The Great Follicle Experiment

The Concept

The concept of The Great Follicle Experiment is hardly unique. I was originally introduced to it by my brother-in-law, Guy, who once held a "moustache party" after conducting a follicle experiment of his own. I have also discovered that there is actually a World Beard and Moustahce Championship competition (www.worldbeardchampionships.com), though my aspirations were much more humble.

The Story

It began innocently enough. I was finishing a rough draft of my thesis and realized that I had not, at any point in my academic career, grown the obligatory facial hair. Jenny suggested that, since I would not be working at a church and I would be spending a lot of time indoors editing, I had the perfect opportunity to get through the stubbly phase of beardedness without offending too many people. She said get going, so the going got.

My conclusions:
1. A beard makes one look older, and not necessarily better.
2. The best part of growing a beard is shaving it in fun stages.