A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the tail of a pony.
Ponytails are most commonly gathered at the middle of the back of the head or the base of the neck but may also be worn at the side of the head (sometimes considered formal), or on the very top of the head. If the hair is divided so that it hangs in two sections, they are called ponytails, twintails, pigtails, or bunches if left loose and pigtails, plaits or braids if plaited.
In Europe in the second half of the 18th century, most men wore their hair long and tied back with a ribbon into what we would now describe as a ponytail, although it was sometimes gathered into a silk bag rather than allowed to hang freely. At that time, it was commonly known as queue, the French word for "tail". The queue lost favor amongst civilians, but continued as the mandatory hairstyle for men in all European armies until the early 19th century. The British Army was the first to dispense with it, and by the end of the Napoleonic Wars most armies had changed their regulations to make short hair compulsory.
In Asia, the queue was a specifically male hairstyle worn by the Manchu people from central Manchuria and later imposed on the Han Chinese during the Qing dynasty. From 1645 until 1910, Chinese men wore this waist-length pigtail. The queue was utilized as a symbol of dominance over the Han Chinese by the Manchu people. Being a Manchu hairstyle, it was imposed on the Han Chinese to force them into submission. The queue hairstyle involves shaving the rest of the hair on the front and sides of the head, leaving a meagre portion that is tightly tied into a braid. With this hairstyle, the Han Chinese could not grow their hair naturally and freely to style them as they normally did in their own culture, and were hence denied their cultural right to grow their hair comfortably, experiencing suppression and limited agency in the rule of the Qing. Any Han Chinese man who did not wear the queue was executed by beheading. This rule of law was upheld with the exception of monks, who attended monasteries and shaved their entire heads. For this reason alone, many Han Chinese left their homes for monasteries to protect their freedom from this symbol of domination. Otherwise, those who opposed the queue were perceived as threats to Qing culture and power and were purged. Ironically, many of the officials who contributed to the enforcement of this law were Han Chinese who defected to the Qing.
The queue ended in 1910 after revolutions against the law through queue-cutting demonstrations, law revisions to make it more lax, and further queue-cutting demonstrations by Chinese influenced by Western democracy, all of which pressured reform of China's law. Not long after, the Qing dynasty ended in 1911 or 1912.
Apart from origins in China, men in the Edo period (1683–1868) of Japan also wore short ponytails. Sumo wrestlers of Japan also wore their hair in a ponytail that is then styled in a fan shape. This hairstyle involving the ponytail continues in the culture of sumo wrestlers today.
Recent history
In the 1970s, many men wore their hair long and in ponytails. This look was popularized by 1970s-era rock musicians.
In the late 1980s, a short ponytail was seen as an impudent, edgy look for men who wanted to individualize, but keep their hair flat and functional (see mullet). Steven Seagal's ponytail in Marked for Death is an example. (Also see Man bun).
Health issues
It is common for those who wear tight ponytails to experience traction alopecia, a form of hair loss. It has been proven that traction alopecia is highly associated with hair-pulling hairstyles, including the ponytail, and that hairstyles involving less tension are not associated with this condition. Sometimes it can cause a headache.
Additionally, people who wear ponytails may experience extracranial headaches due to tension from prolonged tying of the hairs together in a bundle, pulling at the skin of the head. The pain that results is also because the ponytail pulls at the nerves in the scalp around the face, resulting in light to serious headaches or migraines.
Loosening the ponytail may relieve pain and the headache, though the extent of this varies for different individuals.
Money-saving chicken thighs are the key to this twist on traditional Chinese pork spareribs. This dish, made with boneless skinless chicken thighs, tastes amazing and comes together fast, so it's the best of the best when it comes to dinner! This is a homemade Chinese takeout recipes with something for everyone.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chicken and brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine 3/4 cup water, the soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, and ginger; stir into chicken.
- Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining water. Stir into chicken and cook until sauce has thickened. Serve immediately.
****Be sure to serve over a bed of white rice to soak up all that yummy, sticky sauce!
Each year on July 19th, people across the United States fill their glasses with a rum-based cocktail and toast to National Daiquiri Day. So, raise your glass and join all of the others in this celebration!
Daiquiri is a family of cocktails whose main ingredients are rum, citrus juice (typically lime), and sugar.
Tasting of sunshine and beaches, it might be hard to believe how the Daiquiri came to be. Back in 1898, men blasted away in the mines of a small community off the coast of Cuba during the Spanish-American War. One American engineer, Jennings Cox, supervised a mining operation located in a village named Daiquiri. Every day after work, Cox and his employees would gather at the Venus bar. Then one day, Cox mixed up Bacardi, lime, and sugar in a tall glass of ice. He named the new beverage after the Daiquiri mines, and the drink soon became a staple in Havana. Eventually, someone added shaved ice, and sometimes lemons or both lemons and limes were used.
In 1909, Admiral Lucius W. Johnson, a U.S. Navy medical officer, tried Cox’s drink and subsequently introduced it to the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. The popularity of the Daiquiri then increased over the next few decades.
The Daiquiri was one of the favorite drinks of writer Ernest Hemingway and President John F. Kennedy.
While the Daiquiri is sometimes served frozen, combining it in a blender eliminates the need for manual pulverization. Commercial machines produce a daiquiri with a texture similar to a smoothie, and they come in a variety of flavors, too. Using a frozen limeade to create a daiquiri will provide the required texture, sweetness, and sourness all at the same time.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Gather your friends and mix up a few daiquiris. Make them blended or on the rocks. Enjoy them as a cocktail or find a recipe for a daiquiri flavored dessert. (Remember always to drink responsibly and never to drink and drive).
Here are a bunch of daiquiri recipes....
