L-o-v-e stats

Valentine’s Day, Singles Awareness Day, Hallmark Day — whatever you like to call it, today is February 14th. A day of love and frustration, of proposals and breakups. A day of jewelry and candy and un-met expectations. Exalted by some, loathed by others, but inevitable to all. Time NewsFeed breaks down the mystique of Valentine’s Day the most romantic way of all: with cold, hard statistics for 2012:

$126.03: The average expected amount, per person, that Americans will shell out for the holiday. That’s up 8.5% from last year. Consumers are expected to spend the most on jewelry, at a collective $4.1 billion.

72 million: The average number of Valentine’s cards purchased by parents (40% of all cards sold).

Whether they end up giving the cards to their children is unknown. Either way, 65% of all gifts will take the form of a greeting card. They’re quick, cheap, and best of all, they come with heartfelt messages already written for you.

 $1.8 billion: The amount that will be spent on flowers on flowers alone.

73%: The percentage of men who do the flower giving.

98%: The percentage of men who wait until the last minute to buy a gift.

53%: Watch out men, you might get dumped by this percentage of women if you don't get them anything for V-day.

$52.4 million: The 2010 romantic comedy Valentine’s Day raked in this much cash during its first weekend in theaters.

40%: The estimated increase in requests for divorce lawyers around mid-February each year.

82%: The portion of people who said they’d like an “experience” rather than a gift for the romantic holiday. What these “experiences” entail, and how expensive they are, is unclear. But consumers are expected to put $3.5 billion towards a romantic evening on the town with their partner.

220,000: The average number of wedding proposals on Valentine’s Day each year (10% of the annual total).

70%: The portion of singles who said they wouldn’t mind a blind date for the occasion.

8 billion: The number of Sweethearts Conversation Hearts manufactured each year by the New England Confectionery Company. Though the company began producing candy with messages in 1860, modern Sweethearts date back to 1920, when the sweets were also available in shapes such as watches, baseballs and horseshoes.

15%: The estimated portion of women who will send themselves flowers. (Like Cher in Clueless, perhaps?)

$367 million: Don’t forget your cutesy pup — collectively, consumers spend this much on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets each year.

5 years: The average number of years longer men will live who kiss their wives in the morning. Do it today men and make it a daily occurrence. Relationships with a greater commitment, experience greater happiness.