Why we ditched the 5-star rating (and replaced it with a face).

Stars are a compromise. Every cookie ends up a 4.2. Every salad ends up a 4.2. The 4.2 cookie and the 4.2 salad are not, in fact, the same.

We wanted a rating that you'd feel before you thought. Faces do that. A scowl is a scowl. A grin is a grin. There is no neutral 4.2 face — there's only the truth.

We tested 47 face sets. The winners ended up cuter, weirder, and more opinionated than any number would let us be.