Friday Chuckle: Angry Eyes Bicycle Protection

The Star reports this week that a team of researchers at Newcastle University have found that putting up a poster with eyes staring down at your bike reduced bike theft by 62%!

“One strong possibility is that the images of eyes work by making people feel watched,” said the lead author of the paper, Professor Daniel Nettle. “We care what other people think about us, and as a result we behave better when we feel we are being observed."

In a related BBC TV interview about the study, another expert points out that humans are like other animals: they glare at any enemy to protect themselves or their belongings. "There are birds, insects, animals out there that use exactly the same principle," David Holmes told the BBC.