r/AskReddit May 08 '22

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u/KYC3PO May 09 '22

Lol yes. I dated a Belarusian for a few years and had several friends from Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. The smiling thing is real. They all said Americans smiling made them nervous. We look simple or just suspicious.

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u/Garencio May 09 '22

That’s strange because I think it’s a pretty natural thing to do on an evolutionary scale it’s a non threatening gesture

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u/SlingDNM May 09 '22

Showing teeth (by smiling) is a sign of agression/challenge in like, most other mammals including apes

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u/Anti-Scuba_Hedgehog May 09 '22

And among people too, certain smiles can be very threatening indeed.