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Top of the Foshay

Happiness Can Spread Among People Like a Contagion, Study Indicates

By Rob Stein - Washington Post Happiness is contagious, spreading among friends, neighbors, siblings and spouses like the flu, according to a large study that for the first time shows how emotion can ripple through clusters of people who may not even know each other. The study of more than 4,700 people who were followed over 20 years found that people who are happy or become happy boost the chances that someone they know will be happy. The power of happiness, moreover, can span another degree of separation, elevating the mood of that person's husband, wife, brother, sister, friend or next-door neighbor. "You would think that your emotional state would depend on your own choices and actions and experience," said Nicholas A. Christakis, a medical sociologist at Harvard University who helped conduct the study published online today by BMJ, a British medical journal. "But it also depends on the choices and actions and experiences of other people, including people to whom you are not directly connected. Happiness is contagious." One person's happiness can affect another's for as much as a year, the researchers found, and while unhappiness can also spread from person to person, the "infectiousness" of that emotion appears to be far weaker. Previous studies have documented the common experience that one person's emotions can influence another's -- laughter can trigger guffaws in others; seeing someone smile can momentarily lift one's spirits. But the new study is the first to find that happiness can spread across groups for an extended period. When one person in the network became happy, the chances that a friend, sibling, spouse or next-door neighbor would become happy increased between 8 percent and 34 percent, the researchers found. The effect continued through three degrees of separation, although it dropped progressively from about 15 percent to 10 percent to about 6 percent before disappearing. The research follows previous work by Christakis and co-author James H. Fowler that found that obesity also appears to spread from person to person, as does the likelihood of quitting smoking. The researchers have been using detailed records originally collected by the Framingham Heart Study, a long-running project that has explored a host of health issues, to construct and analyze detailed maps of social networks. The findings, Christakis and others said, provide striking new evidence of the power of social networks, which could have implications for public policy. Happy people tend to be better off in myriad ways, being more creative, productive and healthier. Read the rest of the story at the Washington Post: Happiness Can Spread Among People Like a Contagion, Study Indicates Thanks for the story Larry!

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Foshay Tower Observatory

Another view from what used to be the top of Minneapolis. I love the open air deck! The observatory opened again back in August of this year, there's a museum up there too. Ask at the front desk for a pass. It's $8, but if you ask nicely and tell them Mitchster sent you...

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225 South Sixth

Does that window-cleaning rig just sit there all the time?

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Foshay Observation Deck

Werner bracing for a slow exposure 32 stories over Minneapolis on the Foshay Observation Deck. Last weekend I ventured on a Minneapolis Photo safari with Diane, Werner and Rob. Diane was the one that came up with the location — the observation deck of the 447 foot-tall 1929 Foshay Tower. The tower has an interesting history. It was completed just months before the 1929 stock market crash and had (according to Wikipedia) a fantastic dedication ceremony:

Foshay invited 25,000 guests to the dedication ceremony and provided all-expenses paid trips to many who included cabinet members, senators and congressmen. Half nude dancers entertained. Each guest received a gold pocket watch. The military gave 19-gun salutes. John Philip Sousa conducted music, including "Foshay Tower-Washington Memorial March" a march he wrote for the occasion. Foshay presented Sousa with a check for US$20,000.

But Sousa's check bounced and soon after the building went to the creditors and poor Wilbur Foshay landed in jail and never was able to live in the apartment he built for himself on the 28th and 29th floors. The tower held the record until the IDS Center was built in the 1970s. It eventually fell into disrepair and it disappeared from the public consciousness as other buildings surrounded it and hid it from view. In 2006 it was purchased by local investors and everyone but Keys Cafe moved out as the building was converted into a W Hotel. On August 13th of 2008 the W opened with a museum on the 30th floor that leads to the 32nd floor observation deck.

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Minneapolis from Above

A little evening over Minneapolis from the Foshay Tower Observatory.

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Foshay Tower Downtown Minneapolis

The Foshay Tower used to be the tallest building in Minneapolis, but is now overshadowed by the modern glass buildings. The tower was recently renovated into a W hotel. Hip, trendy and cool, this old girl as a new look. The observation deck is now open! Check back over the next few days to see the view from the open-air 31st floor* 32nd floor observation deck! *According to Christy who works at the museum, the Museum is on the 30th floor, then there's two flights of stirs up to the Observation Deck on the 32nd floor. I got mixed up on the stair count. Thanks Christy!