For this years Red Nose Day on 14 March chuckle-loving fun seekers are best off heading to Bristol, according to the results of the UKs first national Smiles Per Hour census, conducted by Mr Kipling, an official partner of Red Nose Day 2003.

A team of 28 psychology students - led by raisingkids.co.uk CEO Dr Pat Spungin - spent a month smiling at passers-by in city centres across the UK and measuring whether or not they received a smile back in return.

Lovely Bristols... And Glasgow smiles better
Beaming Bristol comes out top in the survey with a glee rating of 70 smiles per hour. Glasgow keeps up Scotlands reputation as a friendly country with a score of 68 smiles per hour, the second best in the UK. Coming in at third place with 54 smiles per hour is Exeter, confirming the open friendliness of the South West. The Welsh scored well with Cardiff (41) and Wrexham (42) showing an above average glee rating while Londoners only had time for 18 smiles per hour.

More facts about smiling

• A smile is a universal expression of happiness and recognised as such by all cultures
  
  
• A smile is the most frequently used facial expression It takes as few as five pairs of facial muscles and as many as all 53 to smile
  
  
• Regardless of the precise number of muscles used, smiling causes far fewer muscles to contract and expand than frowning
  
  
• Smiling releases endorphins and makes us feel better
  
  
• Even faking a smile can lead to feeling happier
  
  
• People are born with the ability to smile (They dont copy the expression, even babies who are born blind, smile)
  
  
• Babies reserve special smiles (Duchenne smiles of joy and happiness) for their loved ones
  
  
• A newborn shows a preference for a smiling face over a non-smiling face
  
  
• Women smile more than men
  
  
• Younger people smile more than older American males with high testosterone smile least of all
  
  
• There are 18 different kinds of smile used in a variety of social situations
  
  
• Human beings can differentiate between the felt (Duchenne) smile (of joy and happiness) and the social smile its in the eyes (literally)
  
  
• A smiling person is judged to be more pleasant, attractive, sincere, sociable, and competent than a non-smiling person
  
  
• A person who studies laughter is called a gelotologist

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