Prior to the 20th century, when a man wished to shave his beard, he would go see his barber or do so himself, but in either case, the relevant tool was a straight razor. The straight razor was durable, but dangerous since the blade was fully exposed. This potentially subjected the shavee to serious injury, especially if the shaver was unskilled. In 1901, King Camp Gillette invented the safety razor with disposable blades, changing the course of shaving history and creating a business model destined to fill the world with garbage for decades to come. Read the rest of this entry »