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Smile! (It's Mandatory)

By John Farrier in Odd News on Jul 7, 2009 at 9:07 pm


Unlike at the Virginia DMV, where smiling is forbidden, employees at the Keihin Electric Express Railway in Japan are required to get their smiles computer-checked before clocking in for work:

The device analyzes the facial characteristics of a person, including eye movements, lip curves and wrinkles, and rates a smile on a scale between 0 and 100 percent using a camera and computer.

For those with low scores, advice like “You still look too serious,” or “Lift up your mouth corners,” will be displayed on the screen.

Some 530 employees of the Tokyo-based railway company will check their smiles with Smile Scan before starting work each day. They will print out and carry around an image of their best smile in an attempt to remember it.

Be happy! You have no other choice.

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COMMENT
  1. Johnny Cat
    Jul 7th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

    The Virginia DMV story is scarier. But only by a slightly different Orwellian margin.

  2. fun games for kids
    Jul 7th, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    Talk about good customer service! Still I think there's more to service than just having a great smile. Sometimes it just shows through, whether the smile is genuine or not.

  3. Woogie
    Jul 7th, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    We're not allowed to smile here in Alberta on our driving license pictures.

    I deliberately looked as dour as possible in mine. Sadly I look like a concussed drunk and will until the year 2015.

  4. VonSkippy
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 2:08 am

    Nothing like a big fat fake smile forced on by management to make the day start out in the crapper.

  5. Sue Dunham
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 7:26 am

    "Be happy in your work!"

  6. BikerRay
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 8:59 am

    It's doubleplusgood.

  7. Gauldar
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 9:20 am

    In further news, the suicide rate has increased for Japan Express Railway workers for some unknown reason. Investigations will continue.

  8. Skipweasel
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 10:15 am

    UK passports (and probaly all other EU states' too, since they're a common model) won't accept photos with smiles.
    Full rules here...

    http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/files/ips/live/assets/documents/photos.pdf

  9. Kalel
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    Puttng the grin into 'chagrin'.

  10. villalba
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    This story reminds me of this Copper strip: http://www.boltcity.com/copper/copper_021_happy.htm

  11. in_nah
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 2:37 pm

    i just got my VA driver's license, and i will not not join those in complaining about not being able to smile. The black and white pictures with no smile are actually more flattering. My friend looks like Sade on a cd cover.

  12. Russell W
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 4:25 pm

    There is an interesting benefit to this for all you gloomy 1984ers. Psychology research has shown two things. One is that you can influence your own mood through utilizing your motor cortex. You can try it now. Smile! Hold for a minute. At first it will feel fake, but after a short time, you will find yourself smiling for real. Furthermore, research has also shown that training your brain to identify and pay attention to smiling people more will also boost your mood over time.

  13. caveman
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    And do they check out their brains too at the beginning of the day?

  14. vonskippy
    Jul 8th, 2009 at 6:59 pm

    @RussellW

    Yes, assuming you have a brain the size of a guppy, I'm sure that self delusional exercise will work.

  15. james b
    Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:16 am

    I'm smiling just thinking about this.

  16. astrodex
    Jul 9th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    I'm experiencing some serious "culture gap" here.

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