# Poll: Comb-over or rug? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 5, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452 "2010-03-05T18:53:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/21 "2010-03-05T20:02:56Z")
The shape says comb-over to me. I admit I looked at some other pictures of the guy to confirm my impression, but I don’t think a rug would have that shape. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/22 "2010-03-05T20:03:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > " You didn’t have an option for, “Medium-sized rodent,” so I think I’ll go for rug. Yeah, I wanted to vote for “marmot habitat”. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/23 "2010-03-05T20:25:44Z")
Rug. My dad wore one for decades and was very sensitive about it - it looked a lot like that. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/24 "2010-03-05T21:05:49Z")
I think I can see where the fake hair ends and there’s just a bit of real hair visible on the bottom of the side near the ear. Rug. And [here you can really see where the hair color changes](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x269/jmknapp/ObamaChilCol-109.jpg) from strange brown gray to real gray. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/25 "2010-03-05T21:12:01Z")
Rug, absolutely, and not a good one, either. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/26 "2010-03-05T21:19:37Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I think I can see where the fake hair ends and there’s just a bit of real hair visible on the bottom of the side near the ear. > > Rug. > > And [here you can really see where the hair color changes](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x269/jmknapp/ObamaChilCol-109.jpg) from strange brown gray to real gray. Also note the texture change. My dad’s hairpiece was a lot nicer than that, but I know one when I see it. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/27 "2010-03-05T21:55:16Z")
It’s a comb-over. We went through exactly the same debate for two decades at the University of Illlinois with respect to basketball coach Lou-Do Henson, and despite public opinion to the contrary his was also a comb-over. With some men, their hair on the sides changes color sooner than their hair on top. If such a man combs over, you get the two-tone contrast. Whereas when you buy a rug, you make the colors match. _Nobody would buy a mismatched rug!_ ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/28 "2010-03-05T22:04:48Z")
Honestly, I think it’s both. He wears the rug for coverage and volume, and then combs the side hair over it, to give it a more “natural” look. Poor guy. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/29 "2010-03-05T22:11:56Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > It’s a comb-over. We went through exactly the same debate for two decades at the University of Illlinois with respect to basketball coach Lou-Do Henson, and despite public opinion to the contrary his was also a comb-over. > > With some men, their hair on the sides changes color sooner than their hair on top. If such a man combs over, you get the two-tone contrast. Whereas when you buy a rug, you make the colors match. _Nobody would buy a mismatched rug!_ No, they don’t _buy_ them mismatched, but the denial keeps them from changing the color of the hairpiece to match their greying hair. ETA - to me the part is the giveaway. If I could get close to him I could tell you for sure. ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/30 "2010-03-05T23:03:19Z")
Voted for comb-over but after **bup’s** picture, want to change my answer to rug. The two-toned color makes it look like a bizarre helmet. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/31 "2010-03-06T03:28:12Z")
\*\*\*Anything \*\*\*is better than a comb-over. Rugs can be good or bad. I once had a coworker who had a little toupee sitting on the top of his head. It didn’t match his real hair on the sides, and the part in it didn’t point in the same direction all the time. (This was not, by any means, the strangest thing about this guy.) On the other hand, one of my cousins has the most realistic real-hair hairpiece I’ve ever seen. He must have paid a fortune for it (he can afford it). ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/32 "2010-03-06T12:23:58Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I vote rug. My god. Does this dude not have a wife? If so, she needs to hand in her wife card for letting him go around looking like that. He has had a couple of wives. Neither had any apparent influence over the mess on his head. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/33 "2010-03-06T12:33:05Z")
You guys have no idea what you’re talking about, it’s clearly a chinchilla. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/34 "2010-03-07T04:32:12Z")
Neither, Bald is beautiful. If you must get something go to Hair Club for men. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/35 "2010-03-07T05:17:15Z")
I voted combover because surely nobody would pay for a wig that bad. But others’ responses have made me unsure. > [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I vote rug. My god. Does this dude not have a wife? If so, she needs to hand in her wife card for letting him go around looking like that. That made me laugh a lot for some reason. 😃 > [@Perciful](#): > > Neither, Bald is beautiful. If you must get something go to Hair Club for men. Did you read the thread beyond the title? ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/36 "2010-03-07T05:30:50Z")
He’s got a terrible wig. Also, I am not a fan of Chillicothe, having recently moved from there. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/37 "2010-03-07T05:55:05Z")
To me it’s so obviously a rug. No natural part stands that far away from the scalp.If that was his real hair, his scalp would be slightly visible along the division line of the part. Also, the color-mismatch and corpse-like texture are dead giveaways. This is a [comb-over.](http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/08/20/t1home.levin.gi.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/38 "2010-03-07T12:07:37Z")
I think it is a rug. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/39 "2010-03-07T14:11:14Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > I voted combover because surely nobody would pay for a wig that bad. But others’ responses have made me unsure. > > That made me laugh a lot for some reason. 😃 > > Did you read the thread beyond the title? No, thanks for pointing it out. OMG, that is one awful looking rug! It needs to be restrained in some way… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452/40 "2010-03-07T15:51:58Z")
> [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Honestly, I think it’s both. He wears the rug for coverage and volume, and then combs the side hair over it, to give it a more “natural” look. This, I think. The worst of both worlds! \o/ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-comb-over-or-rug/531452.md?page=3)