The longest Beard ever recorded: Children used his Beard as jumping rope

In 1865, 19-year-old Hans Langseth of Eidsvoll, Norway entered a local beard-growing contest — and never stopped growing his prized facial hair for the rest of his life.

After he emigrated to the United States and started a family in Iowa, Langseth's ever-growing beard soon became a local attraction, with neighborhood children even using it as a jump rope.

Image: children can be seen using his beard as a jump rope

All the while, Langseth carefully maintained his beard by threading the hair together into dreadlock-like coils to keep it strong even as the ends died off. By the time he died at age 81 in 1927, his beard had grown to a jaw-dropping 17 feet, six inches long — and he still holds the title of history's longest beard to this day.