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Hair
Records.... courtesy of the Guinness book of records
Longest Hair On November 21, 1997, Hoo Sateow's lengthy locks were unraveled and officially measured at a hair-raising 5.15 m (16 ft 11 in) long.His are the longest locks in the world, but Hoo only beats his brother Yee by a whisker - Yee's tremendous tresses are 16-ft long. Aided by local villagers, the siblings wash their hair once a month with detergent and water. Hoo cut short the title for Mata Jagdamba of Ujjain, India - her hair measured 4.23 m (13 ft 10.5 in). Hoo began nurturing his magnificent mane in 1929, when he was 18 years old. Earlier the same year he'd cut his hair and fallen sick, so vowed never to chop off his locks ever again. The medicine man, who usually wears his hair weaved into a beehive under a hat, is no stranger to attention. Over 200 people a year trek through the mountains to be healed by Hoo's special powers and potions. Longest Male Beard Back in 1997, Shamsher Singh of Punjab, India, had his beard officially measured at an impressive 1.83 m (6 ft) from the end of chin to the tip. This is the longest beard on a living male. The longest beard ever was grown by Hans Langseth of Norway, whose whiskers stretched an incredible 5.33 m (17 6 in) when measured upon his death in Kensett, Iowa, in 1927. The beard was presented to the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, in 1967.
Hair Splitting The greatest reported achievement in hair splitting has been that of Britains's Alfred West. who succeeded in splitting a human hair 17 times into 18 parts on eight occasions. All the divisions were made from the same point. Alfred was born in 1901 and passed away in 1985 at the age of 85 in London, UK. During World War I, he worked on wood component parts on aircraft, which is where he learnt how to "set" a razor – that is, grinding or honing the edge of the blade to get it really sharp. In 1929 he represented Britain in the World Championship Road Race in Zurich, Switzerland and was awarded a special gold medal and watch for being the fasted British Empire cyclist. At the age of 70 he won the 203-mile Bath Road Club veterans race. West had exhibits of his razor setting work on show around the world, including New York and Australia. Examples of West’s work included: the crossed swords, a boa constrictor, the Epping Forest and a monarch’s crown – all made from split hair. Hair Cutting With Most Scissors America's Bruce Choy is the mane man when it comes to lopping off those locks. On March 11, 2002, he successfully styled hair using a record-breaking eight pairs of scissors in one hand, controlling each pair independently at his salon Flyingshears in San Francisco, California, USA. Bruce began his career as a barber in 1969, and studied with Vidal Sassoon in London before moving to San Francisco in 1982. A decade later, he opened his own saloon, and perfected – and patented – his "Flyingshears" technique, which he invented after seeing guitarist Stanley Jordan playing two guitars at once. "I thought, I've been cutting hair for 20 years and my left hand is always helping the right," Bruce explains, "but I started to train the other hand... they became like one hand, and I can be perfect." Bruce, who's been known as the "Vidal Sassoon-trained Edward Scissorhands", beat the previous record of seven scissors held by Israel's Danny Bar-Gil (professionally known as Danny Figaro), who set the record on January 12, 1998.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? Larry and Danny Ramos Gomez are two of a family of 19, which spans five generations, who all suffer from hypertrichosis or "werewolf syndrome". Even the women of the family are covered with a light to medium coat of hair, while the men have thick hair on every inch of their bodies, apart from their hands and feet. Most forms of excess hairiness are associated with hormone imbalances but the exact causes of the hairy family's hairiness are not yet known. Scientists and researchers are studying the DNA of the boys and searching for clues as to why they are as they are. There have been rumors that the family was searching the world for a cure. The boys deny this. "I'd never cut the hair off," Larry says. "I'm very proud to be who I am." CHECK THIS OUT... Blonde people have the most hair per inch, with an average of 140,000 hairs a head. Brunettes are next in line with an average of 110,000 hairs a head, then come people with black hair with an average of 105,000 hairs a head, and finally redheads, with the least hair averaging 90,000 hairs a head. It's normal for the average healthy human to lose a total of 100 hairs per day. About 90% of your hair is growing, while the other 10% is in a resting mode before it falls out. It's different for bald men – they have nothing left to worry about. Most Hair Updos Styled In 1 Minute Marco Aldany (Spain) twisted the hair of 25 women into a chignon-style updo using a chopstick-type implement in one minute on the set of El Show de los Récords , Madrid, Spain on September 21, 2001. Longest Female Beard Vivian Wheeler of Wood River, Illinois, USA, grew a full beard after the death of her mother in 1990. The longest strand from the follicle to the tip of hair was measured at 27.9 cm (11 in) in 2000. As a small child growing up, Vivian was always made to feel different. Her father insisted she started shaving at the age of 7 but this failed to stop the taunts. It was only after four marriages and her mother’s death in 1993 that she finally stopped trimming back the facial growth and let her beard grow. She prefers to tie the beard up, which allows her to continue with her day-to-day routines. Currently the mother-of-three has joined a touring curiosity show based in Illinois and feels much happier with her life. She said: “It really helped to have a Guinness World Record... it showed me I could be proud of being me. It made me feel like I had a chance in society.” Largest Collection Of Hair (Historical Figures) John Reznikoff of Connecticut, USA, has accumulated a collection of hair from 115 different historical celebrities. This collection of famous locks is insured for $1 million and includes genuine tresses from the heads of Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Napolean, Elvis Presley, King Charles I, and author Charles Dickens. FIND OUT MORE When it comes to hair collecting, Reznikoff budgets himself to buying three or four new samples a year. And he's decided that he only wants hair from people who have had a positive influence on history – no serial killers and no Nazis! John is now scouting for sports personalities' hair, as well as the historical locks of Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and US presidents. He doesn't usually look for specimens from living celebrities because he doesn't want to encourage fans to go after their idols with scissors! CHECK THIS OUT… There is an average of 100,000 to 150,000 strands of hair on a human scalp. Longest Ear Hair Radhakant Bajpai of Naya Ganj, Uttar Pradesh, India, has hair sprouting from the centre of his outer ears (middle of the pinna) that measures an incredible 13.2 cm (5.19 in) at its longest point. The length of the 50-year-old's pinna pelt was confirmed by medical examiner Dr. R P Gupta. "Making it to Guinness World Records is indeed a special occasion for me and my family," said Radhakant. "God has been very kind to me." Largest Wig Wigs can be made from real human hair, from animal hair – originally from horses and goats – or from synthetic materials. The largest wig made of human hair was created by Bergmann of 5th Avenue, New York, USA, in 1975. It measured 4.57 m (15 ft) in length. Wigs were originally created to cover baldness and provide protection from the sun, although it's likely that some societies also used wigs to make a fashion statement. They reached their height of popularity in the 17th century, when French King Louis XIII wore a wig of long curls, and King Louis XIV started a fashion for elaborate powered wigs supported by plaster of Paris, and scented by perfumes. | ||||||||||||