When asked what one food or dish they most look forward to eating each year during the holiday season, percentage of people who cited turkey, according to the Harris Poll: 32
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Ranks of stuffing, ham, pie, sweet potatoes/yams and mashed potatoes on the list: 2, 3, 4, 5 (tie)
Source: The Harris Poll.
Percentage of Americans (and nearly 3 in 4 millennials) who agree that ringing in the new year in Times Square is on their bucket list, according to a survey from Barefoot Wine and Bubbly: 50
Source: Barefoot Wine and Bubbly.
Percentage of respondents who usually make New Year's resolutions, according to University of Scranton's Journal of Clinical Psychology: 45
Percentage who absolutely never make New Year's resolutions: 38
Percentage who are successful in keeping their resolutions: 8
Percentage who have infrequent success: 49
Percentage who never succeed: 24
Source: University of Scranton.
Ranks of "enjoy life to the fullest," "live a healthier lifestyle," "lose weight," "spend more time with family and friends," "save more, spend less" and "pay down debt" on the list of top New Year's resolutions in a survey by GoBankingRates.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Percentage who decided that making one resolution was enough: 55
Percentage of Americans who are setting a money goal: 58
Source: GoBankingRates.com.
Percentage of Americans who say, "Christmas should be more about Jesus" (down from 79 percent in 2014), according to a study from LifeWay Research: 65
Percentage of Christians who find the greeting "Happy Holidays" to be offensive, compared to 12 percent of members of other religions and 15 percent of the non-religious: 40
Source: LifeWay Research.
Among Americans, ranks of Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Orlando and Denver on the list of the most popular U.S. cities in which to spend New Year's Eve this year, according to Skyscanner: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Ranks of New York City; Nassau, Bahamas; Edinburgh, Scotland; Las Vegas; Quebec City and Vienna, on the list of the most popular cities worldwide to spend New Year's Eve: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Source: Skyscanner.
Percentage of Americans who have concerns about isolation related to automation, according to an Ipsos Survey: 57
Percentage who have concerns about job destruction: 49
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Number of years that Butterball has staffed its Turkey Talk-Line with experts who answer all turkey-related questions throughout the holidays, according to research by Genesys: 35 plus
Source: Genesys.
Percentage of "dog people" who say their pup helps them cope with stressful events during the holiday season, including being around difficult family members (46 percent), having arguments among family (33 percent) or going to extended family's house (22 percent), according to a survey by BarkBox: 85
Percentage of dog people who have taken their dog for a walk or played with them to escape family during the holidays: 40
Percentage who can't imagine the holidays without their dog: 85
Source: BarkBox.
Percentage of professionals who said they get more work done during the holidays, according to an Accountemps survey: 65
Of the respondents who see their output falling this time of year, ranks of personal commitments and greater year-end workloads on the list of the main culprits: 1, 2
Source: Accountemps
Idle Thought
"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope." -- Maya Angelou
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)