[Walddk]

According to survey after survey Denmark is the happiest place on earth.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/14/...in3833797.shtml

I must be wearing blinkers. I didn't notice and I have been here for 60 years

Roland

[matmat]

doesn't Disney have that trademarked or something?

I have actually heard this before (i.e. i don't think it's the first time denmark has finished high in this poll). Probably just means people are less likely to burst into places uninvited and with a gun.

[helene_t]

Some of the notes are recognizable. Danes are happy when things turn out not quite as bad as expected, lol

Others are less recognizable. That the Danes are not workaholics. This is difficult to compare between countries. In the Netherlands, the lunch break is not considered part of the work week so a Dutch work week of 35 hours translates to a Danish work week of 37.5 hours. OTOH my impression is that Danish employers are less tolerant of employees doing private things (like posting to BBF) at work. Also, there are categories of semi-employees such as unemployed or retired people doing sponsored voluntary work which are registered differently in different countries. And of course, child care being more professionalized in Scandinavia biases the statistics substantially.

The work is more evenly distributed in Scandinavia than in the Netherlands, with most working the official 37 hours including 2.5 hours of lunch break. In the NL, many people (especially women) work substantially less while some substantially more.

The top 2006 list (couldn't find any newer). Surprisingly Norway does not do so good, in other studies they have been close competitors to Denmark.
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. The Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada
11. Ireland
12. Luxembourg
13. Costa Rica
14. Malta
15. The Netherlands
16. Antigua and Barbuda
17. Malaysia
18. New Zealand
19. Norway
20. The Seychelles
23. USA
35. Germany
41. UK
62. France
82. China
90. Japan
125. India
167. Russia

[whereagles]

>> According to survey after survey Denmark is the happiest place on earth.

That cannot be true. When I was there, I was served for lunch some strange, uncooked, very bitter vegetables with raw fish.

How're you supposed to play bridge under these circumstances? I was on the verge of appealing to The Hague courthouse for crimes against humanity.

[the hog]

whereagles, on Feb 20 2008, 05:38 PM, said:

>> According to survey after survey Denmark is the happiest place on earth.

That cannot be true. When I was there, I was served for lunch some strange, uncooked, very bitter vegetables with raw fish.

How're you supposed to play bridge under these circumstances? I was on the verge of appealing to The Hague courthouse for crimes against humanity.

Agree Nuno, and the don't make wine either.

[helene_t]

The_Hog, on Feb 20 2008, 11:45 AM, said:

Agree Nuno, and the don't make wine either.

Of course they do, never heard of Chateau Kildevaeld?

[Aberlour10]

The_Hog, on Feb 20 2008, 05:45 AM, said:

whereagles, on Feb 20 2008, 05:38 PM, said:

>> According to survey after survey Denmark is the happiest place on earth.

That cannot be true. When I was there, I was served for lunch some strange, uncooked, very bitter vegetables with raw fish.

How're you supposed to play bridge under these circumstances? I was on the verge of appealing to The Hague courthouse for crimes against humanity.

Agree Nuno, and the don't make wine either.

but they compensate this with brewing fabulous sorts of beer

[gwnn]

Denmark, usually: 1st

Denmark, when somebody gets a good result thanks to Gerber or Flannery: 132nd

[Walddk]

Aberlour10, on Feb 20 2008, 01:28 PM, said:

... but they compensate this with brewing fabulous sorts of beer

Probably true (I don't drink beer); at least Carlsberg and Tuborg are very popular in many parts of the world. Then add all the famous Danes. To name a few: Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kirkegaard, Niels Bohr, Piet Hein, Jørn Utzon (Sydney Opera House), and the Great Dane (I think it's a dog)

We also have excellent cartoonists although I realise that they are not appreciated everywhere. Are they among the "happy" Danes? Some of them might not be right now.

Roland

[whereagles]

carlsberg = sux
tuborg = good stuff, especially the strong one

[Gerben42]

Quote

and the Great Dane (I think it's a dog)

not Gus Hansen?

[Aberlour10]

Walddk, on Feb 20 2008, 06:58 AM, said:

We also have excellent cartoonists although I realise that they are not appreciated everywhere. Are they among the "happy" Danes? Some of them might not be right now.

Roland

Tja, times are changing, till recently Denmark seemed to be a land of full social freedom (peace), however, no reason to be afraid, Danes have a long tradition of close social solidarity with amazing examples of it during the II World War.

Robert

[Rossoneri]

Not surprised that a Scandinavian country nicked it.

Maybe one day I should find the chance to visit Denmark. I had a great impression of Finland.

[blackshoe]

Brunei was ninth.

I've been to Brunei. Granted, it was a long time ago, but it didn't look to me then like a country expecting change anytime soon.

When I was there (with the US Navy) we travelled from the port to the Sultan's 1100 room (iirc) "castle" through some of the sorriest hovels I've ever seen (and Brunei isn't the only third world country I've been in). I didn't get the opportunity to talk to anyone who lived in those hovels, but I can't imagine they were happy. The Sultan and his associates might be a different story - at the time of my visit (late 1970s or mid 1980s), the Sultan's net worth was something like 345 billion dollars. Money can't buy happiness, true, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

I wonder how this survey determined the happiness level in Brunei.

[sceptic]

I spent some time in Helsinge commune about 25 years ago, the reason that Denmark could be the happiest place on earth, is that the people are probably some of the nicest I have met on my travels

[Al_U_Card]

And here I thought it was the "weed"....

[Echognome]

You sure they meant Denmark and not Christiania?

[Walddk]

Echognome, on Feb 20 2008, 10:03 PM, said:

You sure they meant Denmark and not Christiania?

Let me emphasize that most Danes are not proud of having a place like Christiania. Drugs, other criminal activities and residents who believe it's a deed not to contribute to society.

http://goeurope.about.com/od/christiania/C...gen_Denmark.htm

Roland

[finally17]

helene_t, on Feb 20 2008, 05:36 AM, said:

Some of the notes are recognizable. Danes are happy when things turn out not quite as bad as expected, lol

If I had to guess without reading the experts ideas, I'd say that one of the key factors would be learned culturo-psychological response to negative stimuli.

[Walddk]

Being a Dane makes me happy when I think about our social welfare system, arguably the best in the world. If for example a person collapses or is run over in the street, you won't have to ask him/her if he/she is insured so that he/she can afford to be treated properly. Everyone gets the same treatment in hospital or at the GP's, free of charge.

Yes, we pay for that through taxation, but I don't mind to pay for others even if I don't need treatment myself. I will just be happy that I don't need it.

This reminds me of an incident about 10 years ago when an American friend of mine, suffering from MS, had a seizure while visiting me in Denmark. I rushed her to the emergency room in the nearest hospital, and she was treated instantly.

One hour or so later she was able to walk out of the door. Before she left, she asked me how much she was supposed to pay. The answer was and still is: not a cent.

Roland