cute

According to the NY Times, scientists are studying what makes something cute.

Let's see if you are cute! Here's a partial checklist:
(These are characteristics meant to describe animals, technically, but aren't we all animals?)

[ ] bright forward-facing eyes set low on a big round face
[ ] a pair of big round ears
[ ] floppy limbs
[ ] a side-to-side, teeter-totter gait

Cute cues indicating:
[ ] extreme youth
[ ] vulnerability
[ ] harmlessness
[ ] needy

Cuteness:
[ ] attracts affection
[ ] demands a lap
[ ] is commonplace and generous
[ ] is content on occasion to cosegregate with homeliness
[ ] is quick and cheap (comodified/easily manipulated by/toying)
[ ] is infantile

If it weren't for the harmlessness characteristic, I'd have scored perfectly!