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Posted By: Rob Fouch

I have a snippet (not even a lock) of hair from the famous abolitionist John Brown. I guess there's no way to be absolutely certain it's authentic, but David's right, it's all about provenance. The guy I bought it from is a renowned hair collector and belongs to a hair-collecting society of some sort. The snippet (it's tiny, tiny) came with copies of all kinds of paperwork on where it came from and how he got it.

And before you think I'm too weird, I bought it because I was writing about John Brown in a novel I'm working on. The main character becomes obsessed with Brown, who's a fascinating historical figure, if a bit nuts.
Anyway, it's kind of cool to own -- assuming it's real. I just don't drag it out at parties.