Friday, August 29, 2008

The Happy Fatty Implausibility

Am I the only one to have noticed that Wales comes out the fattest in the Fat Map of Britain and happiest in the Happy Map? No conclusions should be drawn from this spurious correlation. Happiness is only available to perilously thin people suffering, according to their wives, from body dysmorphia. Feeding on air, they skip though their days, only occasionally being toppled by gentle breezes or the slipstream of passing baby buggies.

6 comments:

  1. It's the old problem with BMI again! We know that fit, strapping rugby players always score high on the BMI and that rugby happens to be the Welsh national sport. The connection between happiness and Wales is obviously rugby, boyo!

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  2. Having just come back from two delightfully damp weeks in Pembrokeshire I can confirm that there are indeed a lot of fat people in Wales and they mostly shop at Tesco in Haverfordwest. Our local Tesco up the road from Cambridge is also full of fat people. It is possible that the Welsh fatties smiled and laughed more as they went about their shopping, but I can't say I noticed. That being said, husband and I have put on at least seven pounds in the last 2 weeks owing to very little exercise (too cold and wet, you see) and excessive quantities of fine local produce. So, although we were only temporary residents of Wales, we are fat and happy. I blame it on the weather.

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  3. The weather, Sophie, is indeed promoting obesity. This is an under-remarked phenomenon. Why is anywhere called Haverfordwest? Surely someone should have hit the space bar after the d.

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  4. Bryan, place names in Wales are another reason for being happy. My two particular favourites from this holiday are Castlebythe and Tavernspite. What joy.

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  5. Wales, as I have reported on this very blog, has fatties and thinnnies, with nothing in between. This explains the happiness conundrum.

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  6. I love Welsh place names. Vanna, can I buy a vowel????

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