An Index of Non-Follicular Resistance

A piece of hard grit fell from a shelf in my place of work and bounced off my colleague's bald head. This was a totally unexpected event.

Apart from the inevitable merriment, my curiosity lead me towards some research into this phenomena. There was none! I was shocked and surprised, but of course delighted at the opportunity to provide the means of opening up a new pathway in the quest for knowledge of all things recordable and measurable.

The idea is actually simple: create an apparatus that enables statistics to be gathered then analysed, relating to the comparative abilities of bald heads to resist the impact of a small object being dropped directly on them.

Let's begin with the apparatus.

For the simplest results, this consists of a perspex tube that attaches comfortably to the subject's head. A series of holes at the top end enable balls to be dropped unto the head positioned below from various predetermined heights.

There are two parts to the data collection: input and outcomes

Input consists of:
height of drop
ball characteristics as listed
ie dimensions, weight, material (ball is available in lead, steel, basalt, oak, graphite, depleted uranium)
hair stubble length (if any) on subject's head
scalp skin fatty depth

Outcomes/results:
height of initial bounce
sustain ie time taken for bounce to decay to a resting position

Once a substantial body of statistics have been collected, they can be analysed and useful conclusions drawn.

Other experiments in this field re angular impacts are under consideration.

see illustration for prototype of actual apparatus