U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature For December 2

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2: SAFETY RAZOR

Profile America -- Wednesday, December 2nd.  During the course of recorded history, men have had to decide how to deal with their facial hair.   Styles regarding beards and moustaches come and go, but in recent times, most men in the U.S. prefer to shave every day.  For centuries, their only recourse was the straight razor, which provided a close shave but had to be handled carefully to avoid cuts.  On this day in 1901, an American named King Camp Gillette patented the safety razor, with disposable blades.  Then, in 1928, the increasing availability of electricity led to the invention of the electric razor by Jacob Schick.  Now, electric razors are part of the $2.3 billion a year electric housewares industry.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 575

2002 Economic Census, NAICS 335211

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau