By Jim Stanford on November 24, 2009
Cheery news as we begin the holiday season: Wyoming is the third-happiest state in the nation!
And researchers say it’s because we’re rich, smart and sexually uninhibited:
New research suggests U.S. states with wealthier, better educated and more tolerant residents are also happier on average.
The reasoning is that wealthy states can provide infrastructure and so it’s easier for residents to get their needs met. In addition, states with a greater proportion of artists and gays would also be places where residents can freely express themselves.
Right.
The study was based on a poll in which residents rated their well-being last year. Findings were published in the December Journal of Research in Personality and reported by LiveScience, a feeder for MSN (one of those human-interest stories that appear when you sign out of Hotmail).
Likely not mentioned in any of the publications: Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in America, twice the national average.
Those who aren’t killing themselves are extremely happy, apparently. Perhaps the poll was skewed by ski bums in Jackson, euphoric after a big dump.
According to the researchers, the West is the best, with seven of the top 10 happiest states. West Virginia ranked last.
Damn that Mormon Kool-Aid is tasty!