Well this certainly explains Minnesota

From the Andrew Sullivan site, where Eric Weiner attempts to explain why Danes are happier than other Scandinavians.

Danes tend to be healthy, married and active — all contributing factors to happiness. But why, researchers wondered, are Danes happier than Finns and Swedes, who share many of these traits, not to mention a similar culture and climate? The answer is, in a word, expectations. Danes have low expectations and so “year after year they are pleasantly surprised to find out that not everything is rotten in the state of Denmark,” says James W. Vaupel, a demographer who has investigated Danish bliss.

My emphasis btw. Of course, you would have had to live in Minnesota for a few years to really understand this post.

or listen to Garrison Keillor non stop for a weekend or two.

maybe this explains Jesse Ventura. Or Al Franken.