Crucial Minutiae

What were you doing last Friday? Hopefully something really good, because according to British psychologist Cliff Arnall, June 20th is the official happiest day of the year. Arnall’s formula is simple: O + (NxS) + Cpm/T + He. Got it? Just kidding, I’ll translate. That’s Outdoors + (Nature x Time Socializing with Friends) + Childhood Positive Memories / Temperature + Holiday Expectation.

In honor of Dr. Arnall, here is a selection of things that happened on June 20th, both happy and not-so, according to Wikipedia:

1789: Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath.
1863: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.
1877: Alexander Graham Bell installs the world’s first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
1948: The Ed Sullivan Show debuts.
1949: Lionel Richie was born.
1963: The so-called “red telephone” is established between the Soviet Union and the United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1990: Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
Every year: International Surfing Day.

And speaking of happiests, two years ago, scientists surveyed 80,000 people to determine the happiest place on Earth. Nope, not Disneyland. Denmark.

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You Can’t Make This Stuff Up is a column Kate Torgovnick hasn’t written in months. She apologizes for that—call it a funk—but promises to be back every Monday from now on. You can read more about Kate, and her book CHEER!, at www.katetorgovnick.com.

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