Saturday, May 30, 2009

No smile zone

From the Washington Post:
Few places in Virginia are as draining to the soul and as numbing to the buttocks as the branch offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles. And yet, until recently, smiling was still permitted there.

No more. As part of the DMV's effort to develop super-secure driver's licenses and foolproof identification cards, the agency has issued a smile ban, directing customers to adopt a "neutral expression" in their portraits, thereby extinguishing whatever happiness comes with finally hearing one's number called. ...

More here. The article says the new DMV software is programmed to reject smiles or other "non-neutral expression[.]" Of course, after waiting in line at the DMV, you're probably not in a smiling mood anyway.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's actually kind of funny.

I normally don't smile for "mug shot" type photos, but the last time I got my Virginia Driver's License renewed, the person taking the picture was very personable and actually got me to smile before she snapped the shot.

It's the only ID picture I ever remember having where I actually AM smiling.

Now they've outlawed it.


Figures.