UNSPECIFIED - AUGUST 25: Safety razors with razor blades, in steel, 1960s. 20th century. Unspecified (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED - AUGUST 25: Safety razors with razor blades, in steel, 1960s. 20th century. Unspecified (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Deconstructing the Razor



It will probably come as no surprise to hear that facial hair has long been the bane of men’s lives. There is evidence to suggest that prehistoric humans were pulling hair out as early as 100,000 years ago, using seashells as crude tweezers, while 40,000 years ago, people were using sharpened obsidian and even shark’s teeth to scrape away fluff.

By 3000BC, the ancient Egyptians were using curved gold and copper blades for shaving, viewing a hairless state as sign of rank (and even placing razors in tombs for the afterlife), while the Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus is thought to have introduced shaving to Europe sometime around the 600 BC.

By 400BC, a hairless face was considered the height of fashion in Greece and Rome, where, always adept at spoiling themselves, men would shave, remove any remaining stubble with a pumice stone, and then rub lavish oils into the skin.

By the 300BC Alexander the Great deemed beards hazardous, ordering his troops to remove theirs, to prevent handfuls being grabbed during hand-to-hand combat. Around this time, iron and copper were discovered, both quickly replacing bronze, which is softer, as the metal of choice for a sharp razor.

The first straight, so-called cut-throat, razor was developed in Sheffield in England in the 18th century, using metal skills transferred from cutlery making, and in 1740 Benjamin Huntsman created the first hardened steel blade. Until the early 20th century, however, men did not shave themselves, going instead to barbers, who used straight razors with decorative handles that had to be sharpened on a leather strop.

Everything changed in 1901, when the admirably named King Camp Gillette perfected the disposable blade, allowing men to shave at home using a blade that was simply thrown away after use. Sales reached 70 million units by 1915, and made Gillette a millionaire (although he promptly lost it all during the Great Depression). The cartridge razor was introduced in the mid-1960s, with two, three, four or even five blades, and today is the most common type used. The electric razor was introduced as an alternative to use on dry skin in the 1930s by Colonel Joseph Schick, while the Remington Rand Corporation offered an improved version in 1937.

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
UFC Fight Night 2

1am – Early prelims

2am – Prelims

4am-7am – Main card

7:30am-9am – press cons

The five types of long-term residential visas

Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:

Investors:

A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.

Entrepreneurs:

A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.  

Specialists

Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.

Outstanding students:

A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university. 

Retirees:

Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
MATCH INFO

Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners