Have you ever seen one of your own hairs on your sweater? We “shed” hair, meaning a few hairs fall out every day because they’re done growing. We shed between 50 and 100 head hairs each day! (Don’t worry — new hairs grow back in). Mammals all have hair, even elephants and kangaroos, and they all shed, too. We have about 100,000 hairs on our head, but a cat might have 40 MILLION hairs on its body!
Wee ones: Hold some hair in your fingers. Now try to hold just 2 of those hairs, and let the rest go!
Little kids: Hold a hair straight up from the top of your head. About how long is it in inches? Ask a grown-up to help you guess, or use a ruler! Bonus: If you lose 50 hairs one day and 10 more then next, how many do you lose the 2nd day?
Big kids: If you lost 56 hairs on Monday and 65 hairs on Tuesday, how many hairs do you lose? Bonus: If a cat normally loses 1,600 hairs per day, but loses 10 times that number on days when you brush the kitty, how many hairs does it lose on a brushing day?
Answers:
Wee ones: Try to pinch just 2 hairs.
Little kids: Different for everyone…it could be anywhere from half an inch to many inches. Bonus: 60 hairs.
Big kids: 121 hairs. Good thing you keep growing more! Bonus: 16,000 hairs!
