The Week In News

for the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, a large, national poll on career, finance, social, physical and community well-being conducted quarterly in the United States since 2008.

“After six, there aren’t any greater benefits from greeting your neighbors beyond that,” Witters said. “But six is better than five, five is better than four, all the way down to zero.”

Witters says that it’s more about saying hello than having a chat every day, although “presumably, the more people to whom you say hello, the greater the probability is that you’re actually going to strike up a conversation with them as opposed to just wave.”

And how often do you have to be friendly in order to be happy?

“We leave that up to the respondent to interpret, but our intent was for this to mean all the people to whom you greet whenever you see them,” Witters said. “Some days might be zero, some days might be every one of them.”

Saying hello boosted much more than a person’s social success, according to an analysis of the survey data. Regular greetings also improved a person’s physical, financial, career and community health.

There are a few types of well-being. Community well-being was defined as feeling safe, having an emotional attachment, and giving back to a neighborhood, Witters said. “If you have very strong community well-being, that’s going to increase the chances that you’ll say hello to neighbors and saying hello to neighbors is going to improve your community well-being.”

Career well-being measured a person’s sense of satisfaction, which Witters explained included whether someone was a good fit and utilizing their strengths. When it came to physical well-being, you didn’t need to do 100 sit-ups a day; Gallup defined it as “having the energy you need to get things done in your life.”

Financial well-being is defined in the Gallup survey as not how much money you make but having responsible spending habits and building toward financial security, Witters noted.

“It’s probably fair to postulate that the rise in financial well-being due to greeting neighbors is because people with greater levels of financial well-being are more likely to be living in a safer area where they are more comfortable being out and about.”

Most Americans say hi to an average of five neighbors regularly, with 27% reporting greeting six or more people in their neighborhood, the survey found. But younger people are less friendly. Adults younger than age 30 greeted an average of 2.9 neighbors, with only 14% greeting six or more on a regular basis.

In comparison, 41% of adults 65 and older typically spoke to an average of 6.5 neighbors or more, the survey found.

Gas Prices on the Rise

Pump prices are creeping towards $4 a gallon nationally.

The national average for regular gasoline hit $3.85 a gallon on Monday, according to AAA. That’s the highest level since October 19 – and comes right before many families hit the road for their last summer vacation.

The national average is up by two cents over the past week.

Gas prices have climbed by 28 cents over the past month and 32 cents since the Fourth of July as a result of higher oil prices caused by Russia and Saudi Arabia cutting supply and extreme heat sidelining some U.S. refineries.

According to AAA, there are now 11 states averaging $4 or higher, including Arizona, Illinois, and Utah. Colorado and Michigan aren’t far away.

OPEC leader Saudi Arabia earlier this month extended its oil production cut at least until September. An official source from the Saudi Ministry of Energy told state-run news agency SPA on August 3 that the kingdom will extend this voluntary cut of one million barrels per day.

sandwich billed as one of the world’s largest was unveiled at a central Pennsylvania fair last week.

The 150-foot-long sandwich was created Tuesday night at the Lebanon Area Fair by a large crew of volunteers known as the “Bologna Security.” Lebanon bologna is known for its distinct smoked and tangy flavor.

Every footlong “bite” was sponsored at $100 per foot. The money was donated to those suffering from poverty.

Lots of stuff went into this overstuffed sandwich. The group used 600 slices of provolone cheese and 1,200 slices of half-sweet and original Seltzer’s Lebanon Bologna to create 900 sandwiches, or six sandwiches per foot. Fairgoers had a chance to enjoy the sandwich for free Tuesday night.

Sounds like a real bunch of bologna.

Student Driver

Some student drivers have trouble turning, some student drivers don’t know how to park, and others just really shouldn’t be driving.

Last week, an employee at a driving school in Colorado made an unforgettable entrance into the building.

While attempting to park a Hyundai Tucson in a spot in front of the Community Driving School on Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood, the driver accidentally drove straight into the building.

“Thankfully, there was only one minor injury,” Lakewood police wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The driving school made sure to announce that the person driving the car was not an instructor at the school.

“The person who drove his vehicle into the building was a new employee on his second day. He was observing classroom instruction. He had not started any training to be an in the car instructor,” Community Driving School Owner Steve Rohman said.

The employee was driving his own vehicle and not one used by the school.