When CFOs were asked which part of another company would be most difficult to integrate in a merger or acquisition, percentage who cited business systems and technology, according to the Robert Half Management Resources survey of CFOs: 28

Percentage who said employees and corporate culture: 27

Percentage who cited budgets and finances: 19

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of people who say a vacation brings them more happiness than their wedding day, according to global research commissioned by Booking.com: 49

Percentage who say a vacation brings them more happiness than landing a new job: 50

Percentage of people who say they book a vacation just when they're in need of a happiness boost: 77

Source: Booking.com.

Ranks of Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands on the list of the economies best-equipped to develop, attract and retain business talent, according to a report from IMD business school: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of the United States on the list: 14

Source: IMD International.

Approximate number of U.S. credit card holders who have snooped on the spending habits of someone with whom they share a credit card account, according to a CreditCards.com report: 17 million

Percentage of respondents who say they feel closer to the other person because of the shared account: 17

Source: Creditcards.com.

Percentage of Americans who report that their pay has increased over the past year, according to a new study by Bankrate.com: 48

Of the working Americans who state they are making more money this year, percentage who received a pay raise: 37

Percentage who found a better-paying job: 12

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of workers who spend at least some work time online doing holiday shopping, according to a survey by Careerbuilder: 53

Percentage who say they spend an hour or more doing so: 42

Percentage of employers who say they have fired somebody for shopping online during work hours: 11

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of women who have had to use the men's bathroom because the line in the women's bathroom was too long, according to an Ipsos poll: 53

Percentage of women who reported missing moments such as the end of a movie (21 percent), a favorite song at a concert (10 percent) or an important announcement (14 percent) because they needed to use the bathroom: 40

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of adults who say their at-home children believe in Santa Claus, according to a new Pew Research Center poll: 19

Percentage of children who plan to "pretend" that St. Nick will visit their house on Christmas Eve: 70

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

Year that push-button or touch-tone phones made their debut, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1963

At that time, percentage of U.S. homes that had phones: 81

Today, percentage of U.S. households that have cellphones: 89

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of parents who believe that in today's social media-focused world, nurturing positive character traits like honesty and compassion in children is more important than it used to be, according to a study for Primrose Schools: 92

Despite this, percentage of parents who think preschool is too young for children to start learning social-emotional skills like generosity: 48

Source: Primrose Schools.

Idle Thought

"The wisest man is he who does not fancy that he is so at all." -- Nicolas Boileau-DesprCaux, poet and critic

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

Number of nationalities attending the autumn feast at Plymouth Colony, which is widely believed to be one of the first Thanksgivings: 2

Number of U.S. residents of English ancestry as of 2014: 24.4 million

Number of members of the Wampanoag American Indian tribal grouping, as of 2010, roughly half of whom reside in Massachusetts: 6,500

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Male turkeys are called "toms," and since 1950, the number of quarterbacks who are 5-1 on Thanksgiving, according to NFL Communications: 3 (Tom Brady, Tom Flores and Tommy Kramer)

Speed at which a turkey can run: 25 miles per hour

Speed at which Dri Archer of the Pittsburgh Steelers can run: 19.4 mph

Weight of the heaviest turkey: 86 pounds

Weight of the heaviest NFL player (Aaron Gibson): 410 pounds

Source: NFL.com.

Number of people who have died since 2006 in Black Friday shopping-related incidents, according to the cheerfully titled blackfridaydeathcount.com: 7

Number of reported injuries: 98

Source: blackfridaydeathcount.com.

Average weight of a male wild turkey, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation: 16 to 24 pounds

Average weight of the female: 8 to 10 pounds

Weights of Popcorn and Caramel, the two turkeys pardoned by President Barack Obama, according to the White House: 37-plus pounds each

Estimated amount of money Americans are expected to shell out for Thanksgiving to stock up on turkey, stuffing, potatoes and other holiday staples, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture: $2.4 billion

Source: Andrew Soergel/U.S. News and World Report.

Percentage of legal drinking-age Americans who associate watching football with drinking alcohol, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 84

Ranks of football, baseball, hockey, auto racing and horse racing on the list of sports that legal drinking-age Americans associate with one or more alcoholic beverage types: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of beer as the beverage of choice for football, baseball, car racing and hockey: 1

Percentage of horse racing fans whose first choice is spirits/liquor: 25

Percentage of tennis fans who opt for wine as their first choice: 19

Source: The Harris Poll.

When asked to indicate which fashion "rules" they consciously follow, percentage of U.S. adults who report that they don't wear socks with sandals, according to data from YouGov: 47

Percentage of women who say they don't mix the two: 60

Percentage of women who report they typically avoid wearing stockings or socks with open-toe shoes: 47

Ultimately, percentage of men (and 22 percent of women) who say they don't consciously follow any fashion rules: 46

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of U.S. adults who plan to make all of their holiday purchases by the end of November, according to a CreditCards.com report: 25

Percentage of adults with children under age 18 who have already bought at least one holiday gift: 19

Source: creditcards.com.

Percentage of parents who find that technology increases their child's curiosity about the environment around them, according to a survey from Sprout: 71

Percentage who say technology helps their children explore the world by introducing them to new cultures: 66

Percentage who feel tech enhances their child's development and learning: 62

Source: Sprout.

When asked what percentage of their holiday shopping will take place using a mobile device, percentage who believe that they will make less than 20 percent of all their purchases using their phones and/or tablets: 23

Percentage who estimate they will make between 21 percent and 40 percent of their purchases online: 13

Percentage who say that 41 to 60 percent of their total holiday shopping will be completed using a mobile device: 11

Source: Offers.com.

When it comes to holiday cards, ranks of handwritten notes, family photos and homemade cards on the list of ways that make holiday cards stand out, according to a survey by Ipsos: 1 (tie), 3

Ranks of room decor, party games, and cocktail bar or themed cocktails on the list of features that are seen to make for an unforgettable party: 1, 2 (tie)

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Idle Thought

"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." -- Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859), poet

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

When asked if they tend to prepare for things or improvise as needed, percentage of U.S. adult women who said they prepare, according to data from YouGov: 74

Percentage of their male counterparts who agreed: 60

Percentage of women who have more respect for a person who prepares for a job interview than someone able to improvise her way through one: 60

When asked to recall their time at school, percentage of women who said they always studied before a test or exam, compared to just 26 percent of men: 43

Source: YouGov.

Rank in the world of American schoolchildren on international tests, according to American Federation for Children: 17

Rate at which a student drops out of high school: every 42 seconds

Percentage of fourth-graders who are proficient in reading: 36

Percentage who are proficient in math: 40

Percentage of 12th-graders who are proficient in reading: 37

Percentage who are proficient in math: 25

Amount that families spend annually on remedial coursework: $1.3 billion

Source: American Federation for Children.

Percentage of Americans who consider themselves "entrepreneurs," according to a study by Ipsos for Entrepreneur magazine's November issue: 22

Percentage of men who consider themselves entrepreneurial: 29

Percentage of women who consider themselves entrepreneurial: 16

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of managers who say their company is very supportive of its employees' efforts to achieve work-life balance, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 64

Percentage of employees who agree that their company is supportive of work-life balance: 34

Source: OfficeTeam.

After Donald Trump's surprise defeat of Hillary Clinton, percentage of Americans who say they accept Trump as the legitimate president, according to a Gallup poll: 84

Among Clinton voters, percentage who accept Trump: 76

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage more likely that students with a grade point average above 3.0 who lose $1,000 to $1,500 in financial aid are to drop out of school than their peers who have little or no change in aid, according to an analysis released by the Education Advisory Board: 2.5

Percentage more likely that students who lose $10,000 in aid are to drop out than their peers: 19

Source: EAB.

Average amount that consumers expect to spend this holiday season, according to WalletHub: $935

Estimated amount of annual consumer credit card debt acquired in 2016: $80 billion

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of U.S. adults who believe in God (up from 74 percent in 2013), according to results of a Harris poll: 76

Percentage of U.S. teens who believe in God (down from 80 percent in 2013): 77

Percentage of Americans who believe in the devil (59 percent teens, 58 percent adults): 58.5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of Americans who said children should begin receiving money for chores completed, allowance or "free" financial support between the ages of 8 and 10, according to the Country Financial Security Index: 38

Looking beyond chores, percentage of parents who said they bought their child a gift to reward them for good behavior: 61

Percentage who said they gave their child money for good grades: 47

Source: Country Financial.

Percentage of attorneys who cited an increase in divorce cases among couples more than 50 years of age, according to a recent survey of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers: 64

Ranks of alimony, retirement accounts and pensions, and business interests on the list of the top three items most commonly fought over during these cases: 1, 2, 3

Source: American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Year that Edward Brooke became the nation's first African-American to win election to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1966

Since his defeat in a bid for a third term in 1978, number of blacks the chamber has seated, one of whom cut his term short to become president: 6

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"Don't be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value." -- Arthur Miller, playwright and essayist

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