If you ’ve ever calculate at someone ’s haircut and marvel who could have possibly think that was a good idea , this one ’s for you .
1. Mohawks
The Style : to begin with sported by warrior of various Native American tribes , the hairstyle was assume by a squad of the U.S. Army ’s bad - to - the - bone 101st Airborne Division during World War II , before being commandeered by punk rockers in the 1970s .
The Story : Up until a few yr ago , no one would have question the mohawk haircut ’s ascendent . However , in 2003 , an Irish peat harvester made a discovery that would vary the hairstyle ’s account forever — a 2,300 - yr - old corpse , unco well uphold by the singular chemical science of a peat bog , sporting a bonafide ' war hawk .
The Shocker : The ancient Irish punker , dubbed Clonycavan Man , had gel in his hairsbreadth , which archaeologists determined was made from veg oil commix with a resin from southwestern France or Spain . Imported whisker ware ? Today , scientists are still working hard to determine whether Clony was a prehistorical punker or just an Iron Age metrosexual .
2. Pompadours
The Story : The Marquise de Pompadour was King Louis XV ’s über - fashionable mistress , and her elaborately teased , upswept hair was copy by high - society char throughout the land . While 20th - hundred pompadours were substantially tinier than those of its namesake ’s , the modern version claims one definitive vantage : applied science . Where today ’s science has yielded hair wax , putty , gum , and paste to cement them into topographic point , eclat of yore depended on beef tallow , bear grease , and other arterial blood vessel - cloggers .
The Shocker : Not surprisingly , slather one ’s pilus with fauna clay be given to attract animals ( insects and other nasties ) , which at times turned the original pompadour into , quite literally , a stinkpot ' nest .
3. Beehives
The tale : There ’s more to those eighteenth - one C bouffant styles than meets the centre . Whereas the New beehive is nicknamed " the B-52" for its uncanny resemblance to the B-52 bomber ’s typical nose , Marie Antoinette and her gal pals stowed actual warship in their hair — or at least miniature replicas of them .
The Shocker : Like predecessor to the Cracker Jack box , these eighteenth - hundred ' bash served as treasure trove , housing exotic prizes like tiny caged shuttle , cupid dolls , and other bulky curios . Of course , not every hairdo was a winner . When millions of thirsty peasants inspire France , the over - the - top hairstyle quickly fell out of fashion — landing in that little basketful just below the closure by compartment .
4. Queues
The Story : The Manchu sported the queue , a shave - in - front , ponytail - in - the - back haircut , and forced the Han Chinese to do the same . The effect ? Quite a lot of protest .
The Shocker : While much of China finally submit to the do - or - break trend , many M bravely chose to keep their hair — and lose their heads . So what was the big deal with getting a picayune shaving ? away from the waiting line not being such a flattering cold shoulder ( even compare to , say , the mullet ) , it also pass to be against the religion of millions of recollective - haired Confucian Chinese , who conceive that one ’s peel and whisker are consecrated .
5. Mullets
The narrative : agree to the Oxford English Dictionary , which induce " mullet" into its venerable lexicon in 2001 , the give-and-take ( as it touch to a coif ) was " plainly coined , and certainly generalise , by U.S. hip - hop group the Beastie Boys" in their 1995 song " Mullet Head . “
The Shocker : Since making it into the OED , derision of the bemulleted has grow progressively vocal and , judging from a random sampling of anti - mullet Web site , rather virulent . The mullet is the one haircut Americans love to hate — and give mirthful names to . To number a few : The Tennessee Top Hat , The Kentucky Waterfall , and The Camaro Crash Helmet . Our personal favorite , however , is The Missouri Compromise , which manages to cite both the haircut ’s " patronage in the front , party in the back" policy , as well as the disgraceful Compromise of 1820 , which regulated thrall in develop U.S. territories .
[ This clause originally appeared in mental_floss magazine . If you ’re in a subscribing humour , here are the details . ]
