids at home who are likely to know a great deal about the app: 31

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of CFOs who said motivation to learn new skills is necessary to get ahead, according to a survey by staffing firm Accountemps: 30

Percentage who said interpersonal skills are necessary: 27

Percentage of respondents who said the ability to adapt easily to change is a must: 24

Percentage of CFOs who cited the willingness to work long hours as important in getting ahead: 7

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of consumers who say that since the last recession, they are more conservative about taking on debt -- a tendency that is relatively uniform across demographic segments, according to Packaged Facts: 72

Percentage of adults who strongly agree that they are very good at managing money: 5

Percentage who strongly agree that they are financially secure: 10

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of managers who say offices are more competitive today than they were 10 years ago, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 31

Percentage of office employees who say they would leave if their office became too competitive: 43

Source: OfficeTeam.

Hispanic population of the United States, making people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest (17.6 percent) ethnic or racial minority, according to the Census Bureau: 56.8 million

Projected Hispanic population of the United States in 2060, constituting 28.6 percent of the nation's population: 119 million

Percentage of the Hispanic population in the United States that lives in California, Florida and Texas: 54.5

Source: Census Bureau.

Percentage of all U.S. adults who say they have played the state lottery, according to a Gallup poll: 49

Percentage of Americans who reported engaging in the second-most-popular mode of gambling -- visiting a casino: 26

Percentage who have participated in an office pool on the World Series, Super Bowl or other game: 15

Source: Gallup Organization.

Drop from 2008 to 2015 in percentage of employers with one to 10 employees that offer health insurance coverage, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute: from 35.6 to 22.7

Drop in percentage among employers with 10 to 24 employees: 66.1 to 48.9

Drop in percentage for employers with 25 to 99 employees: 81.3 to 73.5

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of people with excellent credit who prefer Taylor Swift to Kanye West, according to a survey by WalletHub: 88

Percentage of people with excellent credit who are fans of Charlie Rose, while James Corden has the most fans with bad credit (41 percent): 66

Percentage of people with excellent credit who are dog lovers, while cat owners are more likely to have bad credit (40 percent): 46

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who say they are very happy this year, down from 34 percent in 2015, according to a Harris poll: 31

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are generally happy with their life right now (suggesting that people may overstate how happy they really are): 81

Percentage who agree that they are optimistic about the future: 72

Source: The Harris Poll.

Idle Thought

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." -- Warren Bennis

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

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