The
HAPPINESS
Experiment

One man. One word. 600 red signs nailed to telephone poles, fences, and school buses across St. Petersburg, Florida. An experiment in whether seeing the word HAPPINESS can change how a city feels.

The Experiment
A miniature tabletop city under a glass dome with dozens of red HAPPINESS signs placed throughout the streets, buildings, and intersections — a model of the experiment at city scale

The Experiment

What happens when one word is placed where thousands of people see it every day? The Happiness Experiment tests whether sustained subliminal exposure to the word HAPPINESS can shift emotional states, interrupt suicidal ideation, and reduce depression.

Since November 7, 2019, Gary King has personally nailed more than 600 red metal signs to telephone poles, picket fences, school bus panels, and hospital corridors across St. Petersburg, Florida. Every sign is placed by hand. Every placement is deliberate. The experiment is grounded in 35 years of research in psychology and human behavior.

"I first saw the happiness experiment signs on the day of my miscarriage last year. The signs reminded me that it was all going to be okay, and that I could find happiness during and after this."

Community member (letter to Gary King), via FOX 13

Signs in the Wild

Signs in the wild, St. Petersburg
Gary King hammering a red HAPPINESS sign onto a wooden utility pole under a blue Florida sky Gary nailing a sign to a utility pole
A yellow Florida school bus with a red HAPPINESS sign mounted on its side, palm trees visible in the background Florida school bus
Five Waffle House workers at the counter with their backs turned, each wearing a blue uniform shirt with a HAPPINESS sign attached, arms raised in celebration Waffle House crew, St. Petersburg
Gary King at an outdoor market holding a large red FREE HAPPINESS sign with his signature Saturday market outreach
See more photographs
A flat-lay of Happiness Experiment merchandise: the book, a black t-shirt with a red heart and HAPPINESS text, a baseball cap, a small sign, and a full-size red metal HAPPINESS sign

The Books & Signs

The Happiness Experiment documents Gary's St. Petersburg sign project and the research behind it. His first book, The Happiness Formula, The Ultimate Life Makeover, distills 35 years of research into a practical guide for personal transformation.

The red metal HAPPINESS signs are available for $25 each. Put one on your fence, your office wall, or your school entrance. Every sign extends the experiment.

Get the Book The Happiness Formula

In the News

FOX 13 Tampa

"All I'm doing is a subliminal experiment using a word — one word. This word has been around forever, but where do you see it? You don't! It's phenomenal, and it's based on a word, and it changes life!"

Gary King · Read full story
The Crow's Nest (USFSP)

"There's 31 years of research behind me doing this. People just think it's a guy who runs around putting up happiness signs but it's actually 31 years. Those signs stop suicides, depression and school violence."

Gary King · Read full story
The Crow's Nest (USFSP)

"I've always taken the Happiness Signs around St. Pete as a good luck token. When I'm having a bad day, I don't even have to go out of my way usually to find one, I just look up around me and there they are."

Karina Grajcarek, St. Petersburg resident · Read full story

Be Part of the Experiment

Get a sign for your fence, your school, your neighborhood. One word. Real change.

Get a Sign Contact Gary