oddities

Figuratively Speaking for July 07, 2017

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | July 7th, 2017

Percentage of lawyers who said they've seen an increase in lawsuits linked to images or information found on social media and mobile devices, according to Robert Half Legal: 52

Percentage of respondents who reported a rise in cases related to data on personal mobile devices used by employees for work purposes: 27

Source: Robert Half Legal.

Of employees who receive vacation/paid time off, percentage who report taking at least some time off in the last 12 months, up from 85 percent in 2014, according to a survey from Glassdoor: 91

Over the same time period, percentage who reported taking 100 percent of their eligible time off: 23

Percentage of employees who reported taking 25 percent or less of their eligible time: 23

Source: Glassdoor.com.

Ranks of Australia, Italy, Bora Bora, Ireland and New Zealand on the list of the most dreamed-about destinations for American travelers, according to Travel Leaders Group: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of Americans who have some concern about how they may be perceived while traveling abroad: 68

Ranks of Hawaii, California, Alaska, Florida and New York on the list of the most desirable domestic vacations: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Travel Leaders.

Percentage of millennials who say saving -- as opposed to spending -- makes them feel secure, according to a TD Ameritrade survey: 80

Percentage who say the No. 1 reason to save is to have the confidence you can meet your financial obligations whatever happens: 66

Source: TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.

Percentage rise in a teen driver's risk of a fatal crash risk caused by having one teen passenger (two passengers doubles fatal crash risk, and three or more quadruples crash risk), according to a prom and graduation season survey by the National Safety Council: 44

Percentage of parents who drive distracted who do so in front of their teens: 95

Source: National Safety Council.

Ranks of vanilla, chocolate, cookies n' cream, mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough on the list of America's top ice cream flavors, according to a survey conducted by International Dairy Foods Association: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

From neighborhood scoop shops to national brands, amount the ice cream industry in the United States contributes to the national economy: $39 billion

Number of jobs it creates nationally: 188,000

Source: IDFA.

Number of guns per 100 people in the United States (the highest rate in the world), according to research by Procon.org: 88

Number of guns per 100 people in Yemen (the second highest): 54.8

Ranks of Switzerland (45.7), Finland (45.3) and Serbia (37.8) on the list: 3, 4, 5

Source: ProCon.org.

Ranks of the United States (other), Florida, California, Hawaii and Mexico on the list of the top 10 beach holiday destinations for Americans, according to the results of the 2017 Expedia Flip Flop Report: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Globally, average amount of time beachgoers spend getting ready (dieting, salon, etc.) in advance of a trip: 40 days

Percentage of Americans who spend more time packing than on vacation: 29

Source: Expedia.

Year that the 26th Amendment to the Constitution became law, lowering the age requirement for voting in national elections from 21 years of age to 18: 1971

Year that the amendment added some 11 million voters to the electorate: 1972

Today, number of young Americans ages 18 to 20 in the country: 13.1 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of married Americans who report having retirement savings or investments according to the Ipsos/USA Today Retirement poll: 75

Percentage of non-married Americans who say the same: 57

When asked how concerned they were with being able to afford various health-related costs during retirement, percentage who said they were very or somewhat concerned with affording a major medical issue: 65

Percentage who said they were concerned with being able to afford in-home medical care: 58

Source: Ipsos.

Idle Thought

"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." -- Thomas Pynchon, novelist

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for June 30, 2017

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | June 30th, 2017

Projected amount that Americans are expected to spend on food for cookouts and picnics as they celebrate the Fourth of July this year, according to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation: $7.1 billion

Percentage of consumers who already own a U.S. flag: 65

Percentage who have patriotic-themed apparel, such as T-shirts, bathing suits or shoes: 53

Source: NRF.

Year of the first color television broadcast, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1951

By the end of 1957, number of U.S. households that had TV sets, of which only 150,000 were color units: 39 million

Year that sales of color sets caught up with black-and-white sets: 1970

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of the gasoline purchased in the United States that is sold by convenience stores, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 80

Percentage of beer sales accounted for by convenience stores (factoring in all sales from convenience stores, grocers, drugstores and mass merchandisers, according to Nielsen): 59

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Percentage of business executives who say they would let a client beat them in golf if they thought it would get them more business, according to a survey conducted by Guideline Research & Consulting Inc.: 20

Percentage who gamble while golfing: 87

Percentage of respondents who admit to cheating on the golf course: 82

Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Percentage of CFOs who said their offices maintain a somewhat or very casual dress code, according to a survey by Robert Half Finance & Accounting: 74

Percentage of CFOs who said business attire guidelines have relaxed over the last five years, compared to 16 percent who reported a more formal dress environment: 23

Source: Robert Half Finance & Accounting.

Percentage of Fourth of July shoppers who will pay for their expenses with their credit card, according to WalletHub's 4th of July Survey: 31

Percentage who will use a debit card: 43

Percentage who will pay with cash: 26

Source: WalletHub.

Ranks of Jillian Michaels, Stacy Keibler, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, on the list of the hottest celebrity women's summer beach bodies for 2017, according to E-Score: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Jason Momoa, Shemat Moore, Dwayne Johnson and Channing Tatum on the list of the hottest celebrity men's summer beach bodies: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Source: Epoll.

Percentage of Americans who would travel to a destination because of its cuisine, according to a survey by Open Table: 66

Percentage who have traveled to the country of origin of their favorite dish: 52

Percentage of travelers who "significantly" associate a destination's culture with its culinary scene and dining customs: 58

Source: OpenTable Inc.

Ranks of spicy, savory, sweet and fruity on the list of favorite flavors of salsa, according to a Garden Fresh Gourmet survey: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of Americans who are on "team chunky," versus 33 percent on "team blended": 67

Source: Garden Fresh Gourmet.

Percentage of mayors who agreed that pets can have a positive impact on people's mental and physical health, according to a survey of 73 respondents, representing 30 states, by Mars Petcare: 100

Percentage who agree that providing pet-friendly amenities can have an overall positive economic impact on their community: 82

Percentage who say they do not have, or aren't aware of, pet-friendly policies for public spaces such as restaurants and stores: 66

Source: Mars Petcare.

Idle Thought

"All the time a person is a child he is both a child and learning to be a parent. After he becomes a parent he becomes predominantly a parent reliving childhood." -- Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for June 23, 2017

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | June 23rd, 2017

Percentage of Americans who say that knowing someone's credit score would have an impact on their interest in dating them, according to a study from Bankrate.com: 42

Of those respondents, percentage who say that credit score has a major impact: 13

Percentage who say it would be a minor influence on their decision to date a person: 29

Percentage of women who say credit score would have a major influence on dating a potential partner: 20

Percentage of men who say the same: 7

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of global citizens who say their country does not prioritize the concerns of "people like me," according to Ipsos Global Trends 2017: 71

Percentage of U.S. citizens who say the same: 74

Percentage of global citizens who say they have a high level of trust in business, in general: 42

Percentage of Americans who agree: 46

Source: Ipsos.

Amount that U.S. consumers repaid in credit card debt during the first quarter of 2017, according to WalletHub, basing their conclusions on a Federal Reserve report: $31.5 billion

Percentage improvement in this first-quarter paydown relative to the same quarter last year: 14

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of workers surveyed by OfficeTeam who said they prefer more relaxed dress codes: 56

Percentage who also admitted they're at least sometimes unsure about whether a piece of clothing is office-appropriate: 41

Percentage who would rather wear a uniform to work than think about their outfits: 48

Source: OfficeTeam.

Percentage of Americans in fitness routines who still made health or fitness-related resolutions this year, according to a study conducted by Great Blue Research for Zoom: 56

Percentage who report feeling energized/happy during or after a workout: 91

Percentage who said they feel that way before a workout: 5

Source: Zoom.

Amount of money an average 65-year-old couple today will need to cover out-of-pocket health care expenses in retirement, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute: $265,000

Percentage of men over 65 who will require some form of long-term care, which is not covered by Medicare, according to a study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College: 44

According to the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, average cost for an assisted living facility per year: $47,064

Approximate cost per year for around-the-clock care in a semiprivate room at a nursing home: $91,615

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of pet parents who say a pet-friendly workplace is important to them, according to a survey from Wellness Natural Pet Food: 41

Percentage of pet parents whose company allows them to bring their pet to work on Wellness' annual Take Your Dog to Work Day: 56

Percentage of pet parents whose office celebrates Take Your Dog to Work Day who said they do not have official "petiquette rules" in place: 53

Source: Well Pet.

Percentage of the college students who have identified a career to pursue who feel prepared for the workforce, according to a McGraw-Hill survey: 33

Percentage who have identified a career, but do not feel prepared for the workforce: 15

Percentage of students who have identified a career to pursue: 76

Percentage who anticipate having a job within one year of graduation: 71

Source: McGraw-Hill Education.

Ranks of accomplished, productive and motivated on the list of ways employees say working in small businesses make them feel, according to Ipsos Global Trends 2017: 1, 2, 3

Although small businesses are fostering happy workplaces, percentage of workers who say that an improvement in their benefits offerings would make them happier: 72

Source: Aflac Inc.

Percentage of working Americans who believe that companies that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better overall working environment than those that do not, according to a survey by Deloitte: 89

Percentage of respondents who say that volunteer activities are more likely to boost employee morale than company-sponsored happy hours: 70

Source: Deloitte.

Idle Thought

"Neither great poverty nor great riches will hear reason." -- Henry Fielding, author

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

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