Never forget a face? Neither do wasps! Scientists have discovered that Polistes fuscatus paper wasps can recognize and remember each other's faces with amazing accuracy.

Study co-author Michael Sheehan explains why this may be important to wasps:

The unique, distinct faces of P. fuscatus wasps, as well as the wasps' ability to recognize and remember each others' faces, are likely tied to the insects' multicolony social structure, Sheehan added.

"They have multiple queens and they all want to reproduce—they all want to be the most dominant. So being able to recognize each other helps them understand who's already beaten who, who has higher ranking in the hierarchy, and this helps to keep the peace.

"When they aren't able to recognize each other, [as] we've shown before, there was more aggression."

Link

Is this the face of the devil? Art historian Chiara Frugoni spotted a face that Italian renaissance master Giotto snuck into a fresco in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi:

The face, with hooked nose and an evil smirk, is hard to see from the ground. [...] The basilica's chief restorer, Sergio Fusetti, said the devil image may have been a joke by Giotto aimed at somebody he had quarrelled with.

I can't wait for the new Dan Brown novel about this! ;) Link

Butt / Face Towel -  $13.95

Are you searching for the perfect gift for your college bound friend? Get them the Butt/ Face Towel from the NeatoShop. After a hard night of partying studying this 44″L x 25″W Towel will help remind them which end they dried what with.

Butt / Face Soap also available.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more hilarious Back to School items.

Link

Pray tell, which way is he looking? Don’t see it? Look closer … via Kuriositas

Hello Kitty Angry Face Clutch – $27.95

Do you know someone who is cute, quirky, and has a slight anger management problem? Get them the Hello Kitty Angry Face Clutch from the NeatoShop. Remember, nothing softens a person up like a great gift from the NeatoShop!

Be sure to check out NeatoShop’sCute Store and Hello Kitty and Sanrio items for more adorable gifts.

"Neatorama"

Say hello to “Neatorama.”  (To the left.)

At Turn Your Name Into a Face dotcom users are invited to submit their name to the site. With the click of a button it will generate an 8 bit facial depiction based on “your name.”

But let’s face it; the real fun comes from submitting your buddy’s name or that of “Mickey Mouse” only to get this beautiful mug staring back at you:

Link

Ladies, which of the two men photographed above is more attractive to you? If you picked the one on the right, then like most women, you like yellow.

It turns out that the secret to attracting women doesn’t lie in how masculine a man looks, rather, it depends on how yellow or red he is:

Women in a recent experiment preferred men with yellower and redder skin tones, both of which can signal good health, a crucial factor in choosing a mate, scientists say.

For instance, people of any race who eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables tend to have yellower hues, and people who are physically fit have more oxygenated—and thus, redder—blood and skin.

By contrast, pallid skin with lesions is generally considered unattractive, perhaps because such traits betray a weak immune system, said study co-author Ian Penton-Voak, an experimental psychologist at the University of Bristol in the U.K.

Unexpectedly, the women in the study showed no preference for men with traditionally masculine features, such as a prominent jaw and high muscle mass, the researchers say.

"What we found is—to our surprise—when you measure masculinity, it doesn’t bear any relation to attractiveness at all," Penton-Voak said.

Link

Take a look at this photograph from the early 20th century. It has not been retouched, nor is it a double exposure. It looks like a big face has been plopped into the middle of it, an example of pareidolia {wiki}, the tendency for human brains to interpret patterns as meaningful, like seeing a face when there is no face. For an explanation of what this photo really is, see the post at Historic LOLs. Link

Update: Commenter MosselKots has images spelling out both ways of looking at this picture, in case that will help you see it. Link

Whether you think facial jewelry improves your looks or cause what looks like uncomfortable swelling, one thing’s for sure: it certainly draws attention to your face.

I can hear Ahnold say it: It’s not a tumah! It’s facial jewelry: Link

Patrick noticed his face was drooping when he looked in the mirror at his home in Redruth, Cornwall, on Tuesday.

He then tweeted to his 347 followers: ”I feel like I’ve had a stroke. Half of my face doesn’t work properly.”

Marj then replied: ”If you are truly serious, get to the doc – Bells palsy facial symptoms mimic a stroke.”

Link | Patrick’s blog post | Patrick’s Twitter account | Marj Beatty’s Twitter account – via Arbroath

It appears to include more bone and much more of the lower part of the face.

A spokesperson for the UK’s Facial Transplantation Research Team, which has ethical permission to carry out a full face transplant, said it was “a tremendous achievement”.

“This appears to be the most complex facial transplant operation carried out so far worldwide,” he said.

“It once again shows how facial transplantation can help a small number of people who are the most severely facially injured and for whom reconstructive surgery cannot and has not worked.”

Link via Gizmodo | Image: Vall D’Hebron Hospital

In 2000, a psychiatric patient drew a picture of a man who appeared in recurring dreams. The picture was left out on the doctor’s desk, where another patient recognized it from his dreams as well! With a bit of investigation, other patients who saw the same face in their dreams were found. As of now, at least 2,000 people recognize the face as one they’ve dreamed about. How about you? Link -via the Presurfer

If your kid doesn’t find dinner time enjoyable, maybe this will help make meals fun: Food Face Kid’s Dinner Plate. The plate has a picture of a face that your kid can decorate with food. Pasta hair, mashed potato beards, and string bean eyebrows – the possibilities are endless!

Check out the plate as well as our growing list of neat dishware, drinkware and flatware over at the Neatorama Online Shop: Link

Neatoramanaut Debashish Paul took a photo of a section of Hogenakkal Falls in South India that has a face of a mustachiod man. I know, I know, it’s just pareidolia (the tendency of human brains to see familiar images and faces in objects), but it’s still very cool!

Link – Thanks Debashish!

Those distinctive eyes, nose and lips are the hallmark of a Brazilian street artist Mundano. But instead of graffiti, this particular one graces the whole facade of a building in São Paulo. I can just imagine the lower "lips" rolling up when the store opens for the day.

Found at Wooster Collective, where one would find such things: Link | More of Mundano’s street art on Flickr

The folks over at 2pie blog have a pretty neat idea: make a snow print by pushing their faces into fresh powder on cars. The images are all concave, but make for an optical illusion of 3D sculptures!

I saw this circulating on the Net a few days ago, but didn’t get the chance to post it till now. Better late than never! Link

Me-ouch! Veterinarians on Tuesday performed an unusual surgery to reattach the face of a cat they believe was injured by a car’s fan belt, probably because she tried to stay warm under the hood. [...]

Remarkably, Edgar suffered no major blood loss nor any permanent nerve damage from her accident. She just needed to have her facial skin stitched back on during an hour-long surgery, according to veterinary surgeon Michael Pavletic.

"And she should be fine after this," Pavletic said. Besides the skin hanging from Edgar’s face, Edgar seemed normal, Kendrick said. "She was purring and sticking her head up so we could pet her," Kendrick said. "She even tried to chew at her skin. I’d never seen anything like it."

Link - Thanks Denita!