OK ..... it's 2AM in Chicago and time for another useless factoid.

DID YOU KNOW, that in the US Army during WWI, it was a Court Marshall offence for a trooper fighting in the muddy trenches of France to NOT be properly clean-shaven at all times?

"Chicken GUANO outfits!", you say.

Well, there was a very good reason. In case of a mustard-gas attack, a gas-mask could not seal out the gases if not worn tight to the skin. Beards allowed gas in. A disabled trooper risked the lives of his fellow fighters. Hence, the general order that all troops in action needed to shave every day, OR ELSE.