5 Interesting Facts About Hair

Hair is truly fascinating. It has influenced beauty, style, and culture for centuries. Here are a few interesting facts about hair.

[1] Humans have as much hair as chimpanzees.

Both species have approximately 5 million hair follicles on their bodies. The major difference is the type of hair that grows. For humans, the majority of the hair is vellus hair which is much finer and not generally visible.[1]

[2] Hair can clean up oil spills.

Human hair can be used to clean up oil spills and it was used in Deepwater Horizon (Gulf of Mexico) oil clean up in 2010.  The oil adsorbs (sticks to) the hair very efficiently and removes it from the water. [2],[3]

[3] Rapunzel’s hair can support 45 men.

 

A study done at the University of Leicester determined that Rapunzel,s hair could support about 2750 kg. Given an average man’s mass is 60 kg, that means approximately 45 men can be supported by her hair. [4]

[4] Shampoo = Massage

The word shampoo comes from the Hindi and Urdu word cãpo which means to knead or massage. [5]

[5]  Ancient Forms of  Hair Removal

Ancient Egyptians were known to remove body hair for grooming purposes. They used methods such as sugaring and shaving with razors made of bronze.[6]

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Sources:

[1] McGraw-Hill Education

[2] Hair and fur used in Gulf of Mexico oil slick clean-up – BBC News

[3] How can human hair mop up the oil spill? (BBC News Magazine)

[4] Bettles, J. E., Clarke, I., Perry, M. and Pilkington, N. M. (2011) ‘How Strong is Rapunzel’s Hair?’ Journal of Physics Special Topics

[5] 10 Words From Hindi & Urdu – Merriam-Webster

[6] Historical Methods of Hair Removal – History Undressed