Strange Country Ep. 260: History of Smiling

Strange Country

Hey Readers! You know, you look a little tired. Maybe you should. . . smile? While you’re at it, take a listen to Beth and Kelly as we learn the history of the smile. You will learn that Kodak had more to do with why we smile for the camera and don’t look as miserable as we are. Smiles are a funny thing or are they? Are they really a creepy thing? A submissive thing? Find out on today’s episode and thanks for listening; it’s an act of love.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands

Cite your sources:

A Brief History of the Smile. NPR interview of Angus Trumble. https://www.npr.org/2004/01/20/1607671/a-brief-history-of-the-smile.

Fabry, Merrill. “Now You Know:Why Do People Always Look So Serious in Old Photos.” Time Magazine, 2016, https://www.npr.org/2004/01/20/1607671/a-brief-history-of-the-smile. Accessed 03 May 2023.

Jarrett, Christian. “Why do we smile?” BBC Science Focus, https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-do-we-smile/. Accessed 9 May 2023

Christina Kotchemidova (2005) Why We Say “Cheese”: Producing the Smile in Snapshot Photography, Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22:1, 2-25, DOI: 10.1080/0739318042000331853