Some fun and interesting facts about beards throughout history. Here are a few of the many reasons for sporting a beard:
- Historians believed that prehistoric man wore beards for various reasons. A beard would help to protect them from the hot sun, sand storms, and insects. It would also help them keep warm while protecting prehistoric man from the elements.
- Prehistoric cave drawings have lead to speculation that when prehistoric man shaved, he would have used clam shells, sharks teeth, or a sharp flint.
- In the days of the ancient Greeks, beards were a sign of masculinity and were only shaved as a sign of mourning or punishment.
- Many religions have beards as a sign of their faith. Three mainstream religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, all have religious laws regarding facial hair.
- Fun Fact: A native of Norway, Hans Nilsen Langseth (known as the king of whiskers), holds the world’s record for longest beard at 18 feet 6 inches. His beard was only measured at the time of his death in 1927. After his death, his beard was donated to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
- Men’s beard grows at a rate of 0.27 (or so) every 24 hours.
- Your beard will be the longest at the six year mark.
- Diameter of human hair can vary from 17 to 180 micrometers.