Beard facts!

Beards have been regarded as emblems of wisdom: Philosophers were always bearded (Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian, Shakespeare). “Lose your beard,” it was said, “ and you lose your soul.” Who would Jupiter, King of the Gods, be without a beard? Beards hide the unhandsome looks of men with no chins, or the man who’s been kicked in the face by a horse. In the Reign of Queen Anne, the wig came in fashion and the beard went out. Most of the 18th century, faces were clean-shaven. By the 19th century, small patches of hair began to appear beside men’s ears. Naval commanders in the War of 1812 wore sideburns.