Speaker 1: Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,
Speaker 1: it's Christian Seger here. Millennials tend to get a bad
Speaker 1: rap for being different from the generations that precede them,
Speaker 1: and honestly, what generation didn't. And while there's little evidence
Speaker 1: to back up the stereotypes about Americans roughly aged from
Speaker 1: eighteen to thirty nine, one thing is certain. Millennials make
Speaker 1: up the largest generation in US history, and despite their
Speaker 1: historic low rate of home ownership, thirty one percent of
Speaker 1: millennials owned homes in and this is according to Harvard's
Speaker 1: Joint Center for Housing Studies Improving America's housing as of seen.
Speaker 1: But why they're buying these homes might surprise you, and
Speaker 1: it's it's not after they've gotten married or when they're
Speaker 1: planning for the birth of a child. No, they bought
Speaker 1: a home to have more space and a better yard
Speaker 1: for their dogs. That's right. A survey released in late
Speaker 1: July by Harris Pole and Son Trust Mortgage found that
Speaker 1: as many as a third of millennials who purchased their
Speaker 1: first home say they did it for their furry friends.
Speaker 1: And get ready for this fun fact. Several studies have
Speaker 1: shown that children who grow up in homes with dogs
Speaker 1: are less likely to have allergies and be obese. Researchers
Speaker 1: say the exposure the kids have with dogs gave them
Speaker 1: higher levels of something called gut microbes that help prevent
Speaker 1: allergies and obesity. So maybe we love our dogs because
Speaker 1: they make us healthier. A late sixteen Mentel study found
Speaker 1: that seven and ten millennial men and three and five
Speaker 1: women now own dogs. In fact, seventy five of older
Speaker 1: millennials those are ages thirty to thirty nine have dogs,
Speaker 1: and they're willing to shell out cash for them, which
Speaker 1: is good news for the pet industry. In alone, Americans
Speaker 1: spent sixty six point seven five billion dollars on things
Speaker 1: like pet food, leashes, collars, and vet care. And I
Speaker 1: was right there with everybody else spending money on my dogs.
Speaker 1: Millennials in particular, aren't afraid to spend cash on their pets.
Speaker 1: Seventy six percent said they'd happily splurge on items like
Speaker 1: expensive treats and custom beds and perhaps a new house.
Speaker 1: Today's episode of brain Stuff was researched and written by
Speaker 1: Sarah Glime and produced by Dylan Fagan. For more on
Speaker 1: this and other topics, visit us at how stuff works
Speaker 1: dot com.