When workers were asked what the "American Dream" meant to them, percentage who said making enough money for me and my family to live comfortably, according to a survey by CareerBuilder that allowed multiple answers: 85

Percentage who said being able to help others: 48

Percentage who said seeing my ideas become a reality in business: 17

Percentage who said becoming a millionaire: 10

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of Americans who are concerned about contracting a new or particularly resilient strain of the flu this year, according to a survey conducted by Bradley Corp.: 60

Percentage who wave hello or use alternate greetings when they meet someone who is sick: 51

Percentage of respondents who make it a point to wash their hands more frequently to avoid getting germs or passing them on to others: 61

Source: Bradley Corp.

Amount the average person celebrating Valentine's Day has spent, according to the 2018 Valentine's Day spending survey by WalletHub: $143.56.

Percentage of people who said gift cards on Valentine's Day are the worst type of present: 21

Source: WalletHub.

Rank of "online" on the list of places where singles most often meet, according to a survey by Match.com: 1

Percentage of singles who have had a "friend with benefits" relationship: 55

Of these, percentage who have seen the relationship turn serious: 45

Percentage of singles who build a friendship first -- known as "hanging out," where they skip the sex and haven't gone out on an official first date: 40

Source: Match.com.

Rate that the average American worker gives his or her job satisfaction on a 10-point scale, according to a Bankrate.com survey: 7

Percentage of workers who gave a rating of 8 or higher, including 19 percent who awarded a perfect 10, vs. just 11 percent who said 3 or lower: 50

Source: Bankrate.com.

Amount of money the third-party debt collection industry returned to creditors in 2016, according to a survey conducted by Ernst and Young on behalf of ACA International: $67.6 billion

Number of people directly employed by third-party collection agencies with a payroll of $4.9 billion: 129,262

Source: ACA International.

Percentage of parents who spend more than $2,500 a year on sports, dance, arts and other extracurricular activities, according to a study commissioned by SunTrust Banks Inc.: 20

Percentage who spend more than $1,000 annually: 40

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Percentage of Americans who said they have worked at a convenience store, according to a national survey conducted by the National Association of Convenience Stores: 19

Of these, percentage who said they worked at a convenience store while in high school: 24

Percentage who said said they worked at a convenience store while pursuing higher education: 29

Source: National Association of Convenience Stores.

Ranks of relaxing or finding peace of mind, discovering new cultures or enjoying a change of scenery, becoming closer as a family, and reading or learning new things on the list of reasons for vacation travel, according to a survey by M Group Strategic Communications for travel insurer Generali Global Assistance North America: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: M Group Strategic Communications.

Among Protestant and nondenominational American churchgoers, percentage who have provided foster care in the last year, according to LifeWay Research: 25

Percentage who have adopted a new child from the United States: 17

Percentage who have adopted a new child from another country: 15

Source: LifeWay Research.

Idle thought

"The best fighter is never angry." -- Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher

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

Percentage of the world's leaders and pioneer thinkers attending the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show who believe children are spending too much time with technology, according to a survey by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: 87

Percentage who feel today's popular technology is negatively impacting conversation and social interaction: 74

Percentage who said the industry is not doing enough to educate the public about responsible usage: 82

Source: ASHA.

Number of players with Super Bowl experience on the Philadelphia Eagles team entering this year's Super Bowl, according to an NFL release: 6

Number with experience for the New England Patriots: 32

Since 1970, win-loss record for teams with more players with Super Bowl experience (excludes three games where the teams were tied in experience): 22-22

Source: NFL.com.

Percentage of young vacationers (18 to 35 years old) who are now more likely to upload a sweaty workout selfie, a "welfie," than a sexy swimwear shot (10 percent): 16

Ranks of top-notch food, relaxing, sightseeing and alcohol on the list of sacrifices travelers are willing to make to get their fitness fix on vacation: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Hotels.com.

Average amount of money that is spent on pets for Valentine's Day, according to a study conducted by finder.com: $753.87 million

Average spend for dog gifts: $25

Average spend for cat gifts: $21

Source: finder.com.

Number of estimated viewers tuning in to watch the New England Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, according to the annual survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics: 188.5 million

Number of Americans who planned a Super Bowl party: 45 million

Number who planned to attend one: 69 million

Source: Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Percentage of city dwellers who expect to get purpose out of full- or part-time work at age 80 and beyond, according to a survey commissioned by Welltower: 20

Percentage who believe the aging population will create "silver economy" jobs and opportunities aimed at senior consumers: 60

Percentage of city dwellers who want to make new friends at age 80 and beyond: 80

Percentage of respondents who think it's important for them to live in a community with a diverse population, with "a mix of different age groups" as the top criterion: 84

Source: Welltower Inc.

Estimated number of prostitutes there are in the world, according to Foundation Scelles, as reported in Le Figaro: 40 to 42 million

Percentage of the world population of prostitutes who are female and range in age from 13 to 25: 80

Percentage of all prostitutes who are dependent on a pimp: 90

Source: ProCon.org.

Ranks of New York, California and New Jersey on the list of states that benefit most from immigration, according to WalletHub in its report 2018's Economic Impact of Immigration by State: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of Mississippi, Wyoming and Montana on the lit of states that benefit least: 1, 2, 3

Source: WalletHub.

Projected total spending for Valentine's Day, according to the National Retail Federation: $18.2 billion

Number of roses that are produced for the holiday, according to the Society of American Florists: 250 million

Projected amount that will be spent on chocolate and candy: $1.7 billion

Source: NRF.

Percentage of CFOs who have served as a mentor, according to a Robert Half management resources survey: 62

Of those who served as a mentor, percentage who said the greatest benefit is the opportunity to improve their own leadership skills: 38

Percentage who cited the internal satisfaction of helping others: 29

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Idle Thought

"Only the madman is absolutely sure." -- Robert Anton Wilson, novelist

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

Percentage of full-time employees in the U.S. who do not receive benefits -- such as health insurance, retirement savings plan or paid vacation -- from their employers, according to a survey by Clutch: 25

Ranks of health insurance (55 percent), paid vacation time (18 percent), overtime pay (11 percent) and retirement funding (10 percent) on the list of the most valuable benefits to employees: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of students who believe they will graduate with the skills and knowledge to be successful in the job market, according to a survey by Gallup and Strada Education Network: 34

Percentage who believe their major will lead to a good job: 53

Percentage of students pursuing science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) degrees who believe their major will lead to a good job: 62

Percentage of business majors who feel the same: 51

Percentage of liberal arts majors feel the same: 40

Source: Gallup Organization.

Percentage of professionals who plan to look for a new position in the next 12 months, according to a survey from Accountemps: 29

Of the 27 markets surveyed -- ranks of Los Angeles (40 percent), Austin, Texas (38 percent), and Dallas (37 percent) on the list of U.S. cities with the most workers planning to find new opportunities: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of senior managers who prefer a one-page resume for staff-level candidates: 46

Percentage who believe two pages is an ideal length: 47

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of U.S. adults currently living in a romantic relationship who have a credit card, checking account or savings account that their partner or spouse doesn't know about, according to a report from CreditCards.com: 21

Number of U.S. adults this represents: 15 million

Percentage of those in a relationship who think that keeping a credit card, checking account or savings account secret from a partner is worse than cheating physically: 31

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of Americans who say they have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency room visit or car repair, according to a Bankrate.com report: 39

For Americans who are not able to pay that expense, percentage who would need to borrow the money in some fashion: 36

Percentage who would use a credit card: 19

Percentage who would borrow from family or friends: 12

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of workers who experience sexual harassment at work who do not report it, according to a CareerBuilder Survey: 72

Percentage of those who have felt sexually harassed at work who said they were sexually harassed by their boss: 28

Percentage of people sexually harassed who said they did not confront the person responsible for harassment: 54

Ranks of "they didn't want to be labeled a troublemaker," "said it was their word against the other person" and "were afraid of losing their job" on the list of reasons for failing to report the harassment: 1, 2, 3

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage increase in holiday sales during November and December (excluding restaurants, automobile dealers and gasoline stations) over the same period in 2016 (to $691.9 billion), according to research by the National Retail Federation: 5.5

Percentage increase in online and other non-store sales ($138.4 billion) over the year before: 11.5

Source: National Retail Federation.

Percentage of women who believe that beauty can be empowering, according to a study conducted on behalf of manufacturer Sally Hansen: 84

Percentage who agree that there is something great about taking care of their beauty routine by themselves: 81

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of American adults age 18 and older (13 percent of the women and 24 percent of the men) who feel that same-sex marriage should not be legal, according to an Adam & Eve survey: 18

Percentage (62 percent of the women and 47 percent of the men) who say they are glad it is now legal in the United States: 55

Source: Adam & Eve.

Ranks of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Wonder Woman" on the list of recent movies where fans ate the most popcorn, according to Atom Tickets: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of white cheddar, nacho cheese and kettle corn on the list of the most popular popcorn seasonings: 1, 2, 3

Source: Atom Tickets.

Idle Thought

"Moral authority comes from following universal and timeless principles like honesty, integrity, treating people with respect." -- Stephen Covey, author

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