Funny business: Why ugly blokes get the good-looking girls, by AFP.

In the mating game, plain-looking men instinctively know that being funny, smart or poetic helps to compensate for a less-than-stellar exterior.

That gut feeling has gained scientific validation. Average-looking men become more alluring when women sense the man has an imaginative spark, it found. But for women, sadly, there may not be the same boost.

“Creative guys with less attractive faces were almost identical in attractiveness to really good-looking guys who were not as creative,” said [Christopher Watkins, a psychologist at Abertay University in Scotland, who did the research].

The top-ranked men were those considered to be both physically attractive and creative.

hat-tip Stephen Neil