a little and a lot

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

that dang widow's peak

do you have a widow's peak? i do. and i hate it.

i wish i had jennifer garner's lovely no-widow-peaked forehead.

you may think this is trivial. and yes, it is. but also, you may not realize why a widow's peak makes a difference in the way you style your hair.

a brief but short list of the way a widow's peak ruins my hairstyles:
  • the ponytail: when i pull my hair straight back, there is a point in the center of my forehead. blech.
  • the swoop: when i swoop my long or short bangs to the side, there is an awkward piece of hair that makes my swoop uneven.
  • braids: when i make two french braids in my hair, which side is that dang widow's peak supposed to go on? whatever happens, you can't get a part straight down the center.
  • butt cut: related to the former point is the butt cut problem. it's just so weird to try to get a part going straight down the center of your head.
am i missing any?

just to quench your curiousity, here is how the "widow's peak" became to be known as such (cited from Wikipedia):

A widow's peak is a descending V-shaped point in the middle of the hairline (above the forehead). The trait is inherited genetically and dominant[citation needed]. The term comes from English folklore, where it was believed that this hair formation was a sign of a woman who would outlive her husband. [1]

The peak refers to the beak or bill of a headdress, particularly a widow's hood, making people think a woman was being given a mourning hood for her husband's soon-to-be passing.[2] The peak is also believed to be a sign of sexual prowess in folklore [citation needed].

Vampires such as Dracula are often depicted in popular culture with widow's peak.


as an aside, i would like to welcome meredith vieira to the "today show" family. i know that i am sounding like i'm a part of that family. and it's because i am. i watch that show faithfully every morning. we welcome you meredith, AND your non-widow-peaked forehead!

5 comments:

Kyle Smith said...

Jesse,

I would like to applaud your commitment to excellence. You could have simply posted that reference and citation without links, but no! Thank you.


P.S. You know a 5 year old could have edited that and inserted something entirely false? Oh the joys and curses of the site that is Wikipedia.

Unknown said...

I have a small widow's peak that is not completely symmetrical, but I kind of like it. Sorry.

Mommy of Boys said...

I think it adds character, Jesse! You're so funny!

Tesney said...

I also have an asymmetrical widow's peak and I kinda like mine too. It's slight...not like Eddie Munster's. Glad to know the origin of the peak and that is a sign of sexual prowness...I was wondering where I got that from.

The jury's still out on Meredith...I still miss Katie so! Maybe I'll get used to her. I'm not so keen on the new set...it makes it look like it has a low ceiling to me. Closterphobia begins to set in after watching for a few minutes.

Brooke said...

Jesse, I can honestly say that I never noticed that you have a widow's peak. It cannot possibly be remotely as drastic as Eddie M's for me to have never noticed this.


Adopting Rhet: Click on the timeline above to read more