Free Republic

There’s something about this time of year. Perhaps it’s because MPs and school children are gearing up for their holidays, or incessant televised sporting events give a sort of generalised carnival-type feel, or simply the fact that it’s so uncharacteristically hot – but current affairs always goes a little bit bonks in summer. Some of the news items they manage to dig up during this season defy belief. And winner of "most fist-munchingly ridiculous story" must this year be awarded to the ongoing saga of Jeremy Meeks. For those unfamiliar, Meeks is an American man recently arrested in relation to...

"Lookism" is a crime most foul in a perfect world devised by radical feminists, though most women will usually overlook the crime when a good-looking man gives them a respectful once-over. But researchers in England, source of our common law, have identified a real crime: Jurors are more likely to convict "ugly" defendants than "attractive" defendants. The investigators are from Bath Spa University in Bath, the lovely Somerset resort where Beau Nash set down rules of polite society and where Chaucer set his morality tale of a witch who gave an errant knight his choice of a wife "foul and...

POLITICS might be Hollywood for ugly people, but film star good looks are a definite asset at the hustings. A university study has shown attractive features – especially for men – could be the difference between winning and losing for aspiring pollies. The study by Australian National University economist Dr Andrew Leigh and South Australia University student Amy King found that positive first impressions count. Voters tend to opt for better-looking candidates, especially if they were challenging a sitting member. "Compared to the average-looking political candidate, a candidate at the 84th percentile of the beauty description, as judged by our...