A lock of George Washington's hair discovered

[Still Waters]

Washington fluffed his reddish hair, as was the style in his day. He may have greased it. Once greased, he powdered it stark white – or at least he did so until it turned naturally gray in his old age.

And then he died in 1799. And that's the end of the story of President George Washington's life, but not of his hair.

Not all of Washington's hair went into a tomb with him. That's because, like many in his day, he had a habit of giving it away.

https://www.sciencealert.com/union-college-finds-old-clump-george-washington-hair

[quiXilver]

Perhaps George was a true Materialist then... 

Why dispose of body parts, throwing them away as if they are trash, when moments before they were part of your very self?

If your body is the real you, why would you throw parts of it in the garbage?

 

[+and-then]

I finally got around to reading his bio and discovered that he was quite a guy.  A staunch patriot, a tremendously loyal leader to his men and a person who suffered from stomach/bowel problems regularly.  He loved to dance, was a clothes horse and was a would-be social climber.  The strangest factoid was his penchant for secretive military stratagems like kidnapping!  He desperately desired a commission as an officer in the British Colonial system but was denied again and again, perhaps for being too "rustic".  I gotta say, the Brits blew THAT call 

[Keel M.]

26 minutes ago, quiXilver said:

Perhaps George was a true Materialist then... 

Why dispose of body parts, throwing them away as if they are trash, when moments before they were part of your very self?

If your body is the real you, why would you throw parts of it in the garbage?

 

It was the popular thing to do.

[acute]

3 hours ago, quiXilver said:

Why dispose of body parts, throwing them away as if they are trash, when moments before they were part of your very self?

If your body is the real you, why would you throw parts of it in the garbage?

Do you keep all your nail clippings in a drawer? 

[quiXilver]

12 hours ago, acute said:

Do you keep all your nail clippings in a drawer? 

that would be epic nasty.

[Myles]

22 hours ago, Keel M. said:

It was the popular thing to do.

That is correct.   My mon kept some of my hair and my siblings (8 of us) in envelopes.   I assume it was just a family tradition passed down. 

 

I was a little surprised at the $3000 estimate for George Washington's hair.   I had seen an episode of Pawn Stars where a jacket worn by George Washington went for something like $300,000.