Handlebar moustache
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy, often graspable, extremities. Unlike a Fu Manchu moustache, which only takes weeks to grow, it literally takes years to grow out a handlebar moustache. They are named for their resemblance to the handlebars of a motorcycle or bicycle. This effect is usually achieved by the use of moustache wax although it can be a hereditary trait as well. Similar styles of moustache are quite ancient, appearing on statues and other depictions of Iron Age Celts.
In the United Kingdom and other European Nations, handlebar moustaches have always been closely associated with the British armed forces, particularly with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.
In the United States, handlebar moustaches are considered stereotypical of the Wild West, and the 19th century, and were revived in the 1970s when Charlie Finley, then owner of the Oakland Athletics, paid his players (most notably Rollie Fingers) not to shave to give the nation a reason to recognize the Athletics as unique from the rest of the league.
