New York Times – January 3, 2006:
Scientists who study the evolution of visual signaling have identified a wide and still expanding assortment of features and behaviors that make something look cute: bright forward-facing eyes set low on a big round face, a pair of big round ears, floppy limbs and a side-to-side, teeter-totter gait, among many others.
Cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness and need, scientists say, and attending to them closely makes good Darwinian sense. As a species whose youngest members are so pathetically helpless they can’t lift their heads to suckle without adult supervision, human beings must be wired to respond quickly and gamely to any and all signs of infantile desire.
Sure, those brainiac scientists can tell us what is cute and why, but until they can tell us where all the cute chicks are it appears they still have some more work to do! Back to the slide rules guys!
Hey! How did you get my baby picture?
That pics beyond cute – its creepy, seriously creepy.
there is a word for the features of young animals and humans that make them cute – does anyone know it?