As I was washing Janie's hair today I kept getting frustrated because her hair is so long that the ends hang in the soapy water while I'm rinsing. I couldn't help but wonder how the witch in the story of Rapunzel managed to keep that child's hair clean. I mean, sure, Rapunzel didn't go running around outside in the baking sun, scurrying through bushes, getting leaves and grass in her hair. But she probably went through that messy-eating phase. Every kid has it. Imagine trying to wash spaghetti sauce out of three feet of hair! That would be a nightmare!
And chewing gum. Ugh. What does the witch do about that? You cut out the gum and then what? Have a Rogue stripe? (This only applies to Disney's telling, I guess).
And for another matter, how did Rapunzel ever learn how to crawl and/or walk with a fountain of hair spilling around her little baby knees? Berto can barely get around when he's got shorts on, let alone trying to coordinate limbs around a mass of slippery strands that pull at your scalp when tugged. Yikes!
Also, shedding. Now, if Rapunzel is anything like me, she'd have tons of stray hairs just lying around the tower. Enough to weave into an actual rope so she wouldn't need to damage that pretty scalp of hers every time her witch-Mom comes home! Or maybe she uses it to make rugs? Blankets? Clothes?
And now that I'm thinking about it, what do her legs look like? Oy! Maybe she lucked out and all her hair-growing-hormones focused on her head and that's why her hair is so long? She's hairless everywhere else? Or not...I'm imagining Mandy Moore as a yak right now. Awkward.
Logistical questions:
-Does she only have clothing that buttons or that she can slip on over her hips?
-How many gallons of shampoo does she go through per week?
How often did the witch have to use the back door because Rapunzel got her hair too tangled up when she was dancing and had to sit there waiting for the witch two feet away from the window because she was stuck?
-Lice.
-Is hair-washing day also mopping day?
-At the end of the story, Rapunzels long locks get lopped off. Would she then have to relearn how to walk, without having to compensate for who-knows-how-many pounds or hair?
I suppose the simple answer to pretty much all of these questions is "magic," but that's just boring.
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