Pogonophobia

[HomerJay]

BBC presenter Jeremy Paxman has prompted much debate on social media with his recent decision to dodge the shaving kit. But why do people feel so strongly about beards?

"Facial hair for the past century has been thought to reflect a suspicious streak of individuality and defiance," says Christopher Oldstone-Moore, a history lecturer at Ohio's Wright State University.

The author of The Beard Movement in Victorian Britain argues that shaving has been "the norm" since the 17th Century.

In some jobs, employees are required to keep their faces bristle-free for practical reasons - firemen's beards, for instance, might be in danger of breaking the seal on their oxygen masks.

More commonly, though, opposition to beards is a complex social and psychological phenomenon.

"Politicians, public servants and businessmen - and apparently journalists - risk their reputations if they abandon the razor," says Oldstone-Moore.

"Thomas Dewey, candidate for US president in 1944 and 1948 constantly fended off criticism of his moustache, and no candidate for high office had dared facial hair since then."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23693316

The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), or Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary beard classification system first published by Thomas Dewey in 1946. It has been revised and expanded through 23 major editions, the latest issued in 2011. The classification was notable in its time because it introduced the concepts of relative location and relative index. It makes use of three-digit Arabic numerals for main classes, with decimals as expansions for more detail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Deci ... sification

Creepy:



Not Creepy:

[Svartalf]

and my avatar?

[klr]

You look like a revolutionary firebrand

[Azathoth]

This made me giggle

[klr]

It makes him look even more menacing to any interviewee

[Svartalf]

You look like a revolutionary firebrand

I guess I look more respectable now that I'm all grey