There is no denying it… beard are cool and cool guys have them. You can craft your own as you wish and let your personality be shown. When you were younger you most likely dreamed of the day you could grow a face full of fuzz to appear more masculine and buy booze. You wanted to be like your dad or the awesome guy on that TV show you liked. You knew for a fact that girls liked dudes with beard more that the nerds with no facial hair. But as you grew older, you found out that beards can be scratchy and some women don’t love them much at all. But you know what? The positive outweigh the negatives and a lot of men decide to rock the beard look. It is easier than ever with beard specific products and barbers that know how to deal with making them stand out to your specific face. These facts about beards can prove it.

Here are some facts about beards you should know:

1. They Protect Against Bacteria And Infections

The hipster community descended into a state of anarchy back in May 2015 when news broke that a man’s beard could be a breeding ground for bacteria commonly found in fecal matter. Beardos around the world rejoiced to learn that the study was based on a very small sample size and that the results were far from definitive. In fact, a more comprehensive study that examined swabs taken from 408 bearded male hospital workers revealed that clean-shaven men were three times more likely than bearded men to carry harmful bacteria on their faces.

2. They Can Help Hold a Grudge

Talk about holding a grudge. Valentine Tapley, a Democrat from Missouri, vowed to never trim his beard if Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, won the presidency. When Honest Abe took office, Tapley stuck to his promise. At the time of his death, 50 years later, his beard measured an impressive 12 1/2 feet in length.

3. Rock Musicians Know Whats Up

Members of ZZ Top are as famous for their full, long beards as they are for any of their songs. But not everyone wanted them to keep the flowing facial hair. Lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill were once offered $1 million to shave their beards for an ad. To no one’s surprise, they declined. I mean, the drummers name is Frank Beard!

4. They Shade The Face From The Sun

Maintaining a beard in a warm climate may not seem ideal. So-called “winter beards” are supposed to keep a guy’s face warm, right? So wouldn’t a thick beard also capture heat when the sun is beaming down on it? Most bearded men, myself included, say no. A thick mug rug does, however, prevent skin cancer by providing between 90 and 95 percent protection from harmful ultraviolet rays. Although it may depend on the length and angle of facial hair.

5. They Are Illegal in Some Colleges… in 2020

Brigham Young University won’t allow male students to have beards, though the school will make exceptions for religious or medical reasons—with heavy restrictions. The wannabe hirsute student needs to shave for at least three days straight and then visit the Student Health Center to show an on-campus doctor the “serious skin condition” that requires the facial hair. Good gosh… it is 2020.

6. They Shape How Attractive, Dominant, And Aggressive Men Seem

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but a nice face mane could go a long way with the ladies. A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia asked 351 women and 177 heterosexual men to rate photos of 10 men based on attractiveness, masculinity, health, and potential parenting ability. Men with a heavy, 10-day beard were deemed most attractive by women; those with a full beard scored highest in perceived parenting skills among both women and heterosexual men. Men with a light stubble scored lowest across all categories, even compared to clean-shaven men.

7. They Caused Restaurants To Change It’s Rules

Before the year 2000, if you wanted to work at Domino’s Pizza, you had to be clean shaven. The company changed its no-beards policy after a Sikh employee sued for discrimination, claiming his facial hair was religiously mandated. But the pizza chain maintained it had other reasons for allowing beards, including growing societal acceptance of goatees and difficulty attracting new employees. The noid was probably behind this rule.

8. They Can Grow Over Four Times A Man’s Height

It is estimated that around 55 percent of men around the world have some type of facial hair, whether it be a full beard, the Fu Manchu, or a regular old mustache. The average beard grows 5-and-a-half inches in a year and is made up of around 30,000 whiskers. If the average man were to never trim his beard, he would have a 27-and-a-half-foot beard by his death.

9. They Grow Very Long On Women As Well As Men

Hans Langseth passed away in 1927, but his impressive beard length of 17 feet, 6 inches ensures that his name lives on in Guinness World Records as the holder for the world’s longest male beard. Mr. Langseth understood the historical value of his facial hair and ensured it was preserved for posterity’s sake. His impressive accomplishment is currently on display at the Smithsonian.

If you’re looking for the longest beard on a living man, look no further than Sarwan Singh from Surrey, British Columbia. His beard of 8 feet, 2-and-a-half inches earned official recognition back in September 2011. The longest beard on a female goes to Vivian Wheeler from Wood River, Ill., who grew a full beard after the death of her mother and four failed marriages back in 1993. Her longest strand, from follicle to tip, clocked in at 10.04 inches. Talk about waking up with a surprise after a one night stand with her 🙂

10. They Can Cause You To Miss Out On Beer

In 2000, the Irish beer maker Guinness conducted a study to see how much of their brewskis got caught in the beards of UK men. According to the findings, the average beer drinker downs a pint in 10 sips, and roughly half a milliliter gets caught in the facial hair. But don’t reach for the razor just yet: That’s only one-tenth of a percent of one brew.

guinness beer

11. They Have An Average Size

On average, a man’s beard will grow 5.5 inches per year.

12. Some Fear Beards

Pogonophobia, aka fear of beards. Should you oddly enough have this, you’ll expirence symptoms of nausea, feelings of dread, sweating and irregular heartbeat, among others.

13. They can Make You Smart… Maybe

Many have believed beards to be emblems of wisdom. If you look at Socrates, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and even Shakespeare, these philosophers can all be seen with them. A favorite quote of mine that comes to mind, “Lose your beard,” it was said, “and you lose your soul.”

14. They Have Been Popular Among Different Cultures and Times

You know how gold chains are popular today in hip hop? Well, gold beards were all the rage back in ancient Egyptian times. Men would dye their beards and plate them gold to showcase their high-ranking position. Some wore false metal beards called “postiches” as sovereignty symbols. Even queens, kings and royal cows could be seen with them during special occasions like solar eclipses.

 

Finally, some quick facts about beards

  • A man who shaves spends roughly 3,350 hours of his life in the bathroom.
  • There are around 30,000 whiskers encompassing your face.
  • 55% of men from the around world can be seen sporting a beard or facial hair.
  • How makes strokes does it take to shave your entire face? Between 100 to 600.
  • 0.35 millimeters is the rate of human hair growth. Over a month your hair will grow 1 centimeter in length.
  • Beards grow faster in the daytime than the nighttime.
  • Facial hair was once prohibited in military.
  • The International Boxing Association prohibits amateur boxers from having beards.

 

There you have it, facts about the awesome and trend setting beards. The only problem we see, it that some people unfortunately can’t grow one. Theuir facial hair grows in patches and it just doesn’t look right. So if you are one of those people, we are sorry that you have to live your life without ever having the majesty of a beard. But please, don’t grow one half-assed. Buy a sports car or something because it will not look and good and probably have the opposite effect you are hoping for. Want to compete for America by growing a beard? Check out the Beard Team USA.

This dude can teach you how to trim your beard

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