Concept in Definition ABC

Scientists study all kinds of phenomena in order to find stable patterns that are ultimately translated into laws and theories. The behavior of human beings is also attempted to be measured in some way. In 2005 the British psychologist Cliff Arnall established an approximate formula to determine the saddest day of the year.

After the pertinent calculations he arrived at the following conclusion: The third Monday of January is the saddest day of the year objectively. Since then the name blue monday has become popular to refer to this day.

The origin of the equation and its curious evolution

A British travel company was planning to launch a campaign of discount to encourage your customers to travel. The objective of the campaign was to stimulate the consumer who was discouraged. Obviously, in order to launch the proposal, it was necessary to know which day of the year we feel the most emotionally subdued.

The formula that expresses this situation is the following: 1 / 8C + (D-d) 3/8 x Tl Mx NA. It is not a strictly scientific formulation, but it does include objective and measurable variables. Blue Monday is considered the saddest day for a number of reasons and variables:

weather, the debts accumulated after the Christmas period, the motivation facing the future, the compliance of typical new year's promises and salary prospects.

As time went by, Blue Monday was discredited by various scientists. Even the creator of the equation changed his initial assessment and started a campaign to oppose the thesis defended in his formula. With the hashtag #stopbluemonday Cliff Arnall has led a movement opposition that has not stopped growing.

The word blue in English

The word blue in English has different meanings and uses. On the one hand, it means blue. However, he also expresses sadness and melancholy. So when someone is especially sad they can say "I am feeling blue." On the other hand, "to have the blues" is equivalent to being depressed.

To distinguish between a worker and an office worker, the English speak of the "blue collar" and the "white collar" (traditionally the workers wore blue clothing and those who worked in an office wore shirts White).

Pornographic movies are popularly known as "blue movies". If something very strange happens, you can say "once in a blue moon" (in Spanish it literally means "a once in a blue moon "but it usually translates in other ways: very occasionally or from Easter to Ramos).

Photo: Fotolia - Lolo

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