You know that look some girls (and some men) give of utter and complete contempt for the world? You know, the one where the person looks like a total f'ing bitch?
Well, that look has a name and it's "Resting Bitch Face."
Resting Bitch Face, or RBF, is a serious condition, with which some very nice people in the world are afflicted. Believe it or not, THOUSANDS* of people every year are diagnosed with RBF.
If you've never seen a case in person, here's a really good example:
Poor thing.
The world has had to endure RBF for years, but now, thanks to science, we finally have an answer to what causes this debilitating facial expression.
To find out why so many suffer from RBF, behavioral researchers Jason Rogers and Abbe Macbeth of Netherlands-based Noldus Information Technology studied thousands of faces using FaceReader, a tool made to help identify specific expressions based on more than 10,000 images of human faces, Washington Post reports.
To start, the team input genuinely neutral faces into the machine, which registered at 97 percent neutrality.
Then, they input some seriously bitchy resting faces (including photos of Kanye West and Queen Elizabeth) to determine what makes this expression so unique.
As Macbeth explained to the Washington Post, "The big change in percentage came from 'contempt,'" adding that "one side of the lip pulled back slightly, the eyes squinting a little.”
She said, "It's kind of a tightening around the eyes, and a little bit of raising of the corners of the lips — but not into a smile.”
The team's greatest finding, however, is that RBF affects both men and women equally.
Want to find out if you suffer from RBF? You can email a photo of yourself to jason@noldus.com and he'll input your face for free!
*NOTE: I made this number up.
Citations: Scientists have discovered what causes Resting Bitch Face (Washington Post)
