Polish Moustache, Revisited: The January Uprising of 1863

There are more moustaches, per capita, in Poland than in the United States, and not only because what would be considered a moustache in the U.S. would be considered two “moustaches” (wąsy, a plural noun) in Poland. That would be cheating, or thesis-mongering at its most academic.  Rather, more precisely, there are, currently, more moustaches per capita among the population of men, middle-aged and older in Poland, than in the U.S. The young, well, what can you do about them, but my generation of lads, while perhaps not up to the snuff of previous generations, absolutely glorious in their facial feathering, seem to be holding their own respectably these days. (For a look at a previous generation, I share this website sent by my cousin, Grzegorz, who was trying to make the case for beards as an expression of Polishness, though he himself, a Polsko-Swede, is clean-shaven, excellent ponytail, though. I simply point out that every bearded or goateed veteran insurrectionist of the January Uprising in this photofile has a moustache as well—except, of course, the two ladies, who aren’t bearded either. Proszę patrz: http://histmag.org/Weterani-powstania-styczniowego-w-II-RP-6794.)

So how do I know? I’ve been watching, attending to the upper lips of my fellow men on the street, and it just seems like, you know, there are more of us here per capita in that demographic. I haven’t counted. I haven’t taken any pictures—that seems a little intrusive to me. But I do protect against confirmation bias by asking myself if my impressionistic take on the question is biased, and most of the time I don't think it is. And then people are always coming up to me on the street and asking for directions. Me. Explain that. Foreigners and Poles! I never get asked for directions in America. Perhaps it’s because I look too Polish. Sadly, neither my language nor my sense of direction is up to the standard of my moustache. If only acculturation were that easy.