I was recently talking with some (female) friends about hair, and I had a sudden memory of some legendary hair from the Bible. I couldn't remember the specifics of the story until I got home and looked it up, but it was amusing to get the full story again.

It was Absalom (David's son) who had the über-hair that I remembered. He was evidently quite proud of it, but it also caused some practical problems for him. 2 Samuel 14:25-26 says that his hair would regularly get too heavy for him, so he'd cut it off and weigh it -- and it came in at 200 shekels, which is about 5 pounds or 2.3 kilograms! Now that's some hair, isn't it?!?

As I was sharing the story with Elliot this morning, he actually helped remind me that it may have been Absalom's hair that led to his eventual downfall and death. Ironically -- or perhaps appropriately -- Absalom's vanity eventually pushed him to rebellion, and his rebellion eventually pushed him into the flight of a fugitive. While retreating from royal forces one day, his head (including his hair) got stuck in a tree -- at which point he was finally captured and killed (see 2 Samuel 18 for the whole story).

Isn't that a great hair story?!? I challenge you to come up with a better one...