Beautiful people are seen as good looking even if they distort their faces into grimaces of disgust, surprise, fear or anger, according to new research.
Unattractive people, on the other hand, are seen as unappealing even if they smile broadly because the underlying structure of the face is what others recognise, not the expression.
But expressions can still make a small difference as a signal of whether someone is worth pursuing as a mate, the researchers found.
Dr Ed Morrison, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, wanted to study whether attractiveness was more to do with how you look or how you present yourself.
He found facial attractiveness remained steadfast in other people’s minds no matter what expression a person displays. (AP)
Anti-warden campaigner
A man who was banned from using a megaphone to warn motorists about traffic wardens on patrol is now using whistles.
Andy Blackwell, a hairdresser in the Cornish town of Liskeard, was issued with a banning letter from Cornwall Council after his alerts were said to have been a threat to traffic wardens’ “health and safety”.
The 51-year-old has now been giving out whistles to local people and is asking them to blow them when a warden is spotted, the Western Morning News reported. (PA)
Ape impersonators at zoo
Zoo workers in Cincinnati are imitating apes to help raise a baby gorilla.
They wear all-black outfits, grunt affectionately, and try to resemble mother gorillas to help the baby adjust to its new home and get ready for a surrogate mother.
As the baby grows they plan to don hairy vests and carry it on their backs, possibly climbing trees and even knuckle-walking.
Sky-high singing record
Eighties’ stars Tony Hadley and Kim Wilde sang their way into the record books on Sunday after performing the highest ever concert together on a jumbo jet.
The Spandau Ballet star and the Kids in America singer put on an acoustic show for 128 passengers on a Boeing 767 aircraft at 43,000 feet (13,000 metres) for Comic Relief.
The duo, who were joined by fellow 1980s acts Bananarama and Go West, beat the previous world record of 42,080 feet (12,825 metres) held by singer James Blunt. (AP)
Bottoms up!
Zoo keepers in Britain have set about the mammoth task of carrying out health checks on more than 150 birds.
The endangered and exotic birds at Chester Zoo’s free-flying tropical house are being studied to assess their health, condition and sex.
And keepers have come up with a novel way of keeping the birds calm as they get the job done - placing the birds head first into mugs and other dark containers before weighing them on sets of scales.
Chester Zoo’s curator of birds, Andrew Owen, said: “We carefully place each of the birds beak down into a container for a few seconds – as it’s dark inside it helps to keep the birds really nice and calm.” (AP)