1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,720 Speaker 1: Guess what mango? What's that will? So when you think 2 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: of fast food stories and Moscow, what comes to mind first? 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:09,879 Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe that old pizza hut Corbusho of 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: commercial exactly. And I used to think that was maybe 5 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: the most fun association of fast food with Moscow. But 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: I actually read another story recently and I think it 7 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:22,799 Speaker 1: might be my favorite now. So did you know that 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,759 Speaker 1: when McDonald's first opened in Moscow, they actually had to 9 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: train workers on how to smile and look friendly to know? 10 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,160 Speaker 1: Why is that? Well, it turns out there's an old 11 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: proverb there that goes something along the lines of a 12 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: smile without reason is a sign of idiocy. That's pretty rough, 13 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: and um, I mean I guess it sounds like a 14 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: Russian proverb. Yeah, it's It's a phrase that obviously doesn't 15 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: apply to all Russians, but it did get me thinking. 16 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: You know, if if Russians are not known for smiling unnecessarily, 17 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: what places are you know, where are the happiest places 18 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: in the world and what are some of the secrets 19 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: to happiness in those places? So that's what we're talking 20 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 1: about today. Let's dive in h a their podcast. Listeners 21 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: welcome to hard Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as 22 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: always I'm joined by my good friend man guest Ticketer. 23 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: And on the other side of the soundproof class wearing 24 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: the biggest smile you'll never see. That's our friend and 25 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: producer Tristan McNeil. It's actually getting a little unnerving. Now 26 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:40,759 Speaker 1: what what is he smiling about? I don't think he'll 27 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: ever tell us. But good news is there will be 28 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: plenty of chances to smile later though, because today's show 29 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: we're talking all about happiness and you know, more specifically 30 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: the places in the world where you can find the 31 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: most of it. Now, happiness is highly subjective, of course, 32 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: and if you were to ask ten people to name 33 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: what makes them happy, you probably come away with ten 34 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: different answers. But there are actually some aspects of happiness 35 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: that are pretty universal. So we're going to talk about 36 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: what those factors are and how they manifest and upbeat 37 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: countries all over the globe. And we're also going to 38 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:14,799 Speaker 1: try to get to the bottom of why Scandinavian countries 39 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: like Denmark and Norway always claim these top spots for 40 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: places ranked by happiness. Yeah, why why don't we start 41 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: with that? Because it really is crazy how Nordic countries 42 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: tend to dominate those lists. So the u N does 43 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: this ranking of the happiness levels and a hundred fifty 44 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: five countries called the World Happiness Report. They've done this 45 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,959 Speaker 1: since two thousand twelve, and every year the top five 46 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: has always been some combination of Scandinavian countries, and this 47 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: year is no exception. Norway is actually ranked number one 48 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: for the first time, but it's followed closely by Denmark, Iceland, 49 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,919 Speaker 1: Switzerland and Finland. So I'm guessing a lot of our 50 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: listeners are wondering what I'm wondering, and that is, is 51 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: this whole thing rigged? I mean, it's almost always freezing 52 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 1: cold in these Nordic countries. You know, they've got the 53 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: whole midnight sun thing where daylight last twenty four hours 54 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: for a month or so at a time. So no 55 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: way are these the happiest places on Earth? Right? Yeah? 56 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: I would have said the same thing before looking into it. 57 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: But surprisingly there's some researchers who actually think Scandinavia is 58 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: cold weather and all those long nights might be a 59 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: big reason why those countries both such high levels of happiness, 60 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: and the thinking is that such an unforgiving climate that 61 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: actually helps bring local communities together. I mean, the people 62 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: there depending on each other for survival as well as 63 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: for company in a way that people in most temperate 64 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: climates don't have to. And actually, there's this professor John 65 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 1: helli Well who was the editor for this year's Happiness Report, 66 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: and he compares this kind of mutual support system to 67 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: what we traditionally see with like rural farming communities, you know, 68 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: where people gather to help raise the neighbor's barn without 69 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: expecting any sort of payment in return. Well, it's pretty 70 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: interesting to think about it, and you know, it might 71 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: be strange to hear about cold places making people happy, 72 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: but the underlying premise actually lines up with a lot 73 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: of what I've read recently on the subject. And what 74 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: from this is that, well, basically that a person's environment 75 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: has a lot to do with how happy they feel. 76 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: There was this study this year that examined surveys completed 77 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: by about I think it was about half a million 78 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: Canadian immigrants, and these are people that had moved to 79 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: Canada from a hundred different countries over the course of 80 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: the past forty years or so. Many of the immigrants 81 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: home countries didn't rank anywhere near the top of the 82 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: Happiness Report, but Canada did. Now routinely places in the 83 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: top ten happiest countries, and actually this year it was 84 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,359 Speaker 1: the first country outside of Scandinavia to chart at all. 85 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: It came in at number seven. That's crazy, but I'm 86 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: guessing these folks were happier after moving to Canada. Yeah, 87 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: that's right. And actually, just after a few years in Canada, 88 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: immigrants from less happy countries started to adopt the higher 89 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: happiness level of their new home. So even though things 90 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: like income and family life it stayed more or less 91 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: the same, these people were happier simply because of where 92 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: they were. Okay, but there has to be more play 93 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: here than just geography, right, they're probably specific characteristics of 94 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: life in Canada that leads to greater happiness, like the 95 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:07,239 Speaker 1: way that uh, I don't know, Scandinavia's starkness helps foster community. Oh, definitely. 96 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: In fact, the researchers behind the World Happiness Report believe 97 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: that about seventy of human happiness is due to just 98 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:18,479 Speaker 1: six factors. So they point out quality, social relationships, strong 99 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:23,679 Speaker 1: economic growth, healthy life expectancy, generosity, trust, and the freedom 100 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: to live the life that's right for you. Now, any 101 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: country that delivers in even a few of these categories 102 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: is likely to have a fairly happy citizen base. I 103 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: mean that sounds right, though it still feels weird to 104 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: be talking about happiness in terms of metrics and rankings. 105 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: On one hand, it seems right that a country would 106 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: be concerned with the happiness of its citizens, you know, 107 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: the pursuit of it is mentioned in the first sentence 108 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: of our declaration of independence. But I can also understand 109 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: the argument that happiness is too vague and even like 110 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: fluffy a concept to be held up as this national goal. 111 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:56,920 Speaker 1: I mean, this is philosophical, but like, what do we 112 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: even mean by happiness? Yeah, and it's it's a tough 113 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,840 Speaker 1: question to answer. And happiness is is something we all 114 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: have experience with, or at least hopefully we have experience 115 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,679 Speaker 1: with it. But it's much easier to talk about where 116 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: it comes from than it is to narrow it down 117 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,039 Speaker 1: to a single definition. I was actually looking at this 118 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: National Geographic cover story that recently came out, and they 119 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: gave an overview of three countries that historically received high 120 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: marks for happiness, and the author of the story Dan 121 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: butN Or. He proposed that real lasting joy actually comes 122 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:31,280 Speaker 1: from the interplay of three distinct kinds of happiness. There's pleasure, pride, 123 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: and purpose. Huh. So, uh, how do you come up 124 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: with those three? Well? I think partly because most measures 125 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: of happiness can be broken down into those three categories. 126 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: So going back to the six factors used for the 127 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: World Happiness Report, you know, take social relationships. They can 128 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,919 Speaker 1: bring you pleasure, or generosity toward others can provide a 129 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: sense of purpose, or maybe the freedom to live how 130 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: you want can become you know, like a source of pride. Well, 131 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 1: you know, those three types of happiness actually line up 132 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: pretty well with three types of happiness that scientists have 133 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: been trying to get a handle on for years. So 134 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,359 Speaker 1: I looked this up, and uh, there's something called experienced happiness, 135 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: and that's the term for the pleasure that comes from 136 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: everyday life. Is usually measured by how much a person 137 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: has smiled or laughed during a day, and then pride 138 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: that kind of corresponds with evaluative happiness. You know, you 139 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: can think of this as like life satisfaction, basically how 140 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: happy you are with your career or family, social status, 141 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: that type of thing. So researchers are often trying to 142 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: assess this by asking you to rank your lives on 143 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: a scale from zero to ten. So questions like, all 144 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as 145 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: a whole nowadays? And you know, this does feel like 146 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 1: a very clinical approach to happiness, but I guess that's 147 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: what happens when you know you've got scientists and economists 148 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: that are thinking about the subject rather than say, like 149 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: philosophers for example. Yeah, so it's funny you should mention 150 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: philosophers because the concept of happiness that springs from purpose 151 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: actually originated with Aristotle. He rejected what he viewed as 152 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: alder happiness. That's the kind that yields short term enjoyment, 153 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: but you know, it doesn't deliver, it's it's kind of fleeting. Instead, 154 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: he believed that those who wish to lead these virtuous 155 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: lives just stry for a type of happiness you find 156 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: through lifelong learning and maybe helping others. Yeah, I mean 157 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: it makes a lot of sense. And then that GEO 158 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: article I was talking about earlier, they chose Denmark to 159 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: exemplify purpose driven happiness, and part of the reason why 160 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: is that over nine of Danish citizens are members of 161 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: some kind of social club or association, and more than 162 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: forty of them volunteer for civic groups. That kind of 163 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: fulfillment from social engagement and giving back to one's community. 164 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: It seems like the kind of happiness that Aristotle was 165 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: after that you were talking about before. Definitely, and it's 166 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: really cool that Dan Butner touched on that because most 167 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: of us take a more hedonistic approach to happiness, you know, 168 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,960 Speaker 1: we want to maximize our pleasure and minimize our pain. 169 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: I wouldn't take his heart aligne against that approach, is Aristotle. 170 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: I do think he's right that there's this deeper kind 171 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,439 Speaker 1: of happiness that comes from I don't know, finding meaning 172 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: and what you do with your time rather than just 173 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: how comfortable you are. Right. But but to be fair, 174 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:06,440 Speaker 1: I mean, this kind of happiness can feel like somewhat 175 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:08,839 Speaker 1: of a luxury at times, you know, learning new things 176 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: or helping others in need. That it often happens only 177 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: after our basic needs are provided for. And and that's 178 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: partly why purpose driven happiness seems to thrive in most 179 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: of these Scandinavian countries when they have a ton of 180 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 1: government programs that make sure no citizen goes without food 181 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: and housing and healthcare. Let me just actually listen to 182 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:32,959 Speaker 1: how Butner describes the societal expectations of Danish citizens. Quote, 183 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,559 Speaker 1: Danes grew up believing they have the right to healthcare, education, 184 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: and a financial safety net. University students draw government stipend 185 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: in addition to free tuition. New parents can take a 186 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: year long government paid parental lead, you know, nearly at 187 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: a full salary. This includes gay and lesbian parents as well. 188 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,839 Speaker 1: People work hard in Denmark, but on average less than 189 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: forty hours a week, with at least five weeks of 190 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: vacation per year. I mean, you hear all that in 191 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: your realize how they have so much time for social 192 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:05,240 Speaker 1: But it's also, like you think about it, it's like 193 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: a level of government support that would make Bernie Sanders black. 194 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: Probably so, But you know, Northern Europe seems to have 195 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 1: cracked the code on how to create this environment where 196 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,439 Speaker 1: people feel secure enough to you know, pursue their passions 197 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: without having to constantly worry about how to make ends meet. 198 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: And it's not just sweeping government programs. I mean that 199 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 1: there's a more laid back approach to life that you 200 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,199 Speaker 1: can see reflected in little ways too. For instance, have 201 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: you heard it, and this is something that I had 202 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: not heard of before, But in Norway it's called the 203 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 1: right to rome. No, what is it? It's this traditional 204 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,239 Speaker 1: right to explore nature that Norway has acknowledged for centuries, 205 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:41,959 Speaker 1: and so basically anyone is free to hike or camp 206 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,720 Speaker 1: in any part of the country that they want. What 207 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: that sounds so crazy, I mean even if it's like 208 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,560 Speaker 1: privately owned land. Yeah, that's the whole point. I can't 209 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:53,320 Speaker 1: see this flying here. But it goes back to that 210 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 1: strong sense of community in Scandinavian countries that we talked about. 211 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: So even though someone owns a deed for a particular 212 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,559 Speaker 1: piece of land, it's still a part of the shared 213 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: country and that means that every citizen has a right 214 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 1: to enjoy it at any time. And the old exceptions 215 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: to this or for private land that's been cultivated, so 216 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: things like parks and gardens or you know, maybe farm 217 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: fields or something like that. That's pretty cool and it 218 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 1: reminds me of like when I was a kid and 219 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,320 Speaker 1: I just like we had a creek behind our yard 220 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: and we just like follow it through other people's yards 221 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: and stuff is awesome, But so is this like an 222 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: unwritten law or I don't know, something kind of like 223 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: common knowledge type thing. Well that's how it started out. 224 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: But actually Norway citizens feel so strongly about the importance 225 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: of of just being outdoors and outdoor recreation they actually 226 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: decided to make the right to roam a federal law 227 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: back in n That's amazing, you know. I mean, it's 228 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:48,319 Speaker 1: not just purpose driven happiness that Scandinavians have mastered, so 229 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: they also have a knack for like the simple pleasures 230 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: of life. And in fact, there's this term that you 231 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 1: see on the internet used a lot now and it's 232 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: used in Denmark in Norway, and I know I'm butchering 233 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: the pronunciation. I think it's called hugo, but there isn't 234 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 1: this like English equivalent for it. But you can kind 235 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,320 Speaker 1: of think of it of this like general feeling of 236 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: comfort and kinship or maybe contentedness, like it's something that 237 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: applies to anything from like a softly glowing candle to 238 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: a couple of coffee with friends. And actually found this 239 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: account from this Norwegian transplant to the United States who 240 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:21,559 Speaker 1: did his best to try to sum up the idea. 241 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: And this is what he wrote. He wrote, it is 242 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: basically a state of well being, coziness, and ambiance. It 243 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: is a feeling of atmosphere and in action. You can 244 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 1: be a huge lig person, or you can describe a 245 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: cabin as huge lig. Or it could be used as 246 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: a verb. Let's huga ourselves with a meal, a visit, 247 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: a book, et cetera. Huga hugo huge. Actually know what 248 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: this reminds me of. It's kind of like how the 249 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: Smurfs would always use the word smurf and this kind 250 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: of replacement for everything, and so they'd be like, We're 251 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: gonna smurf all the way up to the top of 252 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: Smurf Mountain to day. Have you seen smurfs recently? I 253 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: have not, exactly skinny means they're basically the smurfs of 254 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: our societies. Yet I get the point. I mean, you know, well, well, 255 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: as long as we're comparing cultures, we should yes, yeah, 256 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: we should probably talk a little bit about the happiness 257 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: of our country. You know, because free tuition and healthcare 258 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: that that that's one thing when it's a country of 259 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: about six million people. But the kind of happiness that 260 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: comes from things like that, it's trickier in a place 261 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,960 Speaker 1: with over three hundred million citizens. Absolutely, But before we 262 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:37,439 Speaker 1: dig into that, why don't we take a little break. 263 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: You're listening to part time Genius and we're talking about 264 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: the happiest places in the world. All right, mango. So 265 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: it looks like the US can fourt on this year's 266 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 1: World Happiness Report, which I mean, that's not too shabby 267 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: given how many countries are ranked. But you know, with 268 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: our economic prosperity, you maybe think we could manage a 269 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: little bit better than that. But we've already seen that 270 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: it's the country's overall environment and their sense of community 271 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: that actually determines the happiness of its citizens, and it 272 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: isn't really the economy. Was just going to say that 273 00:14:06,679 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: money doesn't matter. After all, the countries that top the 274 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: Happiness index all have these like healthy GDPs, and you 275 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,079 Speaker 1: know the nations at the bottom of the list don't. 276 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,120 Speaker 1: But money isn't everything, and for the U s it's 277 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: the social aspects that we really need to work on 278 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: if we ever want to muscle our way to the 279 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: top of the list. All right, well, that's fair enough, 280 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: but but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of happy 281 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 1: places in the US already In fact, Gallup recently teamed 282 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 1: up with nat Geo to find the twenty five happiest 283 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: cities in America. So how they pull that off? Well, 284 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: first they established a series of metrics that commonly indicate happiness. 285 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: And then they pulled data from about a quarter million 286 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: interviews conducted with adults in almost two hundred cities throughout 287 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: the US, and and then they used it to see 288 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: which cities ticked the most boxes on this list. So 289 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: I am, of course super curious to know who the 290 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: winner was, But first tell me about these metrics. Like, 291 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: I'm guessing it wasn't as simple as what was it pleasure, 292 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: pride and purpose that we talked about earlier. Not quite. 293 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: I mean, the study actually considered over a dozen different factors, 294 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: everything from civic engagement, vacation time, o b CD rates. 295 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: Actually this one was interesting. Even dental check up. Well, 296 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: nobody loves going to the dentist. So does that mean 297 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: that the key to happiness is having bad teeth? No, MAGA, 298 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: That was definitely not the studies take away. In fact, 299 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: it was actually the opposite of that. And and and 300 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: there was a higher level of satisfaction in places where 301 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: people made frequent trips to their dentists. Alright, So where 302 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: all these dentists loving Americans living really fixated on that? Well, 303 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: eight of the cities are in California, and of course 304 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: Honolulu scores a spot on the list. But according to study, 305 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: the single happiest place in America is actually Boulder, Colorado. 306 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: I mean that doesn't actually surprise me. Anytime I hear 307 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: about Boulder, it's usually something about how healthy the citizens 308 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 1: are or how much they exercise. And I've heard that 309 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 1: more people per capita walk or bike to work in 310 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: Boulder than almost any other city in the US. US. Yeah, 311 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: that's definitely true. Boulder has over three hundred miles of 312 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: bike roots, and their bike to work grade is actually 313 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: about seventeen times higher than the national average. And something 314 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: as simple as that leads to all these other boosts 315 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:16,280 Speaker 1: and happiness from other things like cleaner air, fewer overweight citizens, 316 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: you know, stronger connection to the outdoors, all of these 317 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: other factors. All right, But obviously no place is perfect, 318 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: and there's got to be something negative we can mention. 319 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: So this doesn't seem like it's sponsored by the Boulder 320 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 1: Tourism Board. Yeah, I don't know. We love to talk 321 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: about lots of negative things here on part. But but 322 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: there is the fact that about forty nine of the 323 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 1: local survey for the study reported feeling stress on any 324 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:41,160 Speaker 1: given day, and that that's also higher than the national average. 325 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: So the happiest city in the country is also one 326 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: of the most stressed out. Like, how does that even work? Well, 327 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: it's it seems strange on the surface, but the impression 328 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: I got was that the citizens are stressed because of 329 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 1: how active and engaged they are, not only in their 330 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: personal lives, but you know, in the wider community as well. 331 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: So it's a good kind of stress. Yeah, it's a 332 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: productive stress. And you may remember back from our longevity 333 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 1: episode where we talked about this that those that are 334 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: living the longest often do have some of these sources 335 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: of stress because they are so involved in the world 336 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 1: around them. So it's the kind that comes from working 337 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,199 Speaker 1: to achieve a goal or to produce something worthwhile. So 338 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: it really does go back to that purpose driven happiness 339 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: that we were talking about earlier. Yeah, So it seems 340 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: like the more invested and connected you are to the 341 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,880 Speaker 1: place where you live, the happier you become. And that's 342 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: true even when you have to continually strive to improve 343 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: your surroundings because that's the kind of work we find 344 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:35,399 Speaker 1: most satisfying. It actually makes me think of the study 345 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,119 Speaker 1: from Surry University in the UK called Places that Make Us. 346 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: So first of all, you know the idea of having 347 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 1: your own personal happy place, right, Yeah, like a physical 348 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,000 Speaker 1: or actually even a mental place if as long as 349 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: it makes you feel calm or less anxious. So you know, 350 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,159 Speaker 1: this might be a peaceful room in the house that 351 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:54,720 Speaker 1: you've decorated, or or maybe just like a memory of 352 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 1: a great trip that you went on, sure, or in 353 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: and out you visited in California, that's right. But the 354 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 1: researchers that sorry wanted to better understand attraction that people 355 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,359 Speaker 1: feel towards special places like that. So they round up 356 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 1: twenty volunteers and have them look at familiar images of 357 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: like houses and landscapes and objects that they'd identified as 358 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:17,880 Speaker 1: like personally meaningful, and they also conducted these um fm 359 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 1: r I scans on their brains at the same time. 360 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 1: And when they measured the volunteers brain activity, researchers found 361 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: that the familiar places caused way more excitement in the 362 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: part of the brain linked with these emotional responses than 363 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: any of the objects did. Yeah. I mean specifically, these 364 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: happy places evoked feelings of belonging and as well as 365 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,640 Speaker 1: like physical and emotional safety. And so do you think 366 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: that's like what's going on here with Boulder or what, yeah, 367 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: or any of these happy places? Really? I mean, I 368 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: think when a city or a country helps the citizens 369 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: strike that balance between pleasure and pride and purpose, that 370 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: whole place becomes a part of them, just like their 371 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 1: favorite room at home, where the vacation spot they returned 372 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: to every year. You might be on this something here 373 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,040 Speaker 1: because you know, the process you're describing as real a 374 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,320 Speaker 1: pretty organic one. You know, rather than constantly seeking out happiness, 375 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:08,400 Speaker 1: it comes about pretty naturally, just through these opportunities that 376 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: our environment gives to us, which seems like the right 377 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,640 Speaker 1: way to go, right. I Mean, I've seen a few 378 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 1: studies now that have actually shown the larger the focused 379 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 1: person puts on happiness, the less successful they are and 380 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,160 Speaker 1: actually being happy, which is probably why people who buy, 381 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 1: you know, all these self help books about happiness never 382 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 1: seemed to stop at just one. Al Right, Well, what 383 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,159 Speaker 1: do you say we close out the show with a 384 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: look at some of the places that make happiness look easy. 385 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: You know, no statistics, no metrics, just plain old happy places. 386 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: Yeah it sounds great, but why don't we take a 387 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:49,119 Speaker 1: quick break first? Okay, man goes. So, as we said 388 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: earlier that GEO did a ranking of the happiest cities 389 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,959 Speaker 1: in America and Boulder, Colorado came in number one. And 390 00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: I'm happy to tell you that we've actually got the 391 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: Mayor of Bold, Colorado on the line. Mayor Suzanne Jones, 392 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 1: welcome to part time genius. Well, I'm happy to be here, 393 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:11,160 Speaker 1: and congratulations on being named happiest city in America. Some 394 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 1: people are pleased and others are like, we're not that happy. 395 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,040 Speaker 1: So would you mind telling us why Boulder is such 396 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: a happy place? Well, I think there's a couple of reasons. 397 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,240 Speaker 1: Starters is that we are blessed to live in a 398 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,200 Speaker 1: really beautiful place, and we've really invested a lot over 399 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,399 Speaker 1: the years and protecting it. We were one of the 400 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,840 Speaker 1: first cities to create an open space tax, and so 401 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,880 Speaker 1: we've bought up forty acres of open space all around 402 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 1: our city. So there's lots of places to recreate and 403 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: see wildlife. So we tend to attract athletes and people 404 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:46,160 Speaker 1: that love the outdoors, which tend to be happier people. Um. 405 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: But we also were university city, so almost a third 406 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: of our population or students and professors, and we also 407 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:57,119 Speaker 1: have a dozen federal laboratories like the National Center for 408 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: Atmospheric Research. So we are bills with pe well that 409 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 1: are well educated and informed and engage and working on 410 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: everything from you know, the solution to climate change to 411 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: starting up a new high tech business. And so there's 412 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 1: a lot of um, good energy directed towards um making 413 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: the world a better place, um, but having a good 414 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: time while we do it, right, all right, that's pretty great. 415 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,679 Speaker 1: You know. I feel like Boulder used to be a 416 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,440 Speaker 1: little bit more of this kind of hidden gem that 417 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: that that people didn't necessarily know what a beautiful and 418 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: wonderful place it is. And it feels like more people 419 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: are coming there and that's maybe moving there or visiting there. 420 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: And so how have you guys dealt with this as 421 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:41,959 Speaker 1: a as a city as you have grown? Well, I 422 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: will say that that is actually one of our biggest challenges. 423 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,040 Speaker 1: Colorado's population is booming because it is a beautiful place 424 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: to be and the economy is doing well, and there's 425 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,560 Speaker 1: a lot of people worried that we're gonna uh kill 426 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:57,719 Speaker 1: the goose that laid the golden egg by you know, 427 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: loving this place to death. So I was gonna say 428 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: we are happy to be considered the happiest city, but 429 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: a lot of people would argue that, um, we should 430 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: keep that a secret because more people kind of is 431 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,880 Speaker 1: challenging to manage. And so what plans do you see 432 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,280 Speaker 1: from the Boulder's future. So I think one of our 433 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: big challenges is how do you, um keep being vibrant 434 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:26,640 Speaker 1: and gritty and interesting and and you know, not too trendy. 435 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: And I think we wrestle with that because, um there's 436 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,640 Speaker 1: a lot of growth pressure, and with that comes um 437 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 1: a real affordability challenge. So it's really expensive to live 438 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 1: here now, and that challenges diversity both economically and ethnically. 439 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: The other thing is when things things are going really well, 440 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:48,600 Speaker 1: and the question is how do we um keep them 441 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 1: vibrant and interesting and evolving and yet also keep what 442 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: we love about this place as it is. These are 443 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 1: the problems that come with success. Boulders are really wonderful place. 444 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: I've note that the entire Denver metro area is really thriving, 445 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,119 Speaker 1: right now, and it's it's a really wonderful place to 446 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,400 Speaker 1: beat me. Yeah, that's great. Well, we know that we're 447 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: all very happy talking together today, but we do have 448 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:18,119 Speaker 1: to put you to the test with a really, really challenging, 449 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: and some might say dumb quiz. So mango, what what 450 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,200 Speaker 1: what quiz? Are we playing with Mayor Jones today? It's 451 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: called come on, everyone, get happy? All right? So here 452 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 1: we go. We got five questions for you, Mayor Jones. 453 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 1: You ready, I'm ready. Every answer includes the word happy. Oh, 454 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: that's right. Every answer includes the word happy. Okay, here 455 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,679 Speaker 1: we go. Question number one. This show gave the world 456 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: the term jump the shark when Fonzie jumped a shark 457 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 1: on water skis. Oh yeah, that's right. It happened during 458 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 1: the fifth season, and while it seemed out of character 459 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,120 Speaker 1: for the show, it was meant to showcase Henry Winkler's 460 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,680 Speaker 1: real life water skiing skills. Oh wow, okay, alright. Question 461 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: number two. In the very first of These Kids Meals 462 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: sold by McDonald's, kids got either a mcdoodlers stencil, mc 463 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 1: wrist wallet or a McDonald land character erasers shaped like 464 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: Grimace or the Hamburglar. So what kids meal. Are we 465 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: talking about, well, happy meals? Of course, that's right. Two 466 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: for two question numbers. We told you it was a 467 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:24,679 Speaker 1: really hard quiz. Question number three. Here we go. This 468 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: term came about in nineteen fourteen and wasn't initially associated 469 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 1: with bars or deals on snacks. Instead, it was used 470 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: to describe sixty minutes of scheduled entertainment that sailors would 471 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: get in the afternoons to alleviate boredom at sea. Well, 472 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,440 Speaker 1: happy hours, and I will say Boulder is a great 473 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:47,680 Speaker 1: place for that. We have lots of breweries and that's great. Yeah, 474 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 1: that's right. And until post prohibition, a happy hour could 475 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: include anything from live music to dancing to boxing matches. 476 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: Doesn't sound very happy, okay, alright? Number four, this song 477 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 1: sung once a year to most people, was used in 478 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,840 Speaker 1: the first ever singing telegram to celebrate someone's special day. 479 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:11,359 Speaker 1: It's happy something um happy Graham. I don't know. This 480 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,120 Speaker 1: would be the happy birthday song. It was. Actually what 481 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,440 Speaker 1: was this song originally called mango? It was? It was 482 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,600 Speaker 1: originally called good morning to you, Good morning to you. 483 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 1: All right, you're three out of four. This is the 484 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,240 Speaker 1: last one for the big big prize. Here we go well. 485 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: RI e M made a lot of money off of 486 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,360 Speaker 1: this very happy song. According to lead singer Michael Stipe quote, 487 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: if there was one song that was sent into outer 488 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: space to represent r e M for the rest of time, 489 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:40,159 Speaker 1: I would not want it to be that song shiny 490 00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:44,000 Speaker 1: happy people. Yeah, that's right, you got it. So how 491 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 1: did Mayor Jones do today? Mango? She went in amazing 492 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: four for five, which means she's going to get a 493 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 1: very top prize, a part Time Genius Certificate of Genius, 494 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:56,400 Speaker 1: as well as a hearty congratulations. Well, congratulations again Mayor 495 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 1: Jones on being named the happiest city in America and 496 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: thanks for joining us on Part Time Genius. Okay, so 497 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: we've talked a lot today about measuring happiness and how 498 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,480 Speaker 1: it does or doesn't relate to the g d P. 499 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,360 Speaker 1: And I know we've mentioned this on a previous episode, 500 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,200 Speaker 1: but I wanted to talk about a country that doesn't 501 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 1: gauge prosperity by gross domestic product but by g NH, 502 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: which is gross national happiness. Well, we might have said 503 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 1: no metrics, but that I think we should make an 504 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: exception for one as goofy as this, but we we 505 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,200 Speaker 1: should remind our listeners. What place we're talking about? Yeah, Bhutan, 506 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 1: and it's if you don't know, it's the small but 507 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:47,359 Speaker 1: this kingdom tucked away in the Himalayas. It's been around 508 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:49,880 Speaker 1: for centuries, but its borders were close to tourists until 509 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four, which was just a few years after 510 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 1: the country revealed its new happiness based approach to measuring progress. 511 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,320 Speaker 1: I mean, the whole country is about the size of Indiana, 512 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: so tourism is still regulated. I mean I did like 513 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 1: reading about it and talking about it before, but is 514 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 1: g n H Is that actually working for them there? 515 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:09,879 Speaker 1: So according to the Boutanese, it is, and the country 516 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,159 Speaker 1: released a study in two thousand fifteen that showed that 517 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: of the population identified it as either narrowly, extensively or 518 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: deeply happy. That's kind of arrange there. Narrowly too deeply, 519 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 1: so so what are they also happy about? Though? Lots 520 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:28,440 Speaker 1: of stuff? So for one thing, life expectancy in Bhutan 521 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,160 Speaker 1: has doubled over the last two decades. The country also 522 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,879 Speaker 1: has an almost a hundred percent enrollment rate for children 523 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 1: in grade school. Has taken all kinds of steps to 524 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: protect its natural environment, including a monthly pedestrian day when 525 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,479 Speaker 1: all private vehicles are completely banned from its roads. I mean, 526 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,280 Speaker 1: that does sound pretty sweet, but I don't know, are 527 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 1: you sure they're not cooking the books just to make 528 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: life and Bhutan look a little bit better than it 529 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: actually is. I mean, it's not a realized Shango law 530 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:55,919 Speaker 1: or anything, despite its reputation. But even the UN has 531 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,520 Speaker 1: started to explore ways to apply Bhutan's g n H 532 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,280 Speaker 1: model to other parts of the world. In fact, that 533 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 1: was the inspiration for their whole World Happiness Report project. 534 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 1: But if you're still uncommenced, listen to how Bhutan's Ministry 535 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:09,840 Speaker 1: of Education makes the case for his country's unique approach 536 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:13,480 Speaker 1: to progress. And these are his words. People always ask 537 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: how you can possibly have a nation of happy people, 538 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: But this is missing the point. G n H is 539 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 1: an aspiration instead of guiding principles through which we are 540 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: navigating our path towards a sustainable and equitable society. We 541 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,120 Speaker 1: believe the world needs to do the same before it's 542 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,480 Speaker 1: too late. I mean, they seem to have a point there, 543 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: which you know, I guess that's why at the first 544 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:35,880 Speaker 1: sign of armageddon, I'm going to be booking a trip 545 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,720 Speaker 1: straight to Finland. Why Finland, because the end of the 546 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,720 Speaker 1: world can be stressful, and the Finish seems to know 547 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,320 Speaker 1: how to unwind. I mean, after all, they're the only 548 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: country with a deeply ingrained sonic culture. You know, I've 549 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 1: been looking for a sonic culture. I don't know if 550 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,800 Speaker 1: you've heard this, but the Finns had this deep love 551 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,719 Speaker 1: for warm, wooden saunas, and this goes back centuries, so 552 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: much so that they're over three point three million saunas 553 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: for Finland's five point four million citizens. That's more than 554 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,520 Speaker 1: half a sauna for each person, and that means these 555 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: things are just about everywhere. This is homes, offices, factories, 556 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: not to mention really unexpected places like airport, lounges, underground 557 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,560 Speaker 1: mind even parliament. It was so much fun reading about 558 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,720 Speaker 1: all these different weird places you'd see them. So I 559 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: don't know if you notice that I secretly love saunas 560 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:26,320 Speaker 1: like they help you with hangovers, they make you feel 561 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,720 Speaker 1: good up with sports. But I saw this thing in 562 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,720 Speaker 1: gastro Obscura that you can actually cook a sausage and 563 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: a sauna as you sit there and then eat that 564 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 1: as a snack after and that turned me a little off. Really, 565 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 1: I thought you were gonna say that could like actually 566 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: raise the rating of the world happiness. But I do 567 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: get why Finland always ranks so highly is the Happiness report. 568 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: I mean, the whole country is just hanging around naked, relaxing, 569 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 1: you know, shooting the breeze in the cozy little sweat boxes. Well, 570 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 1: I will have you know that plenty of important work 571 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,680 Speaker 1: gets done in these finished saunas too. And according to 572 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 1: a report from the BBC, former President Nobel Peace Prize 573 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: Laureate marty Ata Sari used sauna diplomacy and these are 574 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: these diplomatic meetings that actually take place in a sauna 575 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:12,959 Speaker 1: and either this to move forward negotiations with countries like 576 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:17,400 Speaker 1: Tanzania and Anesia, several others. And actually during the Cold 577 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: War they negotiated with Soviet diplomats in the sauna. How crazy. 578 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:26,280 Speaker 1: That's amazing. Sauna diplomacy. I love that that that's the 579 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 1: real secret to happiness. But you know, if it's not saunas, 580 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 1: then I think the secret of happiness might have to 581 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 1: be monkey buffet festivals like the one this town in 582 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 1: Thailand holds once a year. All right, mag I feel 583 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: like you're kind of setting me up this one. And 584 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,760 Speaker 1: and I'm hoping that monkeys aren't actually on the menu 585 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: at this monkey buffet festival. I've never heard of this, 586 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: definitely not. So monkeys are actually the guests of honor. 587 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,120 Speaker 1: So each year, thousands of visitors flocked to the tiny 588 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,640 Speaker 1: town of Lopuari, Thailand, and they watch as local long 589 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 1: tailed monkeys are pampered by their during residents. So, according 590 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: to legend, the monkeys are the descendants of Hanuman, who 591 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,320 Speaker 1: is this into god. He's a heroic monkey king who 592 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: helped build the town of Lope Worri thousands of years ago. 593 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,080 Speaker 1: So to honor Hanuman, the monkeys are now treating to 594 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: this feast of exotic fruits and stinky white rice and 595 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,680 Speaker 1: other Thai favorites. I mean, the food is piled high. 596 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 1: I don't know if he's seen these photos, Like they're 597 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: huge buffet tables and more than three thousand monkeys joining 598 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 1: the feeding friends. Yeah, I mean, meanwhile, human spectators enjoy 599 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: all these monkey theme festivities like monkey dances and monkey 600 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 1: costume contests. I mean it does sound like fun. So, 601 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: I mean, is this some kind of ancient tradition the 602 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: town has kept up or how long has this actually 603 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: been going on. Yeah, so it's actually been held since 604 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,360 Speaker 1: seriously ancient. Yeah, it's definitely not some sort of sacred 605 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:47,719 Speaker 1: cultural tradition, but it's more of a marketing scheme of 606 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: this local businessman and he wanted to increase tourism. Delope 607 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: Bori and his plans actually been a huge success. I mean, 608 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,840 Speaker 1: the festival continues to draw more and more visitors to 609 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: the town each year, much to the delight of hungry Monkey. 610 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,400 Speaker 1: I'm sure it's at least drawing more monkeys to the 611 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,360 Speaker 1: Towny here's that sounds like. And it's definitely the happiest 612 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: place in the world for those monkeys, I would have 613 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: to imagine, right, And I actually think there's a good 614 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: lesson there for the rest of us about finding your 615 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,760 Speaker 1: own happy place, because in the end, ranking and comparing 616 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: the happiness levels of different places is kind of futile. Well, 617 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,479 Speaker 1: I mean, I don't really like to think that we've 618 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:23,360 Speaker 1: wasted the better part of an hour here. But what 619 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 1: do you mean by that? No, I don't mean that. 620 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:27,720 Speaker 1: I just mean happiness is happiness, like either you have 621 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: it or you don't, and if you do, then you're lucky. 622 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: And if you don't, then it's time to try something new. 623 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 1: Because the difference between living in the number one happiest 624 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 1: place versus I don't know, the tenth or fourteenth happiest 625 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: places probably something you can make up on your own. Actually, 626 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,040 Speaker 1: it's interesting that you say that, because I was checking 627 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,280 Speaker 1: out this one study from the University of Edinburgh where 628 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 1: researchers determined that roughly fifty percent of human happiness is 629 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:53,760 Speaker 1: genetically predetermined. So the idea is that some hardwired personality 630 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,240 Speaker 1: traits like you know, being sociable or active or hard working, 631 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: that that actually caused happiness and the people who possessed them. 632 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 1: And many psychologists have actually suggested that ten of our 633 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,400 Speaker 1: happiness is due to life circumstances, you know, like age 634 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: and income, education, location, a few things like that. Sure, 635 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:16,600 Speaker 1: but what about the other Well, it's entirely up to us. Well, 636 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 1: I I know one thing that's guaranteed to make you 637 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 1: at least happier me too. That's that's eating one of 638 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,480 Speaker 1: those sausages in a finished saun all right. I was 639 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:38,520 Speaker 1: thinking something that's good too, So we'll go with that. Alright, 640 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,960 Speaker 1: My first fact, let's see here, all right, Well, last 641 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,880 Speaker 1: year computer scientists at the University of Vermont were on 642 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: the hunt for the happiest words in the English language, 643 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,360 Speaker 1: so they turned to a crowdsource survey system and looked 644 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:53,560 Speaker 1: at over ten thousand words. Some of the words that 645 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 1: turned up in the top two hundred were cupcakes, weekends, beach, victory, heaven, mother, 646 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 1: as well as both ha ha ha and ha ha 647 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: ha ha ha ha. Both of those were words, But 648 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:12,080 Speaker 1: the happiest word was laughter. I like that. Well, you know, 649 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:13,799 Speaker 1: we're in the middle of the holiday season here. It 650 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,360 Speaker 1: was interesting to read about a few studies that have 651 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,759 Speaker 1: shown that family rituals make people happier, and that is, 652 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:22,239 Speaker 1: those who have rituals they practiced at Christmas or New 653 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:25,279 Speaker 1: Year's or even Easter, whenever families tend to get together, 654 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,840 Speaker 1: they felt closer to their families. And interestingly, the type 655 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:30,840 Speaker 1: of rituals doesn't seem to matter as much as the 656 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,640 Speaker 1: number of different rituals. So you know, stuff like East 657 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 1: reg hunts and family dinners at Thanksgiving, going to watch 658 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,640 Speaker 1: New Year's celebration, that type of stuff, Well, that's pretty neat. Well, 659 00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:41,799 Speaker 1: I don't think most of us would be surprised to 660 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:45,279 Speaker 1: know that spending time in nature makes people happier, But 661 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,280 Speaker 1: there have been some pretty interesting findings from recent studies. 662 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,240 Speaker 1: One out of the University of Michigan found the benefits 663 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:53,919 Speaker 1: of walking in nature are found to be even more 664 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:57,279 Speaker 1: significant when you walk with a group. Another one found 665 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:00,600 Speaker 1: that exercising outdoors saw greater mental health than provements than 666 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:04,279 Speaker 1: those who exercised indoors, And yet another one found that 667 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:08,000 Speaker 1: those who simply looked at pictures of urban landscapes saw 668 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,160 Speaker 1: more activity in the part of their brain linked to 669 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:14,400 Speaker 1: negative emotions when compared to those who looked at natural scenes. 670 00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 1: So to recap nature is good for us. So I 671 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:20,879 Speaker 1: recently read about a study out of UC Davis where 672 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:24,279 Speaker 1: psychologists had three different groups keep weekly journals, and the 673 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,239 Speaker 1: first group they had to write about what they were 674 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 1: up to that week, the second talked about things that 675 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,879 Speaker 1: were irritants that week, and the third wrote about things 676 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:34,680 Speaker 1: they were grateful for. And sure enough, a couple months later, 677 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:36,560 Speaker 1: those who have written about things they were thankful for 678 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 1: reported being more satisfied with their lives than the other groups. 679 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 1: They even had fewer negative physical symptoms like headaches and 680 00:35:43,239 --> 00:35:47,520 Speaker 1: running noses. Interesting all right, well, speaking of little daily things, 681 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:49,840 Speaker 1: we can do to make ourselves happier. We we've talked 682 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:52,480 Speaker 1: about the benefits of exercise on our mental health, but 683 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:54,920 Speaker 1: I was actually curious to see what that meant in 684 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,719 Speaker 1: terms of how much exercise. And it turns out that 685 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:01,000 Speaker 1: just twenty minutes of exercise can actually boost your mood 686 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,920 Speaker 1: for up to twelve hours. And of course those who 687 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 1: exercise regularly are generally found to feel a greater satisfaction 688 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 1: with their lives. Well, you open the show with a 689 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 1: fact about McDonald's, and I've actually been saving one about 690 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,760 Speaker 1: Mickey D's. Did you know that in the two thousand 691 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 1: and fifteen Paid with Loving campaign that they ran, I 692 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:20,000 Speaker 1: love that name, Pay with Love, and I can't say 693 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,440 Speaker 1: I remember that way. Well, the idea was to encourage 694 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,840 Speaker 1: people to do nice things, which would then put smiles 695 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,000 Speaker 1: on people's faces. So they randomly chose a hundred customers 696 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:29,760 Speaker 1: and asked them to do nice things as the payment 697 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:31,840 Speaker 1: for a meal. And there was one account from a 698 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,600 Speaker 1: customer who is not so psyched about this, and it 699 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:36,359 Speaker 1: kind of made me laugh, so I wanted to share it. 700 00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: Kate Beckleder, who happens to be an editor at The 701 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:42,720 Speaker 1: Wall Street Journal, wrote quote, Suddenly, the cashier began clapping 702 00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:45,440 Speaker 1: and cheering, and the restaurant crew quickly gathered around her 703 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,160 Speaker 1: and joined in. This can't be good, I thought, half 704 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:50,840 Speaker 1: expecting someone to put a birthday sombrero on my head. 705 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,080 Speaker 1: The cashier announced with glee, you get to pay with lovin. 706 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:57,360 Speaker 1: Oh gosh. Confused, I again started to try to pay, 707 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:00,080 Speaker 1: but no. My fellow customers seemed to look at it 708 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,080 Speaker 1: with pity. As I drew my fate asked someone to dance. 709 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 1: I stood there for a mortified second or two, and 710 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:08,960 Speaker 1: then the cashier mercifully suggested that we all danced together. 711 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:11,920 Speaker 1: Not wanting to be a spoil sport, I forced a 712 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,560 Speaker 1: smile and raised the roof a couple of times as 713 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:18,600 Speaker 1: employees try to lure cringing customers into forming some kind 714 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 1: of congo line, asking them when they had last been 715 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,920 Speaker 1: asked to dance. The public embarrassment ended soon enough, and 716 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:27,839 Speaker 1: I slunk away with my free breakfast, thinking, now there's 717 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,080 Speaker 1: an idea that never should have left the conference room, 718 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,520 Speaker 1: that is so painful but hilarious to hear. And I mean, 719 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:36,200 Speaker 1: not only did you match my Mickey D's story with 720 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:39,200 Speaker 1: a better one, but the idea of someone raising the 721 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,840 Speaker 1: roof for a hamburger. That is worth the win in itself, 722 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 1: so congratulations, I'm giving you the fact off. Thank you 723 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:48,319 Speaker 1: so much, and thank you guys for listening. That's it 724 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,080 Speaker 1: for today's episode. Don't forget we love to hear from you. 725 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:53,279 Speaker 1: If you have any fun facts or any questions, you 726 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,800 Speaker 1: can email us part time Genius at how stuff Works 727 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:58,960 Speaker 1: dot com. You can also call us on our fact 728 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,480 Speaker 1: hotline that's one eight four four pt Genius, or hit 729 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:15,759 Speaker 1: us up on Facebook or Twitter. Thanks so much for listening, Arch, 730 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,640 Speaker 1: thanks again for listening. Farttime Genius is a production of 731 00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:24,400 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant 732 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:26,839 Speaker 1: people who do the important things we couldn't even begin 733 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,200 Speaker 1: to understand. Tristan McNeil does the editing thing. Noel Brown 734 00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: made the theme song and does the mixy mixy sound thing. 735 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,120 Speaker 1: Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing. Gave. Louesier is 736 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:38,840 Speaker 1: our lead researcher, with support from the research Army including 737 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:41,719 Speaker 1: Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eve. Jeff 738 00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:43,920 Speaker 1: Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves. 739 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:46,080 Speaker 1: If you like what you heard. We hope you'll subscribe, 740 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:47,960 Speaker 1: and if you really really like what you've heard, maybe 741 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,120 Speaker 1: you could leave a good review for us. Did we 742 00:38:50,160 --> 00:39:03,080 Speaker 1: forget Jason? Jason who