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A friend who has worked for NASA and the Navy for 20+
years was informed he could not smile for his new badge id photo. He was told he would be fired if he smiled.

2007-10-29 08:29:58 · 22 answers · asked by david c 4 in Politics & Government Law & Ethics

22 answers

That is a new one on me.

I have been badged so that I can enter NASA facilities.

I have always smiled for my photograph and I have never heard of anyone being told not to smile.

2007-10-29 08:36:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

This is only a guess. These days when you get your photo taken for official purposes, you are not only getting a pic, but various measurements of your mug (called biometric data) are being saved. If you smile, this messes up the data, because it changes the shape of and mathematical relationships among various features of your face. Therefore, the authorities want your face presented in an average manner. Perhaps this is a key to thwarting biometric scanners--you can smile when you are passing the cameras/scanners after the fact, rather than smiling for your photo.

BTW, I learned that it's no longer permissible in the U.S. to smile for a passport photo either.

2007-10-29 15:39:41 · answer #2 · answered by C R 2 · 1 0

well i know they discourage it at the bmv because most people aren't smiling if a cop is checking their id. but my guess would be because people tend to look a little different when smiling, and even more so in photographs. so perhaps they are trying to get the best representation of the person's actual features. course for NASA, maybe they have that new technology that, while it looks like they're taking a simple pic, they're actually scanning your facial features into the database and stored for later comparison during investigations where videos are the only evidence....okay i'm rambling again....

2007-10-29 15:34:34 · answer #3 · answered by Heather Honey 4 · 0 0

usually when you're carded or they need to see your ID, youre not smiling. Being that its for the navy/nasa, where you need your ID on you 24/7, [usually visible at all times,] the higher ups probably dont want to see a goofy smile all day long.

2007-10-29 15:34:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

My parents are from Mexico. None of their school pictures show them smiling. They are straight faced. When I asked my mommy, she said it is because they are used as government documents. If they commit a crime or come up missing they can post a good picture, not some goofy kid.

I'm not sure, but NASA, sounds like they would want a good description if something were to happen.

2007-10-29 15:39:33 · answer #5 · answered by 1luv 2 · 0 0

Navy and i suppose NASA want there to be a certain level of pride and professionalism. They don't want anyone smiling like an idiot.

2007-10-29 15:35:58 · answer #6 · answered by jhunter 2 · 0 0

Because the face in repose is very different to the smiling face...if they needed to pick me out in a crowd and all thye had was a pic of me grinning they would have a hard time as I look completely different.

2007-10-29 15:33:18 · answer #7 · answered by Daisyhill 7 · 2 0

Being fired is extreme, but i guess they figure you aren't smiling when you show the id for id purposes.

2007-10-29 15:33:29 · answer #8 · answered by pgiggles 3 · 0 0

I am not sure but if you smile for a mug shot they beat you up

Reasoning there is if they have to show it on TV they want to make sure the public doesn't have any sympathy for you or get otherwise confused -

2007-10-29 15:35:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

They want to get a clear picture of you. When you smile, your face changes. It's a way to stay consistent.

2007-10-29 15:33:57 · answer #10 · answered by always an opinion 4 · 1 0

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