The Onion: FDA Approves Drug For the Annoyingly Cheerful /TIME: Why Are Americans So Cheerful?

In January 2008, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index was launched. It was designed to work like a Dow Jones average of attitude. At least 1,000 people are surveyed daily, 350 days a year. (You can see how happy people are broken down by congressional district; Utah turns out to be the merriest state, West Virginia the glummest.) When the markets tanked last fall, happiness did too, and anyone who has lost his or her job, house or health care is probably still in a world of pain. But here's the funny thing: by this past summer, overall well-being was higher than it was in the summer of 2008, before the Apocalypse. In fact, the latest report finds America's cheeriness at an all-time high. 

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1938719,00.html?iid=tsmodule#ixzz0WwikrrL4