Oh Happy Day!

Contrary to popular belief (or in this case lethargy and depression) the world DOESN'T need a hug. Apparently we are all as happy as we ever have been. And I bet you didn't even know it!

Perhaps that guy that goes around offering free hugs HAS made a difference. Or perhaps the "scientists" and their "data" have the answer arguing that increased economic conditions for poorer countries, democratization, and societal shifts away from animosity have been the reasons for the rise in happiness. Either way, a new study from the National Science Foundation says the world as a whole has been getting happier over recent years.Denmark is the happiest nation (duh! but we all know deep down inside those Danish folk are just waiting to explode!) and Zimbabwe brings up the rear as the least happiest (turns out unruly dictators tend to diminish one's joy- go figure). America comes in at number 16 on the happiness scale out of the 52 nations in the survey. I have a sneaking suspicion that Lakers fans have brought that average down in the U.S. after the result of that NBA Finals (see I managed to tie this story back to sports somehow).

The Happiness Index created from the results of the survey (which included 350,000 people over 17 years) rose significantly for 40 of the 52 countries from 1981 levels to 2007 levels. Seems to me that measuring someone's happiness is no easy task. Ask any random person at a given time if they are "very happy" or "sort of happy" or "not happy at all" and they might give a different answer in the morning than one a few hours later in the day. It all depends on if they have taken their medication yet or not. But in the end, it all comes down to one key factor that clearly these scientists have overlooked: the international syndication of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. The increase in the number of viewers watching Bob Ross has no doubt led to the rise in happiness in the world. After all, "Happy Trees equals Happy People!"