Ranks of a "friend's recommendation," "familiarity with the author," "description on the book jacket" and "reviews" as the top motivating factors for readers to buy books, according to a survey by Spier New York: 1, 2, 3, 4

SOFTWARE SLIPS

According to a WhiteSmoke Inc. press release of its list of the top 10 error types among users of its online writing software, percentage of the top 10 errors that are accounted for by spelling (including typos and aural errors such as "could of" instead of "could've"): 53.2

Percentage that are preposition errors: 16.2

Percentage that are double negatives: 15.3

Percentage that are slang/non-standard usage: 9

WE LOVE HEALTH PLANS

Percentage of U.S. workers who consider their health plan to be excellent or very good despite rising costs, according to a study conducted by the National Business Group on Health: 67

Percentage of U.S. workers who consider their health plan to be their most important work benefit: 75

Percentage of U.S. workers who would rather have their salary or retirement benefits reduced instead of their health benefits, if an employer reduced total compensation: 83

TAX PREFERENCES

Percentage of all U.S. adults who think that taxes should be increased to reduce the budget deficit, according to the results of a nationwide Harris Poll: 15

When asked if taxes "had to be raised," percentage of U.S. adults who oppose raising the estate tax: 64

Percentage who oppose raising gas taxes: 82

Percentage who oppose raising income taxes: 81

Given a list of 12 federal government programs and asked to choose which should be cut, "if spending had to be cut," percentage who chose the space program: 51

INSTITUTIONAL CRIME

Ranks of Finland, Denmark and Iceland among those countries with the least institutional corruption, including perceived levels of bribery, political corruption, business costs of crime, violence, ethical behavior of companies and other factors that impede the flow of commerce, according to the annual Global Competitiveness Report: 1, 2, 3

Rank of the United States (out of 125 countries representing 98 percent of the world's GDP): 23

Rank of Venezuela: 125

FOR DRINK OF WATER

Percentage of the world's population who live without regular access to safe drinking water, according to the United Nations and Water Partners International: 16.6

Estimated number of people this represents: 1 billion

Estimated number of hours women and girls around the world walk every day for water: 200 million

COMPETING WORKFORCE

Percentage of working adults who feel America is unprepared to compete in a global economy, according to a survey from Adecco Staffing: 56

Percentage of working adults who agree that today's U.S. employers do not invest enough in training and development to keep the U.S. workforce competitive with those in other countries: 76

Percentage of working adults who agree that the U.S. educational system is not providing workers with the necessary skills to be prepared for the jobs of the future: 64

NEWSPAPERS' FUTURE

Percentage of editors who are very optimistic or somewhat optimistic about the future of their newspapers, according to a global "Newsroom Barometer" survey conducted by Zogby International for the Paris-based World Editors Forum and Reuters: 85

Percentage of editors who believe online will be the most common way to read the news 10 years from now: 41

TRAVEL SAVINGS

Percentage off high-season prices to be had by traveling to Acapulco in the offseason (April, May and June), according to www.Cheaptickets.com: 29

Percentage off high-season prices to be had by visiting Fort Myers/Naples in offseason: 24

Percentage off Cozumel: 22

Percentage off Aruba: 22

CELL-PHONE DRIVERS

Percentage of commuters who are most frustrated by drivers who talk on the phone, according to a survey conducted by Dodge Avenger in conjunction with Ipsos Public Affairs: 25

Percentage of commuters who admit to being guilty of talking on the phone while driving: 60

IDLE THOUGHT

"It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong."

— Richard Feynman, physicist, Nobel laureate

John MacIntyre's e-mail is johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca