Reporter from scenic sunsets to chocolaty cup cakes, lifes pleasures often feel like luxuries. In fact, they may boil down to basic survival. We are evolved to seek out certain pleasures. If we didnt enjoy eating and drinking and having sex, we wouldnt be here. Reporter later on sunday morning, lifes little pleasures. Are we having fun yet . Lee as nice it is, you really dont need a house quite as big as this one to enjoy summer pleasures. It turns out you can find them out on a limb, as tracy smith will show us. Reporter with tree houses today, you might say the sky is the limit. From backyards to b and bs. What is it about a tree house that Everybody Loves . I have never come across anyone that doesnt just open their them. Reporter living out on a limb. Later on sunday morning. Lee having summer fun outdoors can certainly give you quite an appetite. For a hamburger, a hot dog and, as our rita braver tells us, a juicy novel by bestselling author nora roberts. Reporter she is one of the most successful writers in world. She makes no apologies about what sells. One thing is for the characters to have fabulous sex. Either very romantic sex or fun sex or hot sex. Reporter later on sunday morning, well meet the real nora roberts. Lee for most of us summer fun means taking a break from the workaday routine. A pretty good time for a summer song. He is impossible to escape. Adam levine is everywhere, on stage and on tv. As for maroon 5s front man, that was just where he had hoped to be ever since he was a kid. Was there anything else on your mind that you wanted to do . No, one thing, music. I really want to. Reporter well visit adam levine and his band a little later on. Steve hartman shows us young bike riders balancing work and play. Mo rocca explores the frontiers of manscaping. Seth doane tries on some hawaiian leis for size and more. First though, lets go to don dahler in the news room for the sunday morning headlines. Reporter good morning. Here are the headlines for sunday, july 28, 2013. Crowds have gathered this morning in rio for pope frances final mass in brazil. Last night an estimated three Million People celebrating world youth day attended a vigil service. The 76yearold pontiff encouragedded young people to continue their efforts to change society and fight apathy. Egyptian Security Forces clashed with supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi yesterday as fighting continued to escalate in the streets of cairo. At least 72 protestors were killed. U. S. Secretary of state john kerry has called on all of egypts political leaders to help their country take a step back from the brink. In washington, president obama paid tribute to the veterans of the korean war by asking americans to remember their shining deeds. Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the arms advertise that ended combat on the korean peninsula. North korea also commemorated the anniversary with cultural events, festivals and a huge military parade. More than 36,000 americans died in the korean conflict. At least three people were killed and 26 injured yesterday when a bus carrying teenagers home from a church camp overturned while exiting a highway in indianapolis. Investigators have not determined the cause of the crash. Former louisiana congresswoman lindy boggs died this weekend at the age of 97. A white southerner, she was a champion for civil rights representing a black majority district when she announced her retirement in 1990. She served as ambassador to the vatican during the clinton administration. If youre wondering for whom the bells toll, its Prince GeorgeAlexander Louis of cambridge. The newborn heir to the british throne. Yesterdays chimefest was the first time the bells of london at st. Pauls cathedral have rung a full peal since 1982 then marking the birth of georges proud father prince william. Now to your sunday forecast, milder temperatures for most of the country today. In the week ahead, a chance of showers midweek in the northeast. Umbrellas will be a any testy in the south as well with thunderstorms and scattered showers expected. And brighter days are ahead along the coastal northwest. gulls . Lee ahead, a summer song from adam levine. Chocolate and peanuts,,, lee summertime is the prime time for the pursuit of pleasure. We all experience pleasure, of course, in different ways. That has researchers trying to figure out just what causes us to feel pleasure in the first place. Our cover story this morning is reported by Susan Spencer of 48 hours. Reporter it can be as simple as a sunset. The glow of sunset in the summer sky reporter as decadent as a desert. The gleam of love reporter or as extravagant as a weekend in paris. These are the things i love reporter but we all have our own little pleasures. Chocolate and peanuts, mmmm. Oh, i love mexican food. Im a barbi collector. I have like over 100baris. The rush of cliff jumping when youre up in the air and hoping the water is is deep enough and your heart is beating 1,000 miles an hour and you splash splash . Pleasure is an instantaneous feeling of something good. Reporter professor Gregory Burns, a neuro economist at emery university, notes that some pleasures are no less than a matter of survival. You know, when you teach a bunch of undergraduates and teenagers like i do and i ask them to list the things that give them pleasure sleep is always at the top of the list. Reporter what else is predictably on that list . You have kind of the basic needs, right . So you have food, sleep and sex. Pretty much boils down to that. If youre talking about actual pleasure. Reporter pleasure goes well beyond basic needs. Yale psychologist paul bloom says why we enjoy what we enjoy is very complicated. It seems like we just taste food. We taste wine. We respond to our visceral sensations. But actually it is surprisingly deep. Reporter so deep, in fact, that bloom was pleased to write a book on pleasure which he says is as much about our brains as about our experiences. Our pleasure is a response not just to the physical makeup of something, what it looks like or tastes like or smells like or feels like but rather to our belief of what really is, what its real essence is. Reporter boy, can we be fooled. Paul bloom recalled one experiment with winedrinkers done by scientists at stanford and cal tech. Half the people are told theyre drinking cheap wine. The other half are told theyre drinking something out of a 100 150 bottle. It tastes better if they think theyre drinking from the spencive bottle. It turns out if they think theyre drinking spencive wine, parts of the brain that are associated with pleasure and reward light up like a christmas tree. If i have people over for dinner, i should add a little one in front of the price tag and put it on the table. That is the ultimate trick to making wine taste better. Reporter and its the sort of trick that works only on human beings. Both my dog and me enjoy Drinking Water when were thirsty. But im the one who cares about where the water came from. Whether its bottled water or from the tap. My dog doesnt care. Reporter youre the one that if we put a higher price tag on that bottle of water youll enjoy it more. I may give my dog premium dog food but the dog doesnt care that i spent a lot of money for it. 75,000 0,000. Reporter people, on the other hand, seem to get enormous pleasure out of spending enormous sums on some very curious things. 32,500 on the right side. Reporter was Michael Jacksons jacket really worth 1. 8 million . At 42,500. Reporter or how about president kennedys tape measure . Which went for almost 50,000 at auction. Our Eric Claptons guitar, snapped up for just under a million bucks. Given all that, paul bloom wondered what people might pay for the pleasure of owning, say, George Clooneys sweater. The answer was a fair amount. Much more than theyd pay for my sweater or for a brand new sweater. Reporter but why . For bragging rights or to resell on ebay . Apparently not. We did an experiment where we tell people, you cant boast about it. You cant resell it. The value goes down a little bit. But heres what makes the value really drop. We told another group of subjects that we thoroughly washed it before it got to them. Now the value plummets. Reporter its not still George Clooneys sweater. As my wife put it, you washed away the clooney cootees. You washed away the essence of the person. Reporter that gives them more pleasure in owning it. It does. Reporter human beings are strange. Human beings are extraordinary. Reporter some pleasures are universal like eating these mouthwatering butter and sugar concoctions here at Magnolia Bakery in new york city. This really is sheer pleasure on the plate. But not all of lifes pleasures are so straightforward. In fact, if you think about it, some of them are downright weird. Cheese. Cheese is spoiled milk. It smells bad. But the point is that we get great pleasure out of it. Some people love the stinky cheeses. Part of the pleasure of eating them is that really smell bad but theyre good. Reporter psychologist paul rosens studies go well beyond the pleasures of the disgust to go the joy of the downright painful. Take hot chilly peppers. Hot chilly peppers are eaten by over two billion people in the world. This is an enately negative experience. Little babies dont like it. The question to me was why would anybody put in their mouth something that produces a pain signal from the mouth to the brain . Reporter his answer . What he calls benign mass masochism. The same human quirk that explains why we enjoy horror movies that terrify us. Why we like sad songs that makes us cry. Crying over you. Snet. Its a sense of your mind over your body. Your body is saying, bad news, get out of here. Your mind knows im actually not in danger. Im mastering this negative experience. My mastery of it gives me pleasure. Reporter but there are limits. Just ask those chilly pepper people. What happens is the one that people like best tends to be the one thats just below the level they cant bear. In other words, theyre pushing the limit. Of how hot they can stand it. Similarly with roler coasters, people who love roler coasters will like the scariest fun they can stand. Reporter bush your pleasure to that limit and odd as it seems, odds are youll want more. So whats the best strategy to maximize lifes pleasures . When something pleasurable happens, this lights up. Well, this can light up for a couple of different reasons. Reporter emery professor Gregory Burns did an experiment that offers a clue. When he gave subjects alternating drops of water and juice, their brain activity showed they preferred the juice. No surprise. But when the juice came at unexpected intervals and was a surprise, they liked it even more. His advice then . Surprise yourself. You have to take risks, i think, to really experience pleasure. Theres a reason why people say the first time is always the best. You know, the first time you experience something, whether its the first kiss, your first bite of sushi, whatever you like, its always best. Reporter when its really a surprise. Yep. Reporter so whether its clooneys sweater, roler coasters, chilly peppers or Something Else entirely. Oh, god, chocolate is terrific. Cup cakes. Good friends. Good beer. And like summertime. Without a doubt. Reporter treasure those pleasures. Remember, theres always room for something new. So people should just keep pushing the envelope . I think so. I mean, i try. Reporter im going bungee jumping tomorrow. That kind of thing. Yeah, why not . How often do you come up here . Almost every day. Lee coming up, a view from the top. Thats the island over there. Play close. Good and close. Help keep teeth clean and breath fresh with beneful healthy smile food. With special crunchy kibbles and great taste. Its a happy way to a healthy smile. New beneful healthy smile food and snacks where over seventyfive percent of store management started as im the next american success story. Working for a company hourly associates. Theres opportunity here. I can use walmarts education benefits to get a degree, maybe work in it, or be an engineer, helping walmart conserve energy. Even today, when our store does well, i earn quarterly bonuses. When people look at me, i hope they see someone working their way up. Vo opportunity, thats the real walmart. No matter the season, a tree is usually something you find outside the house. Unless, of course, the tree actually is the house. Tracy smith escorts us out on a limb. Reporter so these cool curvy branches, these big ones will stay . Yes. chainsaw . Reporter in a grove outside seattle, jake jacob and his team are performing a little nip and tuck on two giant western red cedars. Making room for summers sweetest structure. A quaint tree house for kids and something they can overnight in. Maybe a rope and pully bucket system to bring your Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches us there. Every Grade School Boys dream is to have a tree house. Reporter eric sealy knows a thing or two about that. Try not to flip. Reporter back when he was nine, you could say he peaked early, scoring a tree house of his own. My friends came over and they would look out the window and be like, you have a tree house. Reporter he even made it on to the cover of a howto book with his friend aly chunk. What are your memory of this tree house growing up. Pine cone fights. Reporter did you toss pine cones from up here . Yep. Reporter that could do some damage. A crows nest with a trap door was the Perfect Place to attack or retreat. You can shut the enemy out. And stand on it. Reporter turns out these days its not just kids who turn to tree houses to make an escape. How often do you come up here . Almost every day. Its our little getaway. I use it when i need private time, quiet time. Reporter nestled high above their home in washingtons puget sound, heidi and her husband ordered up their own version of the high life. This is not exactly your childhood tree house. No. We went a little overboard. I dont like to rough it. Reporter thats for sure. It is a chalet in the trees. We have all the amenities from a gas fireplace to super comfortable beds, a bathroom. Full kitchen. Reporter but heidi says nature provides the ultimate amenity. Thats bainbridge. Thats Bainbridge Island over there. I love being up off the earth. I love being suspended in the air, being held by two living things. In effect, we install branches into the tree where we need them. Reporter jake jacobs, who built heidis little getaway says if done right trees actually like tree houses. Unlike buildings which tend to degrade right from the moment theyre opened, trees actually grow new wood, called reaction, wood where fasteners come in and actually get stronger over time. Reporter tell me about this guy. This is the temple of the blue moon. It was inspired by the part nonin athens. Reporter peter nelson has built more than 100 tree houses with jacob. He also runs a tree house bed and breakfast. Windows extend all around here so youre waking up kind of in the middle of the trees. Populated with his designs and booked through november. Nelson says his profession has come of age. Today tree houses are finally legitimate forms of architecture. I see other people now creating tree houses that are so organic and imaginative and, you know, just beautiful. I go, look at that. Reporter designs like those created by roderick romero. I always say that like nature is the architect. Really. Im just trying to fit in. Reporter rustic and clever like this one inspired by a moroccan lamp. Romero had done just two commissions when he found out just how popular tree houses have become. And then the third house i really lucked out on. It was for sting, the great musician and his wife trudy and their family in italy. This is funny because this is like an octagonal port hole that you come up through a trap door but it had to be big enough for pavarotti back when he was alive snort stop. He was a great friend of sting and trudys. Hes like pavarotti has to be able to get up here. Im like, oh, man. He also built tree houses for Julie Ann Moore and val kill already mer. This was just all mud. Reporter but visit him at his favorite tree house, one he designed for a Community Garden in manhattans east village. Just looking at blue sky, clouds and leaves and branches. Reporter youll learn it doesnt take much to get high. Its amazing. You just get yourself eight feet off the ground and youre in a different realm. You really are. You see things from a different perspective. I guess thats real hell it. Reporter maybe thats because when it comes to tree houses, the perspective we all want is a child. Either youre returning to childhood if youre an adult or if youre a kid youre just going into, you know, your imagination and creating a new world. Its beautiful. Lee next, theres a burger on the grill. This is our ocean spray cranlemonade. Its good, oldfashioned lemonade. Only better whoa [ splash ] ocean spray cranlemonade. A bold twist on an old favorite. People have been daring them to clean up tough messes. My fans think a paper towel cant handle this. That is tough when wet. [ peggy ] grab viva and break the rules on all your tough messes. [ peggy ] grab viva and break the rules a quarter million tweeters musicare tweeting. Eamed. 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