Page 175 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

History

Hans Langseth, pictured
here in 1912, grew his beard
to a record-setting 5.33
metres (17.5 feet) long

How many people

are in the average

family tree?

his depends on how far back you look, and what
Tyou think of as an ‘average’ family. The number of
children per family varies widely from country to
country and from generation to generation. For
example, in the UK, the average number of children in
each family in 2012 was 1.7, while in the 1970s it was
2.4. Worldwide, the figures were 2.5 children in 2012,

compared with five in 1960.

As you can see, it is hard to define the ‘average’
family tree. However, there is one universal truth
about families – everyone has two biological parents
– so you could ask, how many ancestors do I have?
great grandparents, 16 great-great grandparents, and What is the history of the beard?
You have two parents, four grandparents, eight
so on. For every generation you add double the eards are currently trendy, but their popularity has cycled. Prehistoric men are
number of ancestors as the previous generation. Bbelieved to have had thick beards for protection from both the elements and
Assuming the average generation length is around 25 other men during fights. They also may have been an intimidation factor, as they

years, if you go back just 250 years in history, your made the jaw look bigger and more menacing. Beards have often been said to
family tree will contain around 2,047 people.
project a strong sense of masculinity, and a big beard was a sign of honour in
e

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Prehistoric men are ancient times. Cutting off one’s beard was used as a punishment. Then things
P
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changed around the time of Alexander the Great, in the mid-300s BCE. He banned
believed to have had beards on his soldiers because he feared that enemies could use them to pull them
in for attack. In the Middle Ages, it was considered highly offensive to touch
thick beards for another man’s beard and could lead to a duel. In the 18th century, beards fell out of
favour, then returned during Victorian times. Beard wearing has had – and will

protection continue to have – many different influences, including politicians, celebrities,
religion and societal changes.
How It Works 175