Charles Darwin is accused of coming up with a theory that modern social scientists would give their eye teeth to have thought of – “facial feedback response theory”. One smile, he suggested, can create the same level of brain stimulation as finding twenty five thousand pounds sterling in your pocket. Facial feedback response theory, indeed. It has to be a hoax.

More recently Ron Gutman, founder and CEO of HealthTap, came to a similar startling conclusion after studying old baseball cards: People who laugh and smile often are considered more attractive, more confident and fun to be around – and they live longer. (Gutman, 2012. “The Hidden Power of Smiling”).

You are probably saying to yourself “Duh! Statement of the obvious”. But then you wouldn’t be reading this blog if you didn’t have a sense of humour and you were not going to live to a hundred. The sad fact is that too many people are deadly serious about everything. To get a laugh and joke out of them is like pulling teeth. What do they die of? Boredom, probably.

If you live a truly Epicurean life, that life will be long and happy.