Vietnamese man may have longest hair

SAIGON, Vietnam, July 2 (UPI) -- A Vietnamese man who has avoided the barber for more than 40 years may have the world's longest hair.

Nguyen Van Hay, now 73, told the Vietnamese News Service that he decided to stop cutting his hair when he was 25 because he wanted to be healthy and happy. He had noticed that he became sick whenever he got a haircut.

Hay, an herbalist, lives a quiet life that includes an hour of meditation every day and spending time with his wife, seven children and 20 grandchildren. He tends to stay close to home in Kien Giang province in the Mekong Delta because his hair, which now measures 6.2 meters, or almost 20 feet, could be a hazard.

But Hay has recently been discovered by journalists who are trying to get him into the Guiness Book of World Records.

Hay's daughter, Tran Thi Tha, told the news agency that as a child she was somewhat embarrassed by her father's hair. "However, it became a source of pride when they talked to me about how this man with the unique hair cured people with his medicine," she said.