Some things are obvious: Minnesota is cold in winter, the Earth is round, Mondays are a drag.
Oh, wait, check that last one.
A yearlong study by the Gallup Organization has concluded that Mondays aren't any worse than Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, at least as far as people's self-described moods go.
So why the bad rap?
Because spirits are so much higher on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
"People react to change in their lives," said Arthur Stone, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stony Brook University and senior scientist at Gallup who co-authored the study. "The biggest change in mood across the course of a week is when you go from a very nice Sunday to a not-so-good Monday."
That jolt sticks in people's memories.
"Monday, all of a sudden, bam! You have to go do all this stuff," said Brandy Chouinard, a St. Paul resident and college student who admits to disliking Mondays. "It brings you back to reality."
Others go easier on the first day of the workweek.
Greda Staples of Hammond, Wis., doesn't mind Mondays but figures the weekly grumbles are akin to gripes about the weather.
"A lot of people just say that because it's something to say, conversation," she said.
That sounds right to Stone.
"At least in part people believe Mondays are more lousy than they really are because it's popular culture," he said.
Local anecdotal evidence backs up the finding of extra pep at week's end, at least for caffeine-seeking customers at Freight House Dunn Bros. Coffee in Minneapolis.
"Brewed coffee on Monday," manager Steve Rustand said of customers' most common orders. "The lattes on Friday. It's the day for the whipped cream on top."
Katie Humphrey • 612-673-4758
