Page 265 - (DK) I Can’t Believe It! 2

TRUE OR FALSE? 263
US_262_263_309600_Hair.indd
FAST FACTS
Each head louse 30 FT
has six clawed legs, (9 M) IF THE AVERAGE
which it uses to MAN NEVER
grip hair as it bites
into the scalp to SHAVED HIS
feed on the blood. 24 FT
(7.3 M) BEARD,
IT WOULD GROW
TO MORE THAN
18 FT
(5.5 M) 30 FT (9 M)
IN A LIFETIME
12 FT The longest beard on a man
(3.7 M) measured 17.5 ft (5.3 m)
from the end of the chin to the
tip of the beard. The longest
beard on a woman measured
6 FT 11 in (27.9 cm). Beard hair,
(1.8 M) like other types of hair, grows in
phases. There is a growth phase
and a resting phase before each
hair falls out from its follicle to
0 FT be replaced by a new hair.
(0 M)
ALEXANDER
Which natural THE GREAT
hair color is BANNED
the rarest in
the world? BEARDS
Alexander the Great (356–323 bce) is
always depicted as clean-shaven and he
ordered his soldiers to shave, too. He believed
that, in combat, beards provided enemy
soldiers with a “handle” to hold on
to, giving them a military advantage.
Hair is the fastest-growing
tissue in the human body, except
for bone marrow. Made of a
tough protein called keratin,
hair keeps heat in and cushions
against sudden impacts.
About 100 hairs are lost from
the scalp every day, though
it’s not enough to notice.
A female head louse produces
about five eggs a day, and they
are visible as tiny white specks
on hair shafts near the scalp.
They take 7–10 days to hatch.
263 20/12/17 5:31 pm