From Birth to The Origin: The Great Darwin Beard Challenge

In honor of our main man today, Charlie D, the Southern Fried Scientist and I are having a Darwin beard challenge. To have an even playing field, we shaved it down this morning. We start today as Darwin started his life, naked and smooth like a monkey baby’s bum. This is something I have not done since November 2003, when I went down in Alvin. Even then, I was a bearded since I could grow facial. The things I do for science. Beards shall be grown from now until October 1, the date of the publication of the 1st edition of On the Origin of Species, by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life as printed in the book. We’ll be posting weekly updates on both Deep Sea News and Southern Fried Science. We invite all readers and bloggers to participate! You can post your weekly update on your own blog or send them into me at deepseanews at gmail dot com. Who among ye will take up this mighty challenge for science? Viva la Evolucíon!

Kevin Z (sexy man on the left) and Southern Fried Scientist (slightly less sexy man on the right) on Darwin Day, T=0
Kevin Z (sexy man on the left) and Southern Fried Scientist (slightly less sexy man on the right) on Darwin Day, T=0

You can still see us in all our former bearded glory if it frightens you too much.

32 Replies to “From Birth to The Origin: The Great Darwin Beard Challenge”

  1. Sorry, we’ll be needing your marine biologist ID badges back. Or you’ll have to compensate for beardlessness by wearing Tevas with socks and plaid flannel shirts ALL THE TIME.

  2. The first edition of Origin (in the UK at least) officially came out on 24th November 1859, although it was available two days earlier to the trade.

    As an evangelical beardie myself, I’m tempted to join you. But not *that* tempted.

  3. Lilian, The female population of our readership can make their own darwin beards! lol

  4. Damn! Carter beat me to it!

    Southern Fried Scientist’s shave appears closer than Kevin’s, ergo Kevin is a nasty little cheater?

    @Lilian Nothing stopping us from participating, actually, it’s just that we can’t win …well except perhaps that extremely gifted lady Rick dug up.

    @Kevin *rolls eyes*

    All in all, though, I have to say this is a most excellent idea and I shall promulgate it by tweet and by blog!

  5. Hm… not so sure about those two blokes above. They look rather like accountants or maybe chemical engineers, but not oceanographers, and definitely not marine biologists. ;)

    Unfortunately I’ll have to beg out of joining the challenge since I swore when I graduated or got straight A’s I’d either chop the hair OR go clean shaven.

  6. I’m too slow that those in Britain (Richard and Karen), but yeah, I was going to correct it. I would do it but you both would grow more in 3 days than I could in a year, so I won’t!

  7. I am aware that it was made public Nov. 24th, but we decided to go by the date in the cover of the first edition (mostly not to prolong the pain for my wife too much lol)

  8. In case all of this facial hair starts to itch and scare people, just remember that Darwin did some of his best thinking as a baby-faced naturalist. He didn’t start channeling ZZ Top until he was a grand old man of science.

  9. So should we have a sideburns growing contest? We could split this up by age categories. Young Darwin and Old Darwin. lol

  10. Michael Robinson is absolutely right and as such the answer to the question, ‘So should we have a sideburns growing contest?’ is, obviously, YES.

  11. Alas, I’ve out of touch just too long – I would have joined the challenge, but I’ve missed t=0 by almost a week. Actually, maybe if I give you guys a month’s head start, it would be more fair…

  12. Great Idea Johann! And then I can dye it white and be Santa for Christmas LOL. I might actually do the Darwin though. I could be zombie Darwin risen from the dead. An unrested soul stirred by the threats of creationism to our very moral fabric…

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