David Likely and Beth Benoit both responded to the query about whether
hair can turn white overnight, and both, I'm happy to say, came up
with the same explanation. I love consistency. This was (summarizing
broadly) that it can't happen, but can appear to happen if you have
salt-and-pepper hair and all the pepper falls out (suddenly). So it's
an unmasking phenomenon, not an active process.
David then said:
> Can't vouch for the truth of all this but I can present some evidence
> that I have no personal axe to grind -- see the bald guy at
> http://www.unb.ca/psychology/likely/samples/about_the_author.htm
"Behold", saith David Likely, "my brother is a hairy man, but I
am a smooth one" (Genesis, Ch. 27). Well, I checked it out, and he's
right about that!
I was also intrigued by the reference Beth gave to Cecil Adam's
source, a "delightful essay" of a certain Dr. Jelinek. A few minutes
with PubMed yielded up the following:
Bull N Y Acad Med 1972 Sep;48(8):1003-13
Sudden whitening of the hair.
Jelinek JE (no abstract available)
and a more recent one from the same search:
: Am J Dermatopathol 1992 Aug;14(4):367-8
Rapid whitening of the hair first reported in the Talmud. Possible
mechanisms of this intriguing phenomenon.
Goldenhersh MA
The first reported episode of rapid whitening of the hair is recorded
in the Talmud. This intriguing phenomenon is explained on the basis of
a two-step process. The first step involves the actual abrupt
development of white hair due to vitiligo or alopecia areata. The
second step involves the apparent sudden whitening of the scalp hair
due to either simultaneous lengthening of the white hair or selective
loss of the dark hair. In fact, the hair that is perceived as suddenly
whitening was already white.
Which is essentially the Benoit/Likely mechanism. Ah, TIPS at its
best.
-Stephen (a hairy bro, himself)
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at:
http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
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