A Six Pack of Mustaches

“A six pack of mustaches,” he says.

I’m dumbfounded. When I asked for a clue, that was the last thing I expected to hear.

He’s grinning, and I’m pondering how and why mustaches would come in a six pack, much less how this will play into the holiday “theme” dinner he’s, um… cooking up.

And the mind churns, attempting to solve the puzzle with that single response.

“No more hints?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

So I leave the room imagining Tom Selleck with his brush-covered upper lip in the 1980s, a Barber Shop Quartet with handlebar mustaches, hippies with their version of the same – though scragglier than the early 20th century versions.

I picture six of us in Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses – avec moustaches – or Victorian garb with a barber pole nearby, or scads of love beads and peace symbols to hang around our necks. Then again, there’s the Groucho Marx look – all of us disguised behind bushy brows and a fuzzy bit of black cotton appended to a plastic nose.

Might there be cigars, too?

Wait. A light bulb moment. Maybe it’s a trick.

What if the theme is about six packs rather than mustaches? What else comes in six packs?

Let’s see. We have six pack abs – well, we’d like to have them, theoretically. And if you’re curious – here’s how to get those six pack abs – at least, according to one source that makes it sound oh-so-simple and I dare say it’s not!

Six pack of beer? I don’t drink beer though I suppose it’s a possibility along with a six pack of soda and a six pack of snacks of some sort.

I Google.

Now I want to know what the most common foods and other items are to come in a six pack and for that matter, why six? Why not five which is half of ten? Why not seven which is a “lucky” number? What’s the origin of the six pack anyway?

Yes, the wanderings of a weary mind.

More six pack items?

According to Wiki Answers, you can add to my list above the following: hotdogs, eggs, yogurt, puddings and small boxes of cereal – though they come in packs of six or more – which isn’t exactly the same thing.

As to the origin of the six pack, Wiki simply describes a six pack as a collection of six items of the same sort, and while Wiki references a six pack of beverages and some musical groups as well as films – there’s no detail on when we began to bundle objects into sixes or why.

What about the 1968 Doris Day movie, “With Six You Get Eggroll?” That was a – yes, you got it – “sixties” movie. Clearly, there was already something to do with economies of scale passed along to the consumer when you hit six. Kids that is.

Apparently, when ordering Chinese food.

I may delight in Doris Day, but I’m back to Google to solve this riddle.

As for the number six itself, here are a few fun facts from Wiki:

God created man on the 6th day; there are 6 strings on a guitar; 6 is the # of points received for a touchdown; 6 is the number of points on the star of David.

Okay. That’s lovely to know, but I seem to recall that insects have six legs. Might that be relevant? Are there bees, beetles and butterflies involved in this holiday happening?

What about the fact that six is half of the “twelve days of Christmas?”

Sadly, I’m no closer to quelling my curiosity about six packs or their origins, not to mention the mysteries of a mention of mustaches.

Hello, “Today I Found Out?”

Any scoop on our hankering for the half dozen over fondness for favoring four or five?

• Is anyone else treated to surprise themed holiday dinners – with no clue – or six – to go on?

• Do you love to intertwine riddles into your activities – or know someone who does?

• Do you enjoy it, or does it leave you all sixes and sevens, which I’m feeling myself these days?

Maybe I should deep six trying to anticipate the surprise, and go with the festive flow. But how will I know what to wear? Should I “pack six” pairs of shoes to wear. or add a six pack of Louboutins to my list for you-know-who?

Image of Tom Selleck, Wiki; Photo by Alan Light, http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/252962000/in/photostream/ under Creative Commons 2.0

© D. A. Wolf

Big Little Wolf’s Daily Plate of Crazy