Percentage of millennial moms and young parents who say that Halloween 2020 is more important than ever, according to data from the National Confectioners Association: 74

Percentage of parents who indicate they have taken candy from their children after a night of trick-or-treating: 79

Percentage who will participate in trick-or-treating, whether handing out the candy or going out with their children: 66

Source: National Confectioners Association

Percentage of Americans who believe science benefits them, according to researchamerica.org: 88

Percentage who believe America should maintain its global leadership in science: 89

Percentage who support incentives for private sector investment in science and technology: 76

Source: Research America.

Size of the food gifting market in the U.S., according to Packaged Facts: $21 billion

Percentage of people buying food gifts for others who purchased a food gift for Halloween: 20

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of parents with children aged 3 to 12 years old who are impressed by how quickly their child picks up new technology, according to a survey conducted on behalf of VTech: 85

Percentage of parents who believe their child will have more opportunities than they did because they grew up with technology: 82

Percentage who believe it is important for children to be introduced to technology at a young age: 78

Source: VTech Electronics

Percentage of adults between the ages of 25 and 34 who believe an event such as contracting COVID-19 or experiencing a critical violent incident could prevent them from fulfilling their life goals in their education or career, according to research by Zogby: 64

Percentage of the nation's teens who said the same: 54

Percentage of parents who feel that their child's school is more dangerous today than it was six months ago: 52

Percentage of adults feel the same about their workplace: 41

Source: Zogby International

Percentage of managers who say that remote work has made their teams less creative, according to a study released by Lucid: 26

Percentage of C-suite respondents who reported their company was forced to delay major launches, campaigns or initiatives as a result of employees working from home (WFH) and collaborating virtually: 43

Percentage of managers who rated employee productivity as their top concern with employees WFH: 80

Rank of collaboration on the list of areas that employees say has been negatively affected by WFH: 1

Source: Lucid Marketing

With respect to horror villains, percentage of Americans who consider Leatherface from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" to be the scariest, according to an Ipsos poll: 22

Percentage who chose Jason from "Friday the 13th" series: 20

If they were trapped in a horror movie, percentage of Americans say they would want Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from "Alien" to protect them: 24

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who say they have made progress on their top financial priority, while 17% have not made progress and 9% have fallen further behind, according to a new survey by Bankrate.com: 71

Of those just trying to get caught up or stay current on the bills, percentage who have made progress: 65

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans who feel positive when they think about their future, according to a survey by Champlain College: 66

Percentage of American adults with children in their household who were more optimistic about their career prospects than those without children living at home (51%): 63

Source: Champlain College.

Percentage of Americans who believe the pandemic is the greatest threat to the U.S. economy in the next six months, according to a survey by bankrate.com: 44

Percentage who are most concerned about the outcome of the election: 34

Source: Bankrate.com.

Idle Thought

"If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." -- Isaac Newton, philosopher and mathematician

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

Percentage of shoppers who are sick of having to cook more during the pandemic, while 35% of shoppers found a new passion for cooking during the pandemic, according to a research report from Acosta: 25

Percentage of Americans who say planning different meals every day was one of the biggest challenges faced when meal planning: 40

Source: Acosta.

Percentage of Americans who are considering tapping their 401(k) given the economic climate, according to the Retirement Confidence Index from SimplyWise: 27

Source: SimplyWise

Percentage of Americans who would rather give up alcohol instead of their favorite comfort food dish, according to a survey conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Farm Rich: 67

Rank of steak on the list of the comfort food meal everyone is most looking forward to enjoying at a restaurant post-pandemic: 1

Source: Farm Rich.

Percentage of moms who say they plan on making their family's Halloween costumes, according to a survey by Zulily: 34

Percentage who will whip up spooky treats in the kitchen rather than spend money on store-bought sweets: 31

Source: Zulily.

Percentage of respondents who would rather wait at the DMV than do their least-favorite cleaning task, according to a survey by Jelmar for CLR: 41

Percentage of American adults who have found themselves cleaning their homes more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic: 60

Percentage who have tackled a cleaning task they’ve been avoiding for years during the pandemic: 53

Source: Jelmar.

Ranks of kindness, love of family, intelligence, strong work ethic and individuality on the list of qualities moms most hope to instill in their children, according to Meredith Corp.'s first-ever parents values study: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Percentage of moms who say kids today are less kind than past generations: 76

Percentage who say that showing their child how to be compassionate and kind is the most important task of parenthood: 50

Source: Meredith Corp.

Percentage of countries that included "birdsong" in their top-three valued sounds out of a total of 20, according to a global survey conducted by hearing aid maker Widex: 75

When prompted about which sounds in nature specifically were most important, percentage who listed birdsong: 42

In the eight nations surveyed, number of countries whose residents identified birdsong as their top natural sound: 8

In the U.K., rank of birdsong on the list of the most valued sound across all categories, including music and voices: 1

Source: Widex.

Amount the average employee has saved while working remotely through COVID-19, according to Owl Labs/Global Workplace Analytics Report: $479.20

Extra number of hours per month the average employee worked remotely through COVID-19: 26

Percentage of full-time workers across the United States who, afraid of getting COVID-19, would prefer to work from home: 79

Percentage who say working from home allows them to avoid the commute: 79

Percentage who said working from home reduces stress: 74

Source: Owl Labs.

Percentage of couples who said the pandemic has changed their expectations for their wedding, according to research by Brides.com: 81

Percentage who said that living through the pandemic has made them want to marry their significant other more: 82

Percentage of couples who had to postpone their wedding due to COVID-19: 66

Percentage who still decided to have a wedding during the pandemic: 36

Source: Brides.com.

Percentage of the global workforce whose mental health has been negatively affected by COVID-19, according to a study by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence: 78

Despite perceived drawbacks of remote work, percentage of people who find remote work more appealing now than they did before the pandemic, citing they now have more time to spend with family (51%), sleep (31%) and get work done (30%): 62

Source: Oracle CX.

Idle Thought

"You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." -- John Morley, statesman and writer

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

Percentage of workers younger than 65 who are retired (while 8% of workers younger than 65 are semi-retired), according to the results from a new MoneyRates.com survey: 21.6

Percentage of those who retired or semi-retired before age 65 who started saving for retirement by age 40: 66.9

Of respondents 65 or older, percentage who are still working full- or part-time: 16.2

Source: MoneyRates.com.

Of the 79% of small-business owners who suspended or reduced operations due to the pandemic, percentage who have since been able to completely resume operations, according to a survey by LendingTree: 13

Percentage who have been able to somewhat resume: 63

Percentage of small-business owners who said their gross revenue has decreased by 51% or more due to the pandemic: 43

Source: LendingTree.

Percentage of consumers who say the virus is impacting their Halloween celebration plans, with overall participation down to 58%, according to a National Retail Federation survey: 75

Projected consumer spending, down slightly from $8.78 billion in 2019, due to the drop in participation: $8.05 million

Source: NRF.

Percentage of businesses that have cut workers since the start of the pandemic, according to a PNC survey: almost 40

Of those, percentage who say the decrease is considered temporary or a furlough: 87

Percentage of the businesses who had temporary layoffs or furloughs who have begun rehiring: 58

Source: PNC Financial Services Group.

Percentage of registered drivers ages 25 and older across the country who said they are "very willing" to wear a mask in public, according to a survey by the National Safety Council and Truce Software: 76

Percentage who said they are "very willing" to obey a state law preventing cellphone use: 62

Percentage of drivers who said they would need to be involved in a near-miss -- and 59% said they would have to be involved in a fatal crash -- to be dissuaded from using technology while driving: 61

Source: National Safety Council.

This fall, percentage of students who traded their classrooms for their bedrooms to attend school virtually, according to research by Clutch: 62

Ranks of computers (27%), internet services (23%), webcams (21%) and microphones (16%) in place of pencils and notebooks this year on the list of added expenses these students face: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of students who used educational learning apps in the past year to supplement their education and this will assume a larger role in education as online learning persists: 95

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of Americans who rate their own personal health insurance coverage as "excellent" or "good," according to the results of a healthinsurance.com survey: 64

Percentage of employed Americans who said they were reluctant to switch jobs and sacrifice their current health insurance: 38

Percentage who say they or close family or friends have lost their health insurance during the pandemic: 25

Source: healthinsurance.com.

Percentage of senior managers in the U.S. who said their organization has hired full-time or temporary staff remotely since the pandemic began, according to a survey by Robert Half: 53

Of managers who hired, percentage who conducted remote interviews and onboarding sessions: 75

Percentage who advertised fully remote jobs: 61

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of women who are now considering leaving the workforce or downshifting their careers due to COVID-19, according to a report by McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.Org: 25

Percentage of companies that now say more jobs can be performed remotely: 93

Percentage that predict a significant share of their employees will work remotely a year from now: 67

Percentage of employees who say they want to continue to work from home more often than they did before COVID-19: 77

Source: LeanIn.Org.

Percentage of Americans who have at least one smart home device, according to research by LendingTree: 65

Ranks of speakers, thermostats and lighting on the list of the most popular smart home devices: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of men who have a smart home device versus 49% of women: 82

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Idle thought

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." -- Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist

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