Surprising Study Reveals the Universal Secret Behind Being ‘Cool’—No Matter Where You Live

Everyone, stop what you’re doing and ask yourself—am I cool, or do I just think I’m cool because I posted a photo of my sourdough? Apparently, being cool is no longer about that one time you wore sunglasses indoors or nailed your Netflix queue. Researchers threw their nets across twelve countries and managed to fish up a list of personality traits that scream “cool” in every language. So, it’s not just a local myth—turns out nobody, from Mexico to South Korea, thinks “awkward zither mastery” is the new black. Instead, we’re looking at universal extroversion, high-voltage adventure, and just enough hedonism to scare your grandma. Is “cool” a global algorithm… or did we all cheat off each other’s homework? I’m a digital marketer, so naturally, I want to A/B test this on my next elevator ride. If you’re dying to see just how your habitual Jet Ski revving measures up to global standards, LEARN MORE.

Researchers who polled 6,000 people from the U.S., Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey found a cross-cultural consensus about the personality traits that make someone “cool,” in which cool people were universally viewed as more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous than their peers. What do you think?

“Yeah, Jet Ski revving is a universal language.”

Nina Latham, Bench Inspector

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“As if anyone could know how to be cool without paying for a $599 seminar.”

Simon Iverson, Fiddle Historian

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“Isn’t there anyone in the world who’d appreciate my mastery of the zither?”

Devin Terrazas, Seat Filler