The five-percent solution

LONDON (AFP) - Students in England can get extra points on their final exams if their close relatives or pets die, according to official guidelines.

Students sitting a GSCE or A-level examination -- the equivalent of junior and senior high school exams in other countries -- will get a maximum extra five percent for the recent death of a parent or close family member.

The passing of a more distant family member could add four percent to the final grade.

For some reason, I can't see this policy ever flying in the States....

My new hero

I admit, I have no idea how to smile. Combine a lifetime of not really being inclined to smile with having face-flesh that's just a scrambled mass of severed nerves and, well, Mr. Photogenic I am not. That is, when I actually show up on film....

But I like this girl, Miss Paula Oliveira, at her 15th birthday party. (Warning: huge image.) Or, if you prefer, the animated .gif or the loud and obnoxious Flash version. Still, her smile is better than mine, which tends to make children wail, chickens scream and squirrels turn inside-out.

Via MeFi and Boing Boing.