The ha-ha response.

• Author: Clinton, Kate
• Position: Unplugged

In late 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced a plan to survey the well-being of the residents of the United Kingdom. To gauge their happiness, Britain's independent national statistician would design subjective questions--such as "Don't you just hate multiculturalism?"--to add to an existing annual household survey. Those answers would be bundled with more objective answers to give a fuller picture of quality of life in Britain. For the fullest picture, I recommend checking the rain gauges.

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"It's time we focused not just on GDP but on GWB--general well-being, " Cameron said. I was happy the Prime clarified the "GWB" because for me, GWB still means George W. Bush, and while George is thriving in his Dallas assisted living, the United States is neither doing nor being well. And sure it's sunny in Texas, but if you check, the rain gauges have melted despite Pope Perry's rainmaking revival meeting and Presidential campaign opener.

Cameron proposed his survey before the expensive, excessive smashing of protests, the voracious money pit of the London Summer Olympics, and the Murdoch debacle. Shutting down the News of the World should make everyone happier. I know I feel better when I don't read the New York Post.

Given the events of the summer, I thought for sure the survey would be canceled. But somehow, a recent Oxford study on laughter seems to have squeaked through before government funds were diverted to Libya.

It was a bare-bones study, with none of that highfalutin analysis of cerebral or subversive humor. Psychologists went right for the ha-ha response. Participants were shown comedy excerpts not from Monty Python's "Dead Parrot" sketch but from...