Only some smiles are real. Can you tell which?
A genuine smile does something a fake one usually forgets: it reaches the eyes. In The Smile Test you get a face, a feeling and two buttons. Judge the smile, learn the tell, build your Smile IQ.
- 19 kinds of smile
- ~6 are for happiness
- 30 sec to learn the tell
The Smile Test
Every face is generated fresh. Some are genuinely delighted; others are just being polite. Spot the difference and see how you compare.
Choose your challenge
- Look at the eyes, not just the mouth. A felt smile lifts the cheeks and crinkles the outer corners into crow's feet.
- Tap Genuine or Faking it. You will get an instant explanation, so you get sharper as you go.
- Build a streak. Consecutive correct reads earn bonus points and a bigger Smile IQ.
Is this a genuine, felt smile?
Your Smile IQ
😌 The tell is in the eyes
Genuine happiness recruits orbicularis oculi, the muscle that rings the eye. It lifts the cheeks and prints crow's feet at the corners. A polite smile usually misses it.
🎭 Most smiles are social
Researchers describe around 19 types of smile. Roughly six appear when we are actually enjoying ourselves; the rest manage politeness, nerves, status or embarrassment.
😈 Fakes can be convincing
About 71% of people can voluntarily crinkle the outer eye muscle, so a practiced smile can look real. Timing and context matter too — that is what makes the game tricky.
More than one kind of grin
📚 The Smile Library
Meet the Duchenne smile, the Pan Am smile, the miserable smile, the contempt smile and more — each drawn, explained and sourced.
🧪 The Muscle Lab
Rebuild an expression muscle by muscle, compare a real smile to a fake one, then bust some smile myths.
🕰️ A Smile Through Time
From a Hittite pot in 1700 BC to Harvey Ball's $45 doodle and the first :-), plus a kindness generator.
🧠 Smile IQ Trivia
Twenty-four questions on smile science, history and culture. Get an explanation with every answer.