Psychology of Happiness

The Science of Happiness

Of course we all know all too well the immense, nay overwhelming, joy and happiness that can result of receiving a surprise greeting card from our loved ones, but what else can bring about an improvement in our mood?



Richard Wiseman aims to find out with his latest research study.
"We have just launched an ambitious new mass participation experiment designed to help cheer up the world! We need as many people as possible to take part, so please join in and feel free to encourage your friends, family and colleagues. It will take less than a minute each day".
More details at www.ScienceOfHappiness.co.uk

Seems Richard has started a recent Blog too, well worth a gander.

‘Excellent! A triumph of scientifically proven advice over the myths of self-help. Uplifting and long over-due’
Derren Brown

What's this got to do with greeting cards..? Not a lot. The somewhat tenuous link is with 'charity cards'. Richard Wiseman describes the following study: New Research: The baby in the wallet

"What is the best thing to put in your wallet to help increase the chances of it being returned if lost?

To find out, Prof Wiseman bought 240 wallets and filled them with the same set of everyday items, including raffle tickets, discount vouchers, and fake membership cards. Next, one of four photographs was added to four batches of forty wallets. The photographs depicted either a smiling baby, a cute puppy, a happy family, or a contented elderly couple. Another 40 wallets contained a card suggesting that the owner had recently made a contribution to charity, whilst the final batch of forty acted as a control and contained no additional item.

Within a week around half of the wallets were returned and a clear pattern emerged. Of the wallets that made their way back, only a handful were from the control group, or contained the charity card. The results from the wallets containing a photograph of the elderly couple, cute puppy, or happy-looking family were slightly more impressive, with return rates of 28%, 53% and 48% respectively. However, the winning wallets were those with the photograph of the smiling baby, taking poll position with an impressive 88% return rate".

Think back to when you first saw this piece, how did you feel when you saw the photo of the smiling baby?

So, to increase the chances of having your wallet returned, stick a cute baby photo in your wallet!
Me, I've put two dozen photo's in mine in the hope that not only might I get my wallet back, but that someone might stick an extra tenner in as well..!

Uncooked Cards - Interviewed

A lovely, typically off-beat, interview with Nat and Armand of Uncooked Cards



"How did Uncooked Cards begin?
The year was 2004. We were young and giddy and our bodies reeked of cod. We had just squeezed into our big sexy bathing suits to air ourselves out when suddenly the most glorious idea popped into our heads. uncooked cards! we eagerly jammed handfuls of jelly worms down our throats and began creating the most honest, most absurd, most strangest, sweetest line of greeting cards the world would ever know. Today, uncooked cards can be found in many stores around the world. With over 100 cards in the line, uncooked covers all areas of life- birthday cards, love cards, friendship cards, miss you cards, sorry cards, thank you cards, feel better cards, anniversary cards and of course, funny holiday cards.

Challenges of what you do?
We both have really tiny wrists. Our biceps and forearms are both normal size but both of our arms taper down to the size of number 2 pencil. Having small wrists makes it hard to grip things and hold up objects heavier than a baby hamster. Going into this, we knew our childlike wrists would impede the process and pose many, many challenges along the way. In fact, one of the reasons we decided to start a greeting card company of all things was because greeting cards were one of the few objects we could hold up for longer than five seconds. Still, between all the writing and drawing we do for the cards, our wrists still get very tired throughout the day. We have to soak them every 10 seconds, ice them every 6 seconds and rest them every 4 ½ seconds.

Plans to develop your brand in 2009?
After absolutely no research, we successfully determined Uncooked Cards would be a no brainer along the European countryside and parts of Japan. We carefully hand selected a team of untrained specialists to help us develop a machine that will project our cards onto all blank objects in these regions and charge peoples credit cards if they try to read it. It’s a pyramid scheme without the pyramid.

What makes uncooked cards so different?
They’re 110% recyclable, made entirely of ground up elephant tusks and packaged in a clear sleeve composed of the thin inner lining of reproductively challenged whale uteri. Our specialty inks are derived from the delicate tears of pre pubescent bald eagles that answer to the name 'Victor'
Also, they’re just funny.

Collaboration with MTV?
MTV hired Uncooked to write, illustrate and direct their latest brand image campaign based off our writing and illustration style. It was a great brand campaign and huge success for both MTV and Uncooked. Our frail wrists really hurt after that project.

Anything else?
We like to feel each other up over our shirts while watching the last crucial minutes of Deal or No Deal".

Source: Ninu nina
Buy Online: Cool Cards

Giles Andreae - Edward Monkton - Purple Ronnie - Interview

"Bottom burps, stinky feet and other poems

Old Etonian, friend of David Cameron, the (very) wealthy man behind the Purple Ronnie franchise ... there are numerous reasons not to like Giles Andreae. But, warns Jon Henley you should never judge a book by its cover...



Let us count the reasons not to like Giles Andreae. He went to Eton, and to Oxford. He shares a bright and airy office in Notting Hill with Richard Curtis. And with Mariella Frostrup. He's a very old, very good friend of David Cameron. And he must be worth (I'm guessing, but I can't be very far wrong) substantially in excess of £5m.

He makes that much money writing ditties such as this: "You're a very special person/And you mean a lot to me/When you're around you make the world/A better place to be." Or this: "I know that it sounds cheesy/But I'm telling you it's true/It's fab to have a Mum/Who is as marvellous as you." Then he illustrates them with stick-figures a five-year-old might be proud of, puts them on a greeting card or into a Little Book, and sells them. So far, he has sold 80m cards, and five million books".

Continue reading: The Guardian
Cool Cards: Edward Monkton Cards