• Big Macs and The Bible: Americans are more familiar with Big Macs than the Bible, a recent poll has found. Less than half of respondents  – 45 percent  –  could recall the commandment “honor thy father and mother” but 62 percent knew that the Big Mac has pickle. To boot, Bobby and Peter, the least-recalled names from the fictional Brady Bunch TV family, were remembered by 43 percent of respondents  – topping the 34 percent that knew “remember the Sabbath” and 29 percent that recalled, “do not make false idols.” The poll was commissioned by The Ten Commandments Commission in advance of an upcoming animated film about the Ten Commandments and to increase awareness of the Commandments.

• 24% of Americans say the Internet can substitute for a significant other, and 24% of Americans have a page on websites such as My Space or Facebook. 78% of Americans between 18 and 24 have such a website page. Despite this latest rage, most polled still find other people more attractive than the iPhone. Only 6% polled found the iPhone sexy.

• The Down Side: 50% of voters polled by Zogby International said they would never vote for Democrat Hilary Clinton. 47% of voters said they would never vote for Republican Ron Paul.

• Unemployment rates in West Texas, September 2007: Brewster County 3.1%, Jeff Davis County: 3.8%, Pecos County: 5.0%, Reeves County: 6.0%, Presidio County: 10.9%

• 34.2% of Americans give President Bush a positive job approval, and 24.7% give Congress a positive rating.

• 50 % of Mozambicans trust their national institutions.
• 24% of Americans would fire their boss.

•International Bad Products Awards: Coca Cola – for continuing internationally market its bottled water, Desani, despite admitting it comes from local tap water; Mattel – for stonewalling U.S. Congressional investigations regarding product safety. Overall winner is Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals – for taking advantage of U.S. regulations to advertise sleeping pills to children.

• Number of  “residents” registered on “Second Life,” a virtual reality on the worldwide web: 8 million  –  and counting. (That’s up from 100,000 in January 2006, though the number of active users is closer to 450,000, according to most recent data from Linden Labs, creator of Second Life.)  Number of hours per week a typical gamer spends in a virtual world: 20 to 40. Approximate number of “lindens” (Second Life currency) equivalent to the value of one U.S. dollar: 250. Amount of US dollars spent in January 2007 on Second Life: $5 million, in some 4.2 million transactions.

Compiled by The Big Bend Gazette from the following sources: Reuters, Travel and Leisure, Zogby International, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Real Clear Politics.com, Gallup, Consumers International, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Week.