Wig whammy

The afro hairstyle popularized by black musicians like the Jackson 5 and American pro basketball players like Julius Erving in the 1960s and 1970s remains an appealing hairdo today. Among its biggest fans is Jessica L. Martinez of New York.

Martinez broke the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the biggest afro on 23 October. GWR measured her curls at 11.42 inches tall, 12.2 inches wide, and 6 feet 2.87 inches in circumference, beating fellow American Aevin Dugas who held the record for 15 years.

Dugas’ afro measured 9.84 inches tall, 10.24 inches wide, and 5.41 feet in circumference.

“To see someone like me, with hair like this, in the Guinness World Records book, is just so absolutely incredible,” GWR quoted Martinez as saying.

Meanwhile, a judge’s copycat hairdo did not sit well with a judicial watchdog.

A report by Missouri’s Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges prompted Matthew E.P. Thornhill, a St. Charles County (Missouri, USA) Circuit Court judge, to resign.

Citing the report, People reports that Thornhill “engaged in conduct in which he failed to maintain order and decorum in the courtroom that included wearing the (Elvis) Presley wig ‘on or about 31 October’ while conducting courthouse business; allowing litigants to choose how they would be sworn in before testifying, such as letting them pick a Presley song from the judge’s phone; and reciting lyrics from Presley’s music that had nothing to do with the court proceedings at hand.”

The judge, a diehard fanatic of the “King of Rock and Roll,” agreed with the recommendation of the commission to be suspended for six months without pay and serve for 18 months before resigning.

“I regret any inconvenience that I may have caused the court. I can assure you that I will do my very best in the future to serve the people of the State of Missouri with honor and dignity,” Thornhill said in a letter to the Missouri Supreme Court on 12 November, according to People.