Projected spending for Easter this year, according to a survey by the National Retail Foundation: $18.4 billion

Amount consumers will spend on food: $5.8 billion

Amount on gifts: $2.9 billion

Amount on candy: $2.6 billion

Amount on flowers: $1.2 billion

Source: NRF.

Percentage of constant checkers of email or social media who say that political and cultural discussions on social media cause them stress, compared with 33 percent of non-constant checkers: 42

Percentage of constant checkers who say they worry about negative effects of social media on their physical and mental health, compared with 27 percent of people who don't check as often: 42

Percentage of Americans who agree that periodically "unplugging" or taking a "digital detox" is important for their mental health: 65

Source: American Psychological Association.

Rank of New Hampshire on the list of the best states to retire in, according to a Bankrate.com report: 1

Number of factors that were weighted (cost of living, health care quality, crime, cultural vitality, weather, taxes, senior citizens' well-being and the prevalence of other seniors): 8

Ranks of Colorado, Maine, Iowa and Minnesota on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Arizona, Florida and Nevada (popular retirement destinations) on the list: 12, 17 and 44

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who said they would perform five karaoke songs in front of their company if they could avoid paying their taxes, according to GoBankingRates.com: 32

Percentage who would go without Wi-Fi for one year: 18

Percentage who would have their credit score reduced by 50 points: 16

Percentage who would gain 20 pounds: 13

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

Percentage of drivers who believe it is safe to send a text either manually or via voice-dictation systems, according to research compiled through National Safety Council surveys: 47

Percentage who say they feel pressure from employers to check email while driving: 45

Percentage of drivers who say they have crashed in the last three years while they were either commuting or traveling for business: 44

Source: National Safety Council.

Estimated amount in U.S. federal income taxes that Fortune 500 corporations are avoiding by holding more than $2.6 trillion of "permanently reinvested" profits offshore, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: $767 billion

In their latest annual financial reports, number of these corporations that reveal they have paid an income tax rate of 10 percent or less in countries where these profits are officially held: 29

Source: Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Percentage of Americans who suffer from stress, according to a survey conducted by Youfit Health Clubs: 70

Percentage of respondents who agree that working out is beneficial for stress relief: 89

Percentage who report working out to be their preferred method of dealing with stress: 31

Source: Youfit Health Clubs.

Percentage of users who haven't changed their social network passwords in more than one year -- with 20 percent having never changed their passwords at all, according to a survey conducted by Thycotic: 53

Percentage of all cybersecurity attacks that involve a weak or stolen password: 80

Percentage of security professionals who have or still use birthdays, addresses, pets' names or children's names for their work passwords: 30

Source: Thycotic.

Year that the first professional fire department in the U.S. was established in Cincinnati, Ohio, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1853

Annual pay for a member of the company: $60

Annual pay for a lieutenant of the company: $100

Annual pay for a captain of the company: $150

Annual pay for the pump wagon driver: $365

Mean annual pay of a professional firefighter today: $41,000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have at least one of four major sleep disorders -- insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome or narcolepsy -- according to a Packaged Facts survey: 34

Annual economic cost of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in the U.S. (greater than asthma, heart failure, stroke and hypertensive disease), according to a Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine study: $65 billion to $165 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Idle Thought

"A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others." -- Fyodor Dostoevsky, novelist

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

Percentage of HR managers who feel most employers put too little emphasis on emotional intelligence during the hiring process, according to a survey by OfficeTeam: 30

Percentage of HR managers who identified increased motivation and morale as the greatest benefit of having emotionally intelligent staff: 43

Ranks of reference checks and behavioral-based interview questions on the list of the most common ways companies gauge job applicants' EQ: 1, 2

Source: OfficeTeam.

Average financial loss through divorce (in cash and assets), according to a survey by Experian: $20,000

Percentage of respondents who say their former spouse ruined their credit: 44

As a result, percentage of respondents who say the financial loss of a divorce has them going so far as to say they'll never marry again: 39

Source: Experian Marketing Services.

Percentage of American workers who are saving, but saving no more than 10 percent of their pay, including one-quarter who are saving between 1 percent and 5 percent of their incomes, according to a Bankrate report: 48

Percentage of working Americans who say they don't need to save more: 5

Percentage of working Americans who aren't saving any of their incomes: 21

Rank of "have a lot of expenses" on the list of the biggest reasons for not saving: 1

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of American credit card holders who had their annual fee waived or reduced upon request, according to a new CreditCards.com report: 82

Percentage who had their annual fee waived entirely: 51

Percentage who were successful in negotiating the fee to a lower amount: 31

Percentage of cardholders who have ever made that request: 11

Source: Creditcards.com.

Ranks of health care and the economy on the list of issues that most concern Americans, according to Ipsos research: 1, 2

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Number of children under the age of 5 who are killed by environmental pollutants (that means 1 in 4 deaths of children aged 1 month to 5 years old) every year, according to the World Health Organization: 1.7 million

Source: World Health Organization.

Number of hours of sleep that is recommended per night, according to the American Academy of Neurology: 7 to 9

Percentage of women under 45 who have children who reported getting at least seven hours of sleep, compared to 62 percent of women without children: 48

Number of days per month that younger women with children reported feeling tired: 14 days

Number of days per month that women without children reported feeling tired: 11

Source: American Academy of Neurology.

Number of people who died in alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2015, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 10,265

In 2016, percentage who admitted to driving when they thought they were over the legal limit one or more times within the previous 12 months, compared to 8.0 percent in 2015: 11.7

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Year that Alexander Graham Bell made the first local telephone call, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1876

Today, number of cellphone subscriptions there are for every 100 people in the U.S.: 118

Of America's 118 million occupied housing units, percentage that have no phone service available: 2.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of pay-TV subscribers in U.S. broadband households that are bothered by the fact that advertisers use residents' personal viewing data to push personalized ads to them, according to research from Parks Associates: 59

Percentage of pay-TV subscribers who worry about the safety and use of their personal data when they use an online video service: 40

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." -- Anais Nin, writer

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

Percentage of workers who say that the extra perk of half-day Fridays would make them more willing to join or stay with a company, according to a new CareerBuilder survey: 40

Percentage who said an onsite fitness center: 27

Percentage who said being able to wear jeans: 23

Percentage who cited daily catered lunches: 22

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

When asked to imagine their life in 20 years, percentage of Gen Xers who still see themselves traveling or vacationing, according to a study conducted by Ipsos on behalf of MDVIP: 67

Percentage who would pursue personal passions or hobbies: 59

Percentage who see themselves socializing with friends or actively meeting new people: 52

Percentage who believe that they will still be sexually active: 49

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of occupied housing units across the country primarily heated by wood, according to research by the U.S. Census Bureau: 2

Percentage of occupied housing units across the country using solar energy as their primary source of heat: 1

Percentage of occupied housing units across the country primarily heated by utility gas: 48

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of shoppers who believe they're more knowledgeable than retail store associates, according to a survey from Tulip Retail: 83

Percentage who say knowledgeable store associates are "important" or "very important": 79

Percentage of consumers who believe physical retail locations will be part of the shopping journey in the future: 64

Source: Tulip Retail.

Percentage of employees who browse Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets while at work, according to a poll conducted by ComPsych Corp.: 78

When employees were asked how many times a day they checked their social media, percentage who selected "0 times per day": 12

Percentage who selected "1-5 times per day": 60

Source: ComPsych.

Percentage of today's workforce that has been unable to progress in their careers due to a lack of skills, training or certifications, according to a survey commissioned by Wyzant and Recruiter.com: 48

Percentage of workers who feel that opportunities for advancement in their industry are simply passing them by: 67

Percentage who say that if access to professional training and education were not an issue, they would prefer to work in another industry: 61

Source: Toluna QuickSurveys.

Percentage of CIOs who said their companies are early adopters of technology, according to research from Robert Half Technology and The Creative Group: 17

Percentage of technology executives who agreed it's at least somewhat important for leaders in their department to try out technical innovations: 94

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Ranks of print ads in newspapers and magazines, TV ads, direct mail and online pop-ups on the list of the most trusted advertising channel when consumers are making a purchase decision, according to Marketing Sherpa: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: MarketingSherpa.

Percentage of employed adults across the globe who value their job over a good night's sleep, according to the results of an international survey conducted for Philips: 10

Percentage who say that some things (including spending time with their spouse or partner, family, friends and job) takes precedence over a good night's sleep: 80

Source: Philips Sleep and Respiratory Care.

Percentage of BarkHappy app users who feed their dogs dry food vs. other types such as canned or wet food, according to a survey by BarkHappy: 60

Percentage of dog owners who feed their pets table scraps or bites of their own food, according to a survey by BarkHappy: 60

Source: BarkHappy.

Idle Thought

"Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law." -- Douglas Hofstadter, Professor of cognitive science

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