oddities

Figuratively Speaking for April 09, 2021

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | April 9th, 2021

Percentage of Americans who say they always/sometimes feel as though no one knows them well, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Cigna: 54

Percentage who report sometimes or always feeling alone and/or feeling left out: 47

Percentage who say they lack companionship, that their relationships are not meaningful or that they are isolated from others: 43

Percentage who say they are no longer close to anyone: 39

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Ranks of "the seat kicker/bumper/grabber," "the aromatic passenger," "the inattentive parent," "personal space violators" and "the audio insensitive" on the list of the most irritating flight passengers, according to a survey by Expedia: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Expedia.

Percentage of U.S. consumers who believe personal finance should be a required course to graduate from high school, according to an Equifax survey: 90

Number of states that require high school students to take a course in personal finance, according to a 2018 study conducted by the Council for Economic Education: 17

Source: Equifax.

Percentage of Americans who desire a meaningful change in their lives, according to a survey conducted by Brant Menswar and Jim Trick, co-authors of the new book, "Rock 'N' Roll With It: Overcoming the Challenge of Change": 87

Ranks of discipline, money, fear and time on the list of greatest obstacles stopping people from making a change: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: "Rock 'N' Roll With It: Overcoming the Challenge of Change."

Percentage of employees who say a workplace where people are treated equally -- regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, race or religion -- is important to them, according to a survey by Randstad-USA: 78

Percentage of female workers who believe their employers could do more to promote gender equality and diversity: 56

Percentage of male workers who agree: 52

Source: Randstad-USA.

Estimated number of Americans who are planning a foreign trip this year, according to a report from WalletHub: 72 million

Percentage of credit cards that offer rental car insurance: 96

Percentage that offer travel accident insurance: 86

Percentage that offer a form of luggage insurance: 37

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of audiologists and speech-language pathologists who say the No. 1 barrier to early identification of communication disorders is lack of awareness about the warning signs among parents, according to a poll by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: 46

Percentage who say parents of young children are not aware of the early warning signs of speech/language disorders: 69

Percentage who say that, on average, the symptoms of hearing loss are going undetected in children for 1 year or longer: 32

Source: ASHA.

Percentage of Americans who would spend upward of $20,000 on their kitchen remodel this season, according to a Delta Faucet survey: 25

Ranks of Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Mother's Day on the list of the most kitchen-centric spring or summer holidays: 1, 2, 3

Source: Delta Faucet.

Percentage of homeowners who do not ever plan to move, according to a Bankrate.com report: 62

Percentage who plan on moving in the next half-decade: 21

Percentage who say they are likely to remodel, upgrade or add to their current home during that time: 35

Source: Bankrate.com.

Number of Americans who are affected by nasal allergies, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and reported in a survey by FilterBuy conducted by Radius Global Market Research: 50 million

Percentage of respondents who worry about the air they breathe in their home: 60

Source: FilterBuy.

Idle Thought

"Bad weather always looks worse through a window." -- Tom Lehrer, singer-songwriter and mathematician

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for April 02, 2021

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | April 2nd, 2021

Percentage more likely that divorced people have nothing in their retirement accounts compared to married people, according to a MagnifyMoney study from LendingTree: 23

Number of times less that divorced people have in their retirement accounts ($15,083) compared to married people ($107,011): 7

Source: LendingTree.

Percentage of Americans who say their daily life has been interrupted by a lack of sleep in the past month, according to ValuePenguin: 76

Of that group, percentage who say a lack of sleep led to difficulty completing work: 46

Percentage who have trouble concentrating: 49

Percentage who say their lack of sleep caused irritability with loved ones: 39

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Among Americans with a child aged 0 to 17 who report feeling judged as parents, either very often (15%), fairly often (24%) or sometimes (53%), according to a global survey by Ipsos: 92

Ranks of how they manage their children's behavior (58%) and their children's behavior (50%) on the list of the top reasons given by American parents for why people are judging them: 1, 2

Ranks of things their children can or cannot do (39%), being too strict (35%) and how much time their children spend on screens and using technology (29%) on the list: 3, 4, 5

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of U.S. adults who agree (18% strongly agree, and 29% somewhat agree) that the stock market is rigged against individual investors, according to a report from Bankrate.com: 48

Among those invested in the market (including those invested through retirement plans), percentage who agree it is rigged against individual investors: 56

Source: Bankrate.com.

Rank of "The American Dream" on the list of reasons why millennials want to buy a home, according to a new realtor.com survey: 1

Percentage of first-time would-be buyers who are held back by not having enough money for down payment: 44

Percentage of millennials (and 45% of Gen Z) who say a desire to be a homeowner is the main reason they are buying a home: 59

Source: realtor.com.

Number of times per week that most people in the U.S. enjoy chocolate and candy, about 40 calories per day and about one teaspoon of added sugar per day, according to the National Confectioners Association's seasonal confectionery sales: 2 to 3

Source: National Confectioners Association.

Percentage of high school students and parents who are concerned that the student won't have an ideal college experience, according to a survey by ArtsBridge: 62

Looking back at the 2020-2021 academic year, despite a "nontraditional" college experience, percentage of college freshmen who say they would do it over again: 82

Ranks of "lack of social life/difficulty meeting people" (71%) and "struggling with the negative effects of the pandemic on their mental health" (51%) on the list of COVID-19-added college student life challenges, according to college freshmen who are finishing out their first collegiate year: 1, 2

Source: ArtsBridge.

Average amount that consumers spent this Easter, the highest figure on record, according to results of the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics: $179.70

Amount the 79% of Americans who celebrate the holiday will have spent collectively: $21.6 billion

Source: NRF.

Percentage of people who believe receiving a COVID-19 vaccine will make them feel safe enough to travel again, according to a survey by Allianz Partners: 67

To feel safe again, percentage of respondents who would require the wearing of face masks on airplanes and in airports: 66

Source: Allianz Global Assistance USA.

Percentage of gold production accounted for by only three countries (China, Australia, Russia), according to Finbold.com: 31

Ranks of Australia, Russia, the United States, South Africa and Peru on the list of countries with the largest remaining unmined gold reserves: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Indonesia, Brazil and Canada: 6, 7, 8

Source: Finbold.com.

Idle Thought

"There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money, either." -- Robert Graves, poet and novelist

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for March 26, 2021

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | March 26th, 2021

Percentage of employees who use emojis at least once a day, according to a survey by Clutch: 40

Percentage who rely on emojis to convey tone and visualize emotions better in workplace communications: 31

Percentage who say it is very unprofessional to use emojis in work emails: 31

Source: Clutch.

Employee turnover rate for businesses in the U.S., according to Checkster: 28

Amount U.S. businesses may lose annually as a result of voluntary employee turnover: $1 trillion

Source: Checkster.

Of the 20 billion LEGO bricks that are manufactured every year, number of pieces per million that are found to be defective, according to research by Alex Daniel of BESTLIFE: 18

Source: BESTLIFE.

Percentage by which anxiety levels have dropped in the U.S. (worldwide they are the lowest since April 2020), according to a survey by Deloitte: 10

Percentage of consumers who plan to spend the same or more on apparel and restaurants in the coming weeks: 75

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of American households with an income over $100,000 who actually increased their savings during the pandemic, according to a survey by LendingTree: 59

Percentage who had decreased savings: 17

Percentage of those earning less than $35,000 who had decreased savings: 41

Source: Lending Tree.

Percentage of Americans who said in January 2021 that they washed their hands six to 15 times a day, compared to just 37% in January 2020, according to the Bradley Corp.: 57

Percentage of Americans who just wave to say hello: 53

Percentage of who elbow bump: 29

Percentage who air hug: 16

Source: Bradley Corp.

Percentage of potential travelers who would be as likely or more likely to travel to a destination with a provider that requires proof of the COVID-19 vaccine (such as a vaccine passport), according to a study by The Points Guy: 76

Percentage of those with a desire to travel who are likely to get the COVID-19 vaccine or are already vaccinated: 74

Source: The Points Guy.

Percentage of Americans working from home today who want flexibility in the amount of time they spend in their office when they return, according to the Ipsos survey: 72

Percentage who say they feel more productive with a flexible schedule: 70

Percentage who want to return to the office occasionally: 62

Percentage of workers who say that if their employer required them to return to the office full time, they would look for another job with more flexibility: 42

Source: Ipsos.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's finances, estimated number of Americans who say they cannot afford another year like 2020, according to a WalletHub survey: 145 million

Percentage increase in Americans' worries about money this year, surpassing COVID-19 as being the top stressor in America: 15

Source: WalletHub.

Number of distinct consumer groups that have emerged as a result of the pandemic, according to research by Acosta: 4

Percentage of shoppers who fall into the "Panic Button" group -- has high COVID concern and has made significant and swift changes, like stocking up and shopping online: 21

Percentage who fall into the "Hunkering Down" segment -- having made moderate changes, including shopping less and spending less: 28

Percentage of shoppers who are in the "Social Distancers" segment -- made only small changes, like buying more groceries than usual: 28

Source: Acosta.

Idle Thought

"The man who has begun to live more seriously within begins to live more simply without." -- Ernest Hemingway

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