“Usability” is a word used ad-nauseum in the web development world. Since most of us spend all day navigating and constructing sites, it’s easy to assume just about anyone can be an expert in usability if they’re even half aware of what makes a good or bad site.

Smashing Magazine, however, published an interesting article Thursday on uncommon findings about usability.

The list includes some interesting psychological research results like the fact that people look at images of other people’s faces – and then whatever those faces are pointing at.

Another surprising find was, according to a Jakob Nielsen study, 77 percent of web users do not scroll when visiting a site for the first time. This makes the phrase “above the fold” as important for web designers as it is for print.

Check out the rest of the article for more tidbits and facts, such as why all your links should be blue and why users ignore your advertising.