Quick facts about beards

• The study of beards is called "pogonology".
• The ancient Syrians oiled and curled their beards.
• Beard which is part of the hair on the face and neck contain 7000 and 15,000 hairs.
• On average every strand of hair will grow to 140 millimeters each year.
• If a woman has high levels of testosterone, it is likely to have properties such as male and could have grown a beard.
• Ancient women who were unfortunate enough to have beards were condemned as witches!
• As a sign of royalty, Egyptian kings and queens wore postiches, which were artificial beards made of metal. 
• In ancient India, the beard was allowed to grow long, a symbol of dignity and of wisdom.
• The ancient Greeks regarded the beard as a badge or sign of virility.
• The Spartans punished cowards by shaving off a portion of their beards.
• Alexander ordered his soldiers to be clean shaven, fearing that their beards would serve as handles for their enemies to grab and to hold the soldier as he was killed.
• A man with a beard after the Macedonian period implied a philosopher, and there are many allusions to this custom of the later philosophers in such proverbs as: "The beard does not make the sage."