We've compiled a list of Beard Facts because...why not.

• On average, a man’s beard will grow 5.5 inches per year.

•  If you were to put down the razor and stop shaving forever, how long would your beard be? 27.5 feet. 

• There are around 30,000 whiskers encompassing your face.

• 55% of men from the around world can be seen sporting a beard or facial hair.

• The French name for cotton candy is “Barbe à papa”, which literally translates as “dad’s beard”.

• Beards were once taxed, it’s true. Peter the Great encouraged cleanshaveness and for those who didn’t comply, he taxed them 100 rubles a year for a medallion. This medallion served as a license to wear a beard. Although the principal at hand wasn’t about merely money.. His inscription on the beard license read, “The beard is a useless burden.”

• In 1535, Sir Thomas More was placed upon the guillotine and awaited his beheading. Before it could begin he reached down for his lengthy beard, pulled it aside and spoke, “it had never committed any treason.”

• The University of Southern Queensland found that facial hair can block up to 95% of the sun’s harmful UV rays. Which means beards can go a long way in protecting you from things like basal-cell carcinomas. (Cancer). Not to mention, also help prevent visible signs of ageing around your face, head and neck.

• Rate of beard growth depends on your genetics, but it’s also linked to the hormone testosterone.

• Abraham Lincoln became the first U.S. president to sport a beard in 1860.

• Most compliments men receive after growing a beard for the first time will be from other males.

• Beards grow faster in the daytime than the nighttime.

• Many have believed beards to be emblems of wisdom. If you look at Socrates, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and even Shakespeare, these philosophers can all be seen with them. A favorite quote of mine that comes to mind, “Lose your beard,” it was said, “and you lose your soul.”

• During the Middle Ages, anyone who touched other man’s beard was considered offensive. The act was grounds for a duel. The beard was a sign of a virility and honor.

• The International Boxing Association prohibits amateur boxers from having beards.

• Dihydrotestosterone is the chemical that promotes both beards and balding among men. Seasonal changes affect its level in the body, making for bushier summer beards.

• 98% of the Forbes 100 list of the world’s richest men are clean-shaven.

• The only king without a moustache in a deck of cards is the king of hearts.

• The average moustache will trap a pint and a half of beer ever single year.

• You know how gold chains are popular today in hip hop? Well, gold beards were all the rage back in ancient Egyptian times. Men would dye their beards and plate them gold to showcase their high-ranking position. Some wore false metal beards called “postiches” as sovereignty symbols. Even queens, kings and royal cows could be seen with them during special occasions like solar eclipses.

• In British Army, the only rank allowed to grow a beard is Pioneer Sergeant.

• Just before the battle of Ardela, Alexender The Great called to his soldiers. He had an understanding that beards were dangerous in hand-to-hand combat and made all of his men shave. Within time beards would grow back, only this time soldiers kept them to display their lack of fear in times of war. The weakness of being grabbed from behind was of no concern.

• Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top were once offered $1,000,000 to shave their beards for a Gillette ad, to which they both declined.

• Before the invention of breathing apparatuses, firefighters used to dip their beards in water and breathe through the wet hairs clenched between their teeth.

• A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia asked 351 women and 177 heterosexual men to rate  photos of 10 men based on attractiveness, masculinity, health, and potential parenting ability. Men with a heavy, 10-day beard were deemed most attractive by women; those with a full beard scored highest in perceived parenting skills among both women and heterosexual men. Men with a light stubble scored lowest across all categories, even compared to clean-shaven men.