Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Mustaches

"A good mustache makes a man for many reasons." -John Oates

Since the time I was able to grow it, I've always been a fan of sporting facial hair--the beard, in particular--but when a new job had a policy of "nothing more than a mustache," I figured, what the hell, why not? So, as many men are growing hair on their upper lip for "Movember," I've been having more of a "Mo-year," which got me thinking: What is it that makes the mustache so darn appealing? After hours of research, I came to the realization that the answer to that question is far too complex for a single blog post, though I did find out several interesting tidbits concerning the mustache. For your pleasure, I give you, "Everything You Never Wanted to Know about Mustaches."

• The earliest known depiction of a mustache is from an Iranian portrait dating back to 300 BC

• In the UK it is spelled "moustache"
• In many Arab countries, the mustache is associated with power
• The mustache can be broken into six sub-categories: Natural, Hungarian, Dali, English, Imperial, and Freestyle
• These sub-categories can be further broken down into types: Chevron, Fu Manchu, Pancho Villa, Handlebar, Horseshoe, Pencil, Toothbrush, and Walrus
• The longest mustache on record in that of Ram Singh Chauhan, measuring 14 feet (4.29 m) on   March 4, 2010

• Pittsburgh is home to the American Mustache Institute (AMI), which advocates for greater acceptance of mustaches in the workplace and throughout modern culture
• Four U.S. Presidents have worn just mustaches: Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft. Could Obama make it five?

• The 1972 Oakland Athletics were encouraged to grow mustaches by their eccentric owner, Charlie Finley. When they played the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series, the championship was referred to as "the hairs vs. the squares." The hairs won in seven games.

• It's a cold-hard fact: Men simply look better with mustaches