(whimsical music)
- [Host] Over two billion cups of coffee are consumed
every day, and it take a lot of people to make just one cup.
One man went on a quest to figure out what it's like
to thank each and every one of them.
A.J. Jacobs is a writer who lives in New York City.
- Hi, I'm A.J.
- [Host] And he's the first to admit
he can be a bit of a grouch.
- [A.J.] My default state is grumpiness.
I am very good at noticing all the things that go wrong.
- [Host] So to make a change, he started giving thanks
during dinner.
- [A.J.] I would say thank you to everyone
who helped make my meal.
- [Host] Until one night.
- [A.J.] My 10-year old son was like, you know, Dad,
those people can't hear you.
If you really cared,
you would go and thank these people in person.
And that's when the light bulb went off.
- [Host] He decided to hone in on something
he knew he took for granted every day:
- [A.J.] My morning cup of coffee.
- [Host] Over the next 12 months,
A.J. set out to thank every single person who had even
the smallest role in his morning cup of joe.
First, it was his local barista,
the roaster, and the coffee shop sourcer.
- [A.J.] Whenever I thanked one person,
they would say, "Well, I couldn't do my job
"without this person."
So one person led to another, led to another,
led to another.
- [Host] He ventured outside the city,
and eventually the country.
- [A.J.] I thanked the folks who provide electricity
to the coffee shop, the engineers who provide the water,
the people who make the steel, the farmer
and the importer, the truck driver,
the person who paved the road,
even the woman who painted the yellow lines in the road
so that my coffee beans could safely arrive
at my coffee shop.
I remember, I called the woman who does pest control
for the warehouse, and I said, "I know this sounds strange,
"but I want to thank you for keeping the insects
"out of my coffee."
And she said, "Well, that does sound strange,
"but, thank you."
You know, I don't get a lot of appreciation in my job.
- [Host] All in, A.J. ended up thanking over 1,000
different people, and while most were pleasantly surprised
by his gratitude, it's A.J. who benefited the most.
- [A.J.] The experience has made me grateful
for the hundreds of things that go right every day
as opposed to the three or four that go wrong.
I tell my friends that they should try
these gratitude trails themselves.
They could just be small gestures,
looking someone in the eye, the cashier at the drugstore.
It could be sending a quick note to the designer
of a logo you love.
I will tell you that it will make your life better.
It's changed the way I live my life.
(glittering flourish)