This simple ingredient could be the key to eternal happiness

This simple ingredient could be the key to eternal happinessThis simple ingredient could be the key to eternal happinessMon dieu It appears what we all assumed may just be true Butter is the one essential ingredient for happiness.Now, we all know the best things are made better by butter. Butter on bread. Butter in croissants. Noodles slathered in butter. Butter bars are what creamy, yummy dreams are made of. The best cuisines (think French) are drenched in butter (after all, it was Julia Childs favorite ingredient.) Butter=joy should be an equation taught in school.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreAnd now, a recent graph using Our World in Data shows just how connected our happiness and butter may be. In a chart labeled self-reported life satisfaction vs. butter supply per capita, 2013, a positive relationship between the amount of butter in a country and peoples satisfaction be comes clear.So that settles it then. Time to book a one-way ticket to Paris, right?Well, leid quite. The graphic itself is admittedly a little tongue-in-cheek (one researcher tweeted that it does not appear on Our World in Datas website because the organization tries to be serious) and this is one of those times to remember correlation vs. causation.It is true that a lot of places with generous butter supplies also have high life satisfaction among their residents. Iceland, Canada, Australia, France, Belgium, and Germany all rank high in both categories.Its also true that some of the places with low life satisfaction dont have much butter, such as in the cases of Madagascar, Haiti, Cameroon, and Malawi.But chances are that - in both the happy and unhappy countries - theres a lot more going on to affect peoples life satisfaction than just the amount of butter theyre consuming. Though some people on Twitter seem to be enjoying a quick laugh, butter is probably not the solution to pe ace on earth, nor is it a cure for the blues.Sure, if you need an excuse to bestattungs that baguette, it may be worth pulling out the graph to bolster your case. But at the end of the day, just remember that butter probably wont buy you happiness.Though, just in case, whats the harm in trying? Blame it on science, and pass the butter, please.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people