My parents just got back from their trip to Russia & Scandanavia late last night. I was wondering whether I should call her during a lull in my morning schedule or at the end of my morning. Sometimes my mom is very talkative, and sometimes she's not.
So, I took my chances. I just got off the phone after a 30 minute conversation. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset, my mom is just funny sometimes. She gets into this long story about how my dad couldn't find the right currency for that country (apparently that person did not accept Euros), but my mom really wanted this sovenier. They went with a big group of their friends. And, the airline stories....
Why am I telling this story? Well, I think mom's funny. And, I found this CNN article about a study with partial data from the United Nations (we know how reliable they are -- HA!) and conducted by a British scientist.
According to this study, Denmark is the "happiest" country. The United States came in at 23rd, Britain was in 41st place, Germany 35th and France 62nd. Other countries were not given (for my other international readers out there -- Sorry!).
"Smaller countries tend to be a little happier because there is a stronger sense of collectivism and then you also have the aesthetic qualities of a country," White [the researcher] said.What does that quote even mean? I think that's research double-speak. I mean, only 5 million people live in the entire country. Maybe they make all the unhappy people move to Germany? Maybe it because of that whole viking heritage thing that they got going there? Who knows? Anyone been there (other than my parents)? What's the deal with Denmark?