It seems they're almost everywhere lately.
On television, plastered on billboards, even walking down the street you're sure to run into at least two or three.
I am, of course, talking about moustaches.
To those of you concerned with this recent phenomenon, don't worry - it's not 1983 again, it's Movember.
Movember came about in the same way so many other great ideas have been hatched - over several beers in a bar. Back in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia, a group of men plotted to grow moustaches as a joke to help raise awareness for men's health.
During that first year, a grand total of zero dollars was raised but the group helped spark conversation and interest in men's health issues.
Inspired by the way women's groups have taken to supporting and funding research for breast cancer, these moustache pioneers helped start a global men's health movement simply by growing hair above their upper lips.
In 2004, the word got out in Australia and over 400 men signed up, volunteering to grow a moustache to help raise awareness and increase funds for prostate cancer, which is the number one cancer affecting men.
They raised $55,000 and the movement spread worldwide. The Movember campaign managed to reach our shores in 2007.
In fact, last year Canada had the second largest campaign with 35,156 participants coming together to help raise $7.8 million for Prostate Cancer Canada.
It really speaks to the much larger issue of men unwilling to go to the doctor and discuss their health problems. Entire generations of men seem to feel that admitting sickness or being concerned about their health is a sign of weakness.
I have many male family members who detest hospitals and that same leery feeling of going to the doctor has been passed on to me.
Thanks to events like Movember, men will be more willing to discuss their health issues and work to help fight terrible diseases like cancer.
Just don't expect to see me around town sporting a moustache this or any other future November.
There's something about a moustache that makes one think of the guy who lives in a van down by the river. And besides, I'd like to continue having encounters with members of the opposite sex.
But I do commend all the men in Canada and throughout the world who don a moustache for the entire month and help fight prostate cancer.
That being said, I'm sure there are thousands of partners who can't wait until the calendar turns to December. And I don't blame them.
