Don't ask us how they did it, or whether the science is 100 percent accurate. But it's pretty fascinating.

The folks at the Aizman Law Firm, an L.A.-based criminal defense practice, commissioned a computer analysis of more than 30,000 American mug shots to discover differences in the emotions of suspects based on the state in which they were collared.

The numbers crunchers relied on Microsoft Cognitive Services, a program that developers claim can detect emotion based on facial recognition–type indicators. And based on the data, it turns out mug shots from the Golden State appear to show folks who are the most unhappy in their predicaments — which the study characterizes as “disgust.”

“The arrestees most likely to wrinkle their noses in disgust were those arrested for gang-related crimes, weapons offenses or unlawful transactions with minors,” the law firm states. “And the state with the most disgusted suspects is California, home of Los Angeles — a city known for its gangs.

Californians were described as being “revolted by their own arrests,” more so than Maryland (which came in second for disgust), North Carolina (third), Nevada (fourth) and Florida (fifth).

California's mug shots also excelled in anger. The Golden State came in second place when it comes to showing off that emotion, the firm found. We came in a close second to first-place Maryland.

The most common allegations against angry suspects included illegal transactions with a minor, gang crimes, trespassing, weapons violations and, of course, traffic offenses, the analysis found.

The happiest arrestees were found in North Carolina. (We'll have what they're having.) The saddest were found in West Virginia. And those with the most contempt for their situations were found, of course, in New Jersey, home of the wiseguy. 

Nationwide, 59 percent of mug shots expressed happiness, the firm found. Makes you wonder about this great nation of ours.

Credit: Aizman Law Firm

Credit: Aizman Law Firm

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