The Great Follicle Debacle

WBMC

There are theories about why humans have less facial hair than other mammals (http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2014/09/fuzzy-face.html), but there is no doubt that what the male of the species manages to do with what he has puts every other creature to shame. On Oct. 25, that creativity will be on display at the World Beard and Moustache Championship in Portland (slideshow): http://www.oregonlive.com/multimedia/index.ssf/2014/10/contestants_march_in_processio.html

   So that's the "follicle" part, but why "debacle"? Well, apparently, there's the U.S. World Beard and Moustache Championships and the European World Beard and Moustache Championships. The European championships came first, but the Americans registered the name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/10/hairy_controversy_surrounds_wo.html#incart_related_stories