Rory Sutherland Rory Sutherland

You can buy happiness. Here’s how…

For me, it’s a mattress topper. For you, it might be different

[Getty Images/Zoonar RF] 
issue 12 April 2014

If you are reading this article online, perhaps you could go to the comments section and let us know what single slightly unusual item you have bought which has brought you the most reliable and lasting happiness.

Perverse answers are welcome, of course, but I am not so interested in suggestions such as ‘a Thai bride’ or ‘a brewery’ or ‘“The Concert” by Johannes Vermeer’. What I am hoping for is a list of slightly unusual domestic or practical items which you might have bought on a whim or as a slight extravagance but which subsequently you found surprisingly delightful or life-changing to the point of boring your friends about them.

My first two suggestions would be the air fryer (a device which fries food without using oil) and an ice-making machine which sits in the kitchen making ice cubes so I can make a gin and tonic in under a minute.

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