Today, we got a message on Facebook from a "Matthew Smith" asking us to jump in and get to commenting on a picture he took a few days ago that has garnered over 50 comments already (56 by the time we went to print), noting they are looking to test the realms of how high they can build their comment tower.

Surely, we HAD to see this... well, you know what... it was worth it (barely, as a lot of the comments seemed to come from Matt himself... tricky tricky), so here it is for your viewing pleasure.

So, go on and find this "Matthew Smith" on Facbeook, find the pic, and comment away! Let's see how far we can take this beast... You can thank us later Matt, way to #proveit

With the Facebook fan page that has been created to praise this noble quest, the future looks rosy for NBA playoff beard... In fact, through the magic of Photoshop, Trey Kerby of Yahoo! News already dramatized the likely results of this experiment... and with the magic of copy/paste we are disseminating the 'future' to you all, below.

Either way, when the dust settles, you, dear Los Angeles Lakers... better be ready to #proveit!

B-a-B Note: While we are supportive of growing playoff beards... B-a-B can't fully fall in line behind these 'stop/go stop/go' efforts... as we know, from expereince, playoff beards are gone too soon, whether by way of a championship of a sour dissapointment. GO BEARD OR GO HOME!

Please meet Nicholas Cole! Above is a photo of what happens when Nicholas gets bored... he switches his beard into killer burns... we hate to see what happens when you're focused... either way, and in every way, Nicholas is a man, he has a father, who he has never seen without a beard, and now he has a wife, whom may never see him without a beard as well. Here is Nicholas and his father on Nicholas' wedding day... looking much more focused for sure.

Nicholas you have a beautiful and hairy family, consider this our salute to the greatness of your genetics, DNA, and the future hairy underlings you and your beautiful wife will create. Congrats, and keep on bearding, we'll be on the look out for little junior beardo, keep us posted.

Anyway, meet Scott Herskovitz, a long time B-a-B fan on Facebook, a skater, designer/artist (who actually designed the Scion logo), and a clear dog lover... what warmed our heart is the myriad of pictures that Scott has of his three best friends... his dogs (Nan and Herbo) and his awesome beard chillin' together (do skaters say chillin'? what about hanging loose... ugh forget it).

Below you can see the progression of Scott's beard growth aligned to the rearing of his awesome Huskies... what a lovely, hairy family you have Scott, good on ya. Way to #proveit, I believe you were our first Facebook #proveit...

Also, since you are in LA, please accept this as an official (and personal) invite to the 2010 LA Beard Ball.

Of note is also the fact that Jerry took his beard to the streets and got it on TV! Well done young beardo, well done indeed... local TV is one of the BEST ways to #proveit.

We are SO proud of you Jerry, and hope that just like B-a-B.com you and your beard will have a long life together, we will forever be linked in our hair escapades... so don't even think about shaving, cause we wont quit (even if you do)... besides, look how far you've come!

Happy anniversary indeed... go beard or go home!

Take Amy Kundrat (aka @modernamy and the brains behind @ark_projects) a long time fan who could not attend the 2010 Beard Ball (which was a drag, cause she's awesome), but redeemed her absence by proving she was there with us in spirit, all the way in Connecticut. How did she #proveit from all the way over there AND as a girl?!? Well, she clearly read up on the Gothamist Extra Extra coverage of Beard Ball as well as was up on the rumors of stache vending machines making their rounds... Amy jumped on a fast Italian bike and raced over to the nearest Big Y for her very own 'Funky Face Disguise' to #proveit like a champ.

Sending us proof of not just her stache-y goodness, but also of the stache dispenser's existence... Supplementing your grocery store trip with 75 cents worth of stache on our accord?! Now that's real devotion! B-a-B salutes you Amy, rock on, ride on, and let your hubby scruff up ;)}}

Not only did Cody impress us with the speed of his reply to our challenge (perhaps the fastest yet on Twitter) that he expedited his proving it process by using tools... dangerous tools at that. Young Cody may have broken (an uncontested and likely not real) Guinness Book of World Records for the number of matches he fit IN his beard... yes, inside his beard. The final tally was 32, but Cody is confident he could've fit more if only he had not ran out of matches.

Either way, enjoy the shot below and admire the devotion to #proveit... and always remember, that a beard is the added layer of protection that every man needs.

Well done sir, and the rest of you... well, stay warm, it's a jungle out there... or something.

Today, we wanted to take the time to recognize the beardos in schools everywhere... not the beardos that have been left back a grade or two or four, but those behind the podium... the teachers, the mentors of the beardos of tomorrow.

As such, please meet Ari Leventhal, chemistry teacher at The Urban Assembly School for Applied Math and Science in Bronx, NY. As a child of a full-on scientific family, coincidentally with a focus on chemistry, I both admire and fear Ari... as well as his awesome beard, which he keeps for the school year, and then shaves in the summer. FYI: There is a rumor of Ari dressing up as Invincible Mario for Halloween and sporting the much needed mustache (Ari, please #proveit with at least one photo)...

B-A-B encourages you all to post comments of praise and support for Ari's dedication to his profession as well as his beard... he deserves this not just as a fellow beardo, but in all seriousness because every teacher deserves at least that.

Thank you Ari, you #proveit every day in more ways than many of us can even fathom.

Case in point, meet Nicky Edwards (aka @_penski)... we've been following him for quite some time now; and how can you not when the bright, hot pink beardness is staring at your from the screen!? See solid proof below:

Of course, upon closer examination, and a zoom of the profile pic, you can clearly see this is no beard at all, these are mutton chops like no other... but if you're anything like us, you ask yourself... what happened to the beard, is it pink too, and are Nicky and Perez Hilton related (sorry man, we just had to)?

Some answers to these burning questions are as follows, quoting Twitter convo with Nicky: "bright pink hair looks stupid with dark brown mutton chops... So they went pink too. Not been coloured for about a year now... had pink, green, blue, purple, red beards before. Got a big natural full beard and handlebar mustache now. 3" since 1st Nov 2009."

Well, what does Nicky look like today? Better, worse, like he can kick Perez's ass? Yes, no, YES... see why/how for yourself, and you be the judge. Nicky, you proved it and satisfied out curiously all at the same time! Thank you for all that.

You rock, don't look so surprised either...

Anyway, while we commend each and every one of the first batch of these #proveit champions, the backlog we created enabled us to pick a Top-5 of the entire class, our picks are below.

If you want to take the plunge and #proveit in style, send us your beards, staches, goats and other chin manes here: http://www.build-a-beard.com/send-us-your-beards/ (side: if you want to identify yourself, that's cool... if not, that's cool too. None of the gents below did either... hm.)

Honorable Mention -- This excited guy was literally the first to use the site to #proveit and even with a nice enough looking girzzly beard, but the bad pic quality gets him only this far. Check minus...

#1) We absolutely love this guy... not only does he blend with the interior of his car but just look at his stache!

#2) If you've been with B-a-B for a while you will know that we love flannel, iPhones, and seedy bathroom shots... this has all three. Well played, sir.

#3) Matching beard to wife-beater ratio is easily above 95%... you get bronze any day, any where.

#4) You have lots to smile about sir, you got 4th... we dig the pointy length.

#5) You just snuck in there buddy... still a major accomplishment, so chin up!

Other fun fact: Rumor has it Brad calls his newly purchased bike, 'Vanessa.'  (B-A-B can neither confirm nor deny). 

Terminal values in math and finance imply a point at which continued growth stops; some even attempted to figure out an equation of Terminal Length of Body Hairs (you can find the 'hair raising' calculations here). But look no further, an actual picture of what a Terminal Length looks like for beards is below... this is Exhibit A, and we are submitting it as evidence. Lyle notes that he hasn't taken scissors or razor to his luscious beard since at least December 2008 (the photo below is from Dec. 27, 2009), but the growth stopped about middle of 2009... followed only by shedding, thus clearly reaching Terminal Length.

As we said on Facebook, you are our hero... this is not a feat that can be claimed by many, and likely not even by few... you are in a hairy league all your own. Chin up fellow beardo, and thanks for sending this incredible photo!

ANYway, this father of two is evidently continuously immersed in insanity out there in the familial and overarching suburban 'weeds' day in day out (that is from what we can gather from his site thus far... anyone that describes children as his “fuck-trophies” seems like a great follow, no?).

Either way, here is to your version of #proveit, sir... and while the beard's origin is sad -- started upon loss of job (ouch) -- the fact that you promised and committed to keep it (trimmed) once you finally get a new job or at least an interview is a hairy, selfless and honorable act.

Consider this your salute and a good luck charm, cheers.