If your parka hood seems to fit poorly these days, this might be the reason: your large, glowing halo. A new survey — I know, they never stop — says we're the 41st most sinful state in the union.
The verdict comes from the website WalletHub, which did not base its conclusions on tweets. Hurrah. They used actual metrics, real statistics. The first step: Define "sin."
For some, it's murder, theft and blasphemy, You know, the classics. For others, it might be throwing away a pop can instead of recycling it. (If you commit adultery with the driver of a recycling truck, does it all even out?)
Well, our ranking actually is based on the Seven Deadly Sins, which is rather old-school. Let's see how we rank.
Greed: we're No. 30. Seems about right. It's been years since I've seen a top-hatted plutocrat striding the street, knocking orphans out of his way with a diamond-topped walking stick.
Vanity: we score high here, relatively speaking. Seventeenth. This could be a reflection of our overweening state pride, and it makes you wonder whether we're just a bit too fond of ourselves and should ween less. I know the metro area has felt worse about itself the past year, and you wonder if our underweenage has kept our Vanity score down.
Actually, "vanity" is based on the number of beauty salons in the state, which seems a curious metric. I don't go to the salon because I am vain like an 18th-century European royal dandy who cannot abide a run in his hose; I just need a haircut. There's no barbershop where the menfolk sit around reading the Police Gazette until someone comes in for a two-bit shave, there's only the salons.
Excesses and Vices: No. 48. This seems like a rather broad category, though. Not everything that's excessive is a vice. "Oh, I just can't stopping knitting these mittens for my grandchildren! I've done 40 this week, all in different colors." Woman, thou art hellbound! Repent!
