Most people possess a sense that assesses sexual orientation in less than a blink of an eye, research has shown.
Scientists at the University of Washington say so-called "gaydar" works on an unconscious level.
Volunteers asked to distinguish between photos of "straight" and "gay" faces were able to do so in just 50 milliseconds – a third of the time of an eyeblink.
Their accuracy remained greater than chance even when the photos were upside down.
But not everyone can do so. Joshua Tabak, who led the study, said there was "a small number of people with no ability to distinguish gay and straight faces".
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