People 50+ could be happier according to poll

NOTE TO SELF: LET A SMILE BE YOUR UMBRELLA

Never really gave it much thought but according to a British poll, Brits turn into grumps once they reach their 50th birthday. Actually, thinking further, many people are miseries earlier in life but that as they say, is another subject. The poll conducted by researchers from Glamorgan University surveyed the laughability of 2000 Britons. It would also be interesting to know what qualifies them as experts in this category and how much money the researchers received for conducting this study. British surveys do tend to cover interesting subjects. One wonders what the researchers are going to do with the results of survey. How do you convince those in the 50-plus age category to lighten up and laugh more?

The study claims that Brits laugh a lot less once they reach 52. Why 52 one asks or why not say...51...or 53. Furthermore, the researchers feel that the art of telling jokes is dying and good jokes are limited to one or two passable gags. Fourteen percent of people have never told a joke. Perhaps that's because some jokes go over like a lead balloon, as mine frequently do. There is nothing worse - IMHO - than telling a joke and nobody laughs, or you have to explain the joke. I mean, why be embarrassed!

Statistically, people laugh 300 times per day but only six times per day by the time they reach their teens. In other words, we take joy and find the world a happy place in which to live as children but learn otherwise once we reach adult-hood.

People in their 20's laugh a mere 4x per day but re-aquire a sense of humor when they have children. Once in their 30's, the average goes up to 5 laughs per day with almost 47% being people who have children. However, once we reach our 50's, our laughs decrease to 3x per day. Twice as many males turn into cranks than females when they reach their 50's. What is interesting is that being around children makes adults happier people.

So all of these stats leads one to wonder how they formed these conclusions. Did they interview people in the various age brackets and ask them to tell jokes and then rate the jokes, or ask them to keep a diary of the number of times per day they laughed, showed them comedies and gauged their reactions? There's no information on the criteria and also humor is subjective. What some people find funny, others find inane and stupid. Another thing to take into consideration is that this is a poll focusing on Brits. It would be interesting to know if polls have been done in other parts of the world and if the results are/were similar.

Basically and IMHO, this poll really can't be taken seriously and perhaps it's fitting given the subject matter being humor.

CALLING WHOOPIE! "THE VIEW" NEEDS YOU!

NOTE TO SELF: Send note to ABC to hire Whoopie


After the surprise announcement of Rosie's leaving "The View", the question now is who will replace her. Has to be somebody who is opinionated with a mind of her own, witty, is relaxed in front of a camera but most of all, is a talented and entertaining performer.

Enter Whoopie Goldberg, my choice.

Given the above-mentioned criteria in my opinion, she is a perfect fit like the proverbial well-worn glove.

Her recent guest appearance on the show showcased her ability to communicate her views on a variety of subjects and her standup comedienne ability as is the case with Rosie, makes her as mentioned the perfect fit. She is sassy, impertinent, funny and very talented.

Some Whoopie quotes:

"I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities."

"Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a wash machine."

"I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation”

"We're here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”

"And I don't believe that I have to stay on one side of the fence or the other. I don't believe that there is any good career move or bad career move. I believe there are only the things that make me happy. "


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