Think about the last time a stranger did something unexpectedly kind for you. Maybe someone held a door open, picked up something you dropped or gave you a compliment. Did it change how you treated the next person you encountered?

• New research suggests that for most people, your kind gesture isn't just helping one person — it's helping many.

✨ Why it matters: Kindness spreads, especially as we age.

• People on the receiving end of random acts of kindness are more likely to direct kindness to strangers, according to a recent survey by Gallup and the Values-in-Action Foundation.

🤝 Yes, but: Younger adults are less likely than older adults to initiate acts of kindness toward strangers.

By the numbers: Of the adults age 50 or older surveyed, 72% said they felt comfortable initiating an act of kindness after being a beneficiary themselves.

• But only 40% of adults 18 to 29 who also received multiple acts of kindness said the same.

🎁 That suggests the "pay it forward" instinct is something many of us grow into, not something we're simply born with.

🇺🇸 Broadly, the country is doing better than cynics might expect: More than 60% of Americans across every region said they'd experienced kindness multiple times in just the past week.

Zoom in: There are some modest regional differences when it comes to observing kindness being practiced.

• Southerners reported seeing people treat others with kindness most often (62%).
• The lowest share were Midwesterners: 56% of those surveyed said they witnessed acts of kindness often.

🏙️ City dwellers reported experiencing acts of kindness many times in a week (67%), slightly more than suburban or rural residents (both 62%).

The bottom line: If you were looking for a sign to help your neighbor, this is it.

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The moments that make people happy can be pretty darn simple.

• The Pudding's Alvin Chang made a map drawn from 100,000 crowdsourced moments of what brought respondents joy — and dug into data around income, age and tech use that contributed to happiness.

Some samples we loved:

• "My boss left work early, so I left early, too."
• "My son called me and invited me to lunch."
• "My daughter was delighted by her princess bike on her 3rd birthday."
• "I went for a bike ride."
• "I had some delicious pizza at work that wasn't greasy for a change."

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