“The search for happiness has long been a dominant feature of American ...” — Meghan Daum Quote

“The search for happiness has long been a dominant feature of American life. It's a byproduct of prosperity, not to mention the most famous line in the Declaration of Independence.”

“Analyzing data from 79 men and women who wore inconspicuous devices that recorded some of their conversations over the course of four days, researchers from Washington University and the University of Arizona found a correlation between feelings of well-being and the amount of time spent talking every day. Moreover, the more substantive your conversations, the happier you're likely to be. In other words, heart-to-hearts trump small talk. (LA Times, "A lof of happy talk", March 11, 2010, A21.)”

“Maybe happiness is this: not feeling that you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.”

“Manhattan's middle and upper classes began to wash in their bedrooms. Even in impoverished tenements, families brought out a basin once a week filled it with water to bathe the children on the kitchen floor.”