Pro tip for the single men out there: if you want to get a date with the girl next door, don’t smile at her. Raise your arms in the air like you just hit a game-winning home run instead.
This advice may seem crazy but it’s backed up by a recent study from the University of British Columbia. The researchers grabbed 1,000 adults and asked them to rate the attractiveness of a person in a photo. Most women liked men who were strong and proud or standing with their hands raised in the air. The least attractive men were those who were smiling. Females even preferred a sullen or ashamed man over one who was beaming from ear to ear.
Men, however, were polar opposite. They liked women who were happy and smiling, while proud and strong women got the big thumbs down. The researchers point to past research that shows people think of smiling as a gentle, feminine trait. Men who smile are weak. Women who smile, though, can melt a heart of stone. [Good]