Century in which the world's longest running litigation ("Pleitos Colombinos," or the Columbian Lawsuits) was initiated, according to the Voelker Litigation Group: 16th

Percentage that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed in writing to give Christopher Columbus and his heirs (in addition to promised land grants, extravagant titles and untold potential powers in the New World) of all the wealth he discovered and claimed for the crown on his voyages made on their behalf: 10

Value of this contract in today's currency, making the Columbus family one of -- if not the -- wealthiest in recorded history: $100 trillion

Source: Voelker Litigation Group.

Percentage of employees who said their personal principal driver at work was pay/financial rewards, according to the Pew Research Center: 3

Percentage who cited that their primary driver was work that has purpose and meaning: 73

Percentage of executives who agreed that there is a long-term financial benefit to companies that make strong commitments to purpose-driven leadership, according to a Korn Ferry survey: 70

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Estimated number of Americans who would be "very likely" to volunteer for a potential mission to Mars in the next 10 years, according to an Ipsos poll: 30 million

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of managers who say mobile technology makes it hard to switch off from work, according to CMI's Quality of Working Life report: 61

As a solution, percentage of managers who want their organization to restrict out-of-hours access to work email: 39

Source: Global Wellness Institute.

Year that a student manager at Cumberland College of Lebanon, Tennessee, which had dropped its football team after 1915, gathered a makeshift team of fraternity brothers to take the field against Georgia Tech to avoid Cumberland having to pay a significant fine for not showing up, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1916

Number of first downs registered: 0

Final score in a Georgia Tech victory and college football's greatest rout: 222-0

Today, of the nearly 4,700 colleges and universities across the nation, number that have football programs rather more prepared than Cumberland 100 years ago: 770

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of all working parents who say that balancing work and family is difficult, according to the Pew Research Center: 56

Among working mothers, percentage who report that being a parent has made it harder for them to advance in their careers: 41

Percentage of working fathers who say the same: 20

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

Percentage of consumers who want to set good examples for their families by eating healthier, according to a Nielsen survey: 41

Regardless of price, percentage of consumers who are willing to pay more if it equals a healthier choice: 55

Source: Nielsen Insights.

Percentage of Americans, and nearly all millennial parents (92 percent), who feel that K-12 public school students should be able to choose tuition-free online learning options to meet a student's learning needs, according to research by Connections Education: 76

Percentage of millennial parents who have or know a child in online public school: 35

Percentage of millennial parents who agree that online schools have the potential to personalize education: 81

Percentage of millennial parents who are supportive of alternative approaches to education: 77

Source: Connections Education.

Projected total U.S. retail sales of natural and organic foods and beverages through all retail channels by the end of 2016, an 11 percent gain over 2015 sales and 32 percent higher than sales five years earlier, according to Packaged Facts: $69 billion

Projected percentage growth in the retail market for natural and organic foods and beverages between 2016 and 2021: 70

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of organizations who report having a data breach response plan (up from 61 percent in 2013), according to the Ponemon Institute's Fourth Annual Data Breach Preparedness study: 86

Percentage of organizations who are confident in their ability to minimize the financial and reputational consequences of a material data breach: 27

Source: Edelman.

Idle Thought

"Would the boy you were be proud of the man you are?" -- Laurence J. Peter, educator and author

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

Percentage of human resource managers who said they spend less than a minute looking at a resume, according to a new CareerBuilder survey: 43

Percentage who say they spend less than 30 seconds: 24

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Number of Americans who are age 100 or over, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 55,000

Percentage who are women: 81

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

In 1954, percentage of all U.S. wage and salary workers who were union members, according to Pew Research Center: 35

Unionization rate in 2015: 11.1

Percentage of Americans who said manufacturing and factory workers should have the right to unionize: 82

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

Percentage of Americans who report having financial concerns, according to a study conducted by ClearVoice Research and commissioned by OfferUp: 84

Percentage who report being stressed about medical expenses: 32

Source: Clear Voice Research.

Percentage of Americans who say parents today let their kids wear makeup way too young, according to a Harris Poll: 81

Age at which Americans, on average, say a kid should be when they start wearing makeup: 15

Age at which teens say they started wearing makeup: 13

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of workers who cited "integrity" as a top attribute of corporate leaders, according to research from Robert Half Management Resources: 75

Percentage of CFOs who most commonly reported that they value integrity in business leaders: 46

Ranks of fairness, decisiveness, strategic mindset, transparency, and accessibility on the list of the top attributes that workers value in their leaders: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Between 2010 and 2015, percentage increase in African-American buying power ($995 billion to $1.3 trillion), according to the Packaged Facts report African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition: 27

Looking ahead, projected percentage cumulative growth between 2015 and 2020: 16

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of HR managers who said their organization typically increases hiring in the fourth quarter, according to new research from OfficeTeam: 26

Of those, percentage who indicated they bring on staff at year's end to fill vacated positions: 69

Percentage who said they do so to address upticks in business: 62

Percentage who do so to add new positions: 51

Source: OfficeTeam.

For early retirees (age 62 to 66) who continue working, estimated loss in future Social Security benefits for each dollar they earn: 50 cents

From Jan. 1 in the year in which they turn 66 until their 66th birthday, amount they lose in benefits for each dollar of wages -- effectively a 33 percent tax rate: 33 cents

Source: Goodman Institute.

Idle Thought

"Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others." -- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

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

Percentage of respondents who hid a purchase, bank account statement, bill or cash from their partner or spouse, according to a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the National Endowment for Financial Education: 39

Percentage who said they had discussed finances with their spouse/partner and they knew he/she would disapprove: 30

Percentage who were embarrassed/fearful about their finances and didn't want their spouse/partner to find out: 25

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of non-retired Americans who plan to work as long as possible during retirement, according to a Bankrate.com report: 70

Percentage who say they have no plans to work during retirement: 25

Of those who plan to work as long as possible during retirement, percentage who are planning to work because they like to work: 38

Percentage who plan to work because they need the money: 35

Source: Bankrate.com.

Amount that American women earn on the dollar compared with men, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly wages that includes full- and part-time workers: 83 cents

Among workers ages 25 to 34, amount women earn on the dollar compared with men: 91 cents

Estimated amount more that college graduates ages 25 to 34 working full time in 2015 earned annually than employed young adults holding only a high school diploma: $20,000

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

Percentage of respondents who believe that "aliens exist and they live in our midst disguised as humans," according to a Reuters poll of 23,000 adults in 22 countries: 20

Percentage of respondents living in China and India who reported positive responses to that statement: 40

Percentage of Belgians, Swedes and Dutch who reported positive responses: 8

Source: Reuters.

Estimated percentage of family caregivers (one who takes care of a family member or friend, but is unpaid for their services) who spend $5,000 or more per year on caregiving expenses, according to a Caring.com report: 40

Ranks of food and clothing, transportation, and medications and other medical costs on the list of the most common out-of-pocket expenses for family caregivers: 1, 2, 3

Source: Care.com.

In the United States, estimated number of workers using illegal drugs, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and reported by Convergex: 17 million

Average expenditure on illegal drugs per person each year for the entire U.S. population, according to the RAND Drug Policy Research Center for the U.S. White House Office of National Drug Control Policy: $300

Source: Convergex.

Percentage of the roughly 30 international ambassadors polled who named trade and investment, international security, terrorism and international rule of law as the issues most important in the context of their country's relationship with the United States, according to The Ipsos Poll conducted for The Hill and Washington Diplomat: 90

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who believe children should receive an allowance for completing chores, according to the Country Financial Security Index: 68

Of the people currently providing kids with an allowance, percentage who do so to teach their children money needs to be earned: 54

Percentage who wanted to teach their kids the value of money: 22

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of workers who consider non-traditional job titles such as "chief happiness officer" unprofessional, according to the WorkSphere survey from Spherion Staffing: 25

Percentage who agreed that these more creative billings don't accurately capture what their job entails: 23

Source: Spherion.

Percentage of C-suite-level business leaders in the United States and United Kingdom who report that it is important for their organizations to achieve an increased level of digitization over the next five years, according to a white paper and survey report from North Highland: 83

Ranks of reducing costs, streamlining work and satisfying or engaging customers on the list of the three primary business goals driven by digitization: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of respondents who state that their IT department is primarily responsible for executing digitization: 67

Source: North Highland.

Idle Thought

"Truth is stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense." -- Leo Rosten

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