Itch Alert: World Beard & Moustache Championships Are On
Soup would not seem to be a good choice for the victory banquet:
The World Beard and Moustache Championships are this weekend in Anchorage, and the Los Angeles Times has a must-read story about 2007 "full beard: natural" champion Jack Passion of Walnut Creek, Calif. Check out what the Times says life is like for the champ:
When he enters a coffeehouse in the mini-mall, part of a tour of local haunts, baristas gape in wonder and drinks are on the house. When he walks down the streets of his hometown, passersby greet him with smiles and slaps on the back.
It's all because the 25-year-old musician sports a cascading corn silk of red hair that tumbles to his belt and makes him look like Elijah Wood grafted to a ZZ Top beard.
Think you'd have a chance at winning? The championships' official website is here. Our take: If you haven't already started to grow some sort of facial feature, it may take a few years to be competitive.
Update at 11:30 a.m. ET. Saturday on Weekend All Things Considered, Passion speaks with NPR's Jacki Lyden. Here's a clip (pun intended) from that interview:
Go here to find an NPR station near you that broadcasts WATC.
Passion celebrates his 2007 win. The championships were held that year in Brighton, England. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images hide caption
(In case you were wondering: "Moustache" is the championship's preferred spelling -- we would usually go with the more common "mustache.")