Americans' average debt amount in 2017, according to a study by GOBankingRates: $140,113

Percentage of respondents who had mortgage debt, the most common form of household debt: 65

Percentage who had medical debt, the least common: 21

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

Percentage of teen drivers who say they are just as good at driving as their parent or guardian, according to a Hum by Verizon survey: 57

Percentage who admitted to having felt unsafe on the road: 72

Percentage who cited getting into an accident as their No. 1 concern on the road: 77

Percentage of teen drivers who wish they had learned more about how to drive safely in ice, snow and wet weather: 51

Percentage who wish they had learned more about how to change a tire: 47

Percentage who wish they knew how to jump-start a battery: 44

Source: Hum by Verizon.

Percentage of brand share among existing smartphone units that is owned by Apple, according to Parks Associates research: 47

Percentage owned by Samsung: 29

Source: Parks Associates.

By 2020, projected percentage of American workers who will be independent contractors, according to a study by Intuit: 40

Percentage hiring increase in gig workers (a contractor/temporary worker) over the past six months, according to a survey by the nonprofit small business association SCORE: 37

Percentage increase in the hiring of part-time employees in the past six months: 22

Sources: Intuit and SCORE.

Percentage of parents who save money for the holidays, according to the ninth annual T. Rowe Price Parents, Kids & Money Survey: 73

Percentage of holiday-savers who start to put money away right after the previous year's holiday season: 48

Percentage of parents using credit cards to pay for holiday purchases who pay them off within six months: 90

Source: T. Rowe Price.

During the year, percentage of Americans who donated time to a charitable cause, according to a survey by Toluna: 28

Percentage who donated money: 31

Percentage who have donated clothing: 48

Percentage of respondents who have committed a random act of kindness for someone else (aka "paying it forward"): 60

Percentage who have paid for someone else's groceries when they didn't have enough money: 34

Source: Toluna QuickSurveys.

Average cost to a company for every bad hire last year, according to a CareerBuilder survey: $14,900

Average cost of losing a good hire: $29,600

Percentage of employers who say they've hired the wrong person for a position: 74

Ranks of "less productivity" (37 percent), "lost time to recruit and train another worker" (32 percent) and "compromised quality of work" (31 percent) on the list of ways bad hires affected business, as cited by employers: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of employees who report being in the high-stress category, according to the 2017 StressPulseSM survey, released by ComPsych: 59

Percentage of employees who see accomplishing basic tasks as the top work priority: 56

Percentage who say workload is their primary cause of stress: 39

Percentage who say people issues are the top work stressors: 31

Percentage who cite juggling work and personal life: 19

Source: ComPsych Corp.

Estimated percentage of their week that American children are spending online, according to a survey commissioned by Sugru: 30

Number of hours in a week that children spend on creative offline hobbies, such as drawing, painting, crafting and DIY projects: 10

Percentage of parents who feel it's still important for kids to learn creative hands-on skills: 79

Percentage who wish their kids were more creative: 40

Percentage of parents who believe creative kids grow to become more successful, well-balanced adults: 70

Source: Sugru.

Idle Thought

"All human beings should try to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why." -- James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)

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

Percentage of Americans who infrequently make New Year's resolutions, according to the University of Scranton's Journal of Clinical Psychology: 17

Percentage who usually make New Year's resolutions: 45

Percentage who absolutely never make New Year's resolutions: 38

Percentage who are successful in keeping their resolutions: 8

Source: University of Scranton.

Percentage of Americans (and nearly three in four millennials) who agree that ringing in the new year in Times Square is on their bucket list, according to a survey from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly: 50

Source: Barefoot Wine & Bubbly.

Estimated number of people who will gather in Times Square to ring in the new year on Dec. 31, according to the Times Square Alliance: 1 million plus

Number of Waterford Crystal triangles of varying sizes that are attached to the aluminum frame of the ball: 2,688

Estimated weight of the ball: 6 tons

Source: Times Square Visitors Center.

Percentage of workers who say bigger year-end bonuses would be the best way to help alleviate holiday stress levels, according to a survey from Accountemps: 37

Percentage who would appreciate more flexible work schedules during the holidays: 32

Ranks of San Francisco, New York and San Diego on the list cities where workers are happiest during the holidays: 1, 2, 3

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of employees who say they felt obligated to buy their boss a holiday gift: 28

Percentage who say they do not give out holiday gifts in the workplace: 61

Source: Randstad.

Ranks of joyful, generous, financially stretched, stressed out and wasteful on the list of feelings Americans have about gift-giving: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are looking forward "a lot" to giving and receiving gifts: 45

Source: PEW Internet and American Life Project.

When asked what one food or dish they most look forward to eating each year during this holiday season, percentage who cited turkey, according to a Harris Poll: 32

Ranks of stuffing, ham, pie and sweet potatoes/yams on the list of the one food or dish they most look forward to eating each year: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: The Harris Poll.

Percentage of student loan borrowers who would rather have received a student loan payment instead of a gift this holiday season, according to a survey by Ameritech Financial: 70

Percentage of student loan borrowers who are planning to skip a payment to help cover their holiday spending: 40

Source: Ameritech Financial.

Percentage of senior managers who said they expect year-end bonus levels to be at least somewhat higher than 2016, according to research from global staffing firm Robert Half: 51

Percentage who reported bonus amounts will decrease: 10

Percentage who anticipate no change in bonuses: 39

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Idle Thought

"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough." -- Mark Twain

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

Year that Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, placed a Christmas tree in the White House for the first time, according to PolitiFact.com and the National Christmas Tree Association: 1856

Year that President Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn: 1923.

Year the National Christmas Tree was not lit until Dec. 22, because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy: 1963

Source: University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners.

Percentage of Christmastime churchgoers in the U.S. who say they attend services to "honor Jesus," according to a survey from the evangelical research agency LifeWay Research: 77

Percentage who attend to observe tradition: 9

Percentage who say they attend to be with family and friends: 9

Percentage who attend wanting to get in the Christmas spirit: 3

Source: LifeWay Research.

Percentage of parents who use a child's behavior to dictate how much money is spent on their gifts, according to a survey by Lending Tree: 6

Percentage of families who receive wrapped presents from Santa, as opposed to unwrapped gifts: 79

Source: Lending Tree.

In 2017, cost to buy a partridge in a pear tree, according to the whimsical economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management based on the prices of gifts in the holiday classic, "The Twelve Days of Christmas": $219.95

Price for two turtle doves: $375

For nine ladies dancing: $7,552.84

For 10 lords a-leaping: $5,618.90

Source: PNC Wealth Management.

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

Percentage of parents who said that Santa had "visited" their childhood homes with presents years ago: 72

Percentage of parents who are planning to have him visit their kids this Christmas: 31

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project

Ranks of crowds/long lines, aggressive/thoughtless driving in shopping centers and bad traffic on the list of holiday dreads as cited by Americans, according to Consumer Reports: 1, 2, 3

Rank of "that fruitcake" on the list of the least-favorite holiday food gifts: 1

Source: Consumer Reports.

Percentage of respondents to The Marriage Proposal survey by Chillisauce who chose Christmas Eve, Santa's busiest day of the year, as the best time to pop the question: 31

Percentage of proposals that are expected to happen around Christmas: 40

Ranks of Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve and a birthday on the list of the best times for a marriage proposal: 2, 3, 4

Source: Chillisauce Ltd. Contact Sir/Madam at 020 7299 1831.

Percentage of "dog people" who will buy their pup a gift this holiday season, according to a survey released today by BarkBox: 80

Percentage of dog people who say their pup helps them cope with stressful events during the holiday season, including being around difficult family members, arguments among family or going to extended family's house: 85

Source: BarkBox

Percentage of Americans who plan to spend more on holiday travel than gifts, according to a survey by Orbitz Worldwide: 64

Busiest day for Christmas travel: Dec. 23

Source: Orbitz.

Idle Thought

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." -- Charles Dickens

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