Fed II Star - March 5, 2006

REAL LIFE NEWS: UGLY TEENAGERS GROW UP TO BE CRIMINALS

As if the beautiful people don't already get all the breaks, a new study by a pair of US economists has found that "unattractive individuals commit more crime in comparison to average-looking ones, and very attractive individuals commit less crime in comparison to those who are average-looking." So the uglier you are, the more likely you are to be a crook.

The study tracked the life history of youngsters through to early adulthood, and is based on data from a federally-sponsored survey of 15,000 school kids that started in 1994. It asked kids to rate the attractiveness of their peers, among other things. Ten years later, these results were cross-matched with criminal records.

The researchers found that attractive males were consistently less likely to be convicted of crimes ranging from burglary to drug dealing. Similarly, gorgeous females were less likely to get into trouble than their ugly contemporaries.

The study doesn't offer any suggestions as to why there is this difference. Maybe it's because employers are more likely to give jobs to the good-looking, as shown by other studies, so that the stunners are more successful in climbing the corporate ladder.

Another possibility is that cute people do better at school, and have better social skills, and these are attributes that might sway the verdict of juries. In other words, it's not that they commit less crime; it's that they get away with it more often!

Or perhaps the cuties don't have to turn to crime because they get given what they want by all the people who fall in love with them.

Whatever the reason, it's pretty depressing to find out that there is yet one more way in that the beautiful people outperform the ugly ones. Life really is unfair!