Percentage of resumes that have some type of lie, according to a survey by BackTrack: 40%

Percentage of companies now hiring that will hire a background-checking company to screen potential employees: 50%

Percentage that will screen potential employees internally: 25%

JOB SPAN

Median number of years that workers have been in their current job, according to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute: 5.1 years

Median tenure of private-sector workers in 2008: 3.9 years

Median tenure of public-sector workers in 2008: 7.0 years

TYING THE KNOT

Median age of first-time brides in the U.S., according to about.com: 27

Median age of grooms: 29

Median age of remarriage for brides: 34

Median age of remarriage for grooms: 37

PHONES AT 55 MPH

Percentage of survey respondents who say texting-while-driving bans by states will not alter their use of a cell phone while driving, according to Cellcontrol: 72%

Percentage of drivers who admit to using their cell phone to text, e-mail, surf the Web or have a conversation while driving within the past 12 months: 88%

Percentage of those who agree that driving while intoxicated and texting are equally dangerous: 75%

VEHICLE RESEARCH

Ranks of Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Toyota Cam-ry, Honda CR-V, Toy-ota Corolla and To-yota RAV4 on list of most-researched new vehicles in 2009, according to the Kelley Blue Book: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

ON SHAKY GROUND

Percentage of adults over the age of 46 who do not feel secure in their jobs: 34% (as opposed to 80 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds)

Percentage of Americans over age 46 who point to the economy as the biggest impact on stress levels: 52% (for younger workers, 33%)

UNINSURED

Percentage of U.S. adults who lacked health insurance in 2009, according to the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index: 16.2% (up from 14.8 percent in 2008)

IDLE THOUGHT

"Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both."

— Abraham Flexner, educator

Contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.