World's Hairiest Man

Today's posting continues a series on lessons I use to keep the idea for learning alive with the boys aged 6-9 that I find myself tutoring this school year. For those of you with kids, you know how hard it is to control the short attention spans kids have at that age, especially boys. So, I've come up with little lessons that keep them interested and anxious to learn. Here's one about the current title holder of the world's hairiest man:

Yu Zhenhuan, who in Chinese and lives in Hong Kong, holds the title of the world’s hairiest man in the Guinness World Records. He has held the title since 2002.

96% of Mr. Yu’s body is covered with hair. He sports an average of 41 hairs per square centimetre of his skin thanks to a condition known as atavism. Although he remains realistic about his physical appearance, he doesn’t believe it should be a barrier to finding a girlfriend. “I feel like King Kong” he told one reporter in an interview. “Hideous, but with a soft and tender heart”.

He has never allowed his condition to make him sad. He says he is happy that his appearance has brought him such notoriety. At the age of six, he starred in his own film “A Hairy Child’s Adventure” and, after being named the world’s hairiest man, pursued a career as a rock star playing both the guitar and saxophone.

Having so much hair has been a real problem too. He has had five operations to remove hair from his nose and ears. He also needed help from dentists to repair his gums which, at one point, threatened to engulf his teeth.

He believes he can find wife by using online dating because women can see his picture and not be as surprised when they meet him in person. Find out more about current title holders in the strangest categories at: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

Research info gathered at: http://www.wikipedia.com/

Now, here's one of my hairiest poems:

What Color Does It Hurt?

Two weeks later, the first signs of things gone amok appear:

– Thick toenail clippings won’t come down from a tree.

– Hundreds of bowls of Thai soup are smudged with India ink.

– A paper snowflake sends an ultimatum to the kidnappers.

– Land snails grow to the size of hockey pucks.

– Mini-marts float like ice in glasses of tea.

– Sunflowers become concerned about their carbon footprints.

– Pictures surface of Russian Roulette after being cooked.

– Ohio suddenly can press one hundred sixty pounds.

– Pale scissors send signals by raising a hind leg up.

– Red ants gain national notoriety for being afraid of nothing.

Poem first published at: http://www.leafscape.org/

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Copyright 2008 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.