A holy relic is purported to be a fragment of the living body of an individual elevated by the Catholic church. A tooth, finger, hair lock, scrap of robe, etc., from a saint or martyr suffice. Fakers took advantage of these tokens during the Middle Ages, but today it's much easier to fact-check. Today, you can buy "authentic hair" online, said to have belonged to any number of celebs.

In India, one form of incense was the pleasant kind we all know. But another kind was meant to repel spirits - and involved all manner of things from human hair to pig manure.

Human hair and excrement was a standard in Chinese farming culture. It contains 15 percent nitrogen and doesn't burn plants.

There is a tribe in China who passes down their female elders' hair as an heirloom. Every woman of the Longhorn Miao tribe combines the length of her ancestors with her own around horns worn on her head.

Dongtai hair embroidery starts out black and white, and began over a thousand years ago in China. At first these elaborate creations featured Buddha, but now are colorful and involve ancient symbolism.

The Mayans and Romans would use human hair to stitch wounds. Even today tests confirm human hair is sufficient for this medical use.

Mangyans are from the Philippine island of Mindoro. Their folk music instruments include the git-git, which is strung with human hair. These were used to serenade women in old times.

Human hair has been used for a very long time as a natural pest and animal repellent. It works great on moles, deer, and rhinoceros beetles.

Human hair use in fabric is traditional in India and China. In the west today, it is an expensive novelty.

Human hair jewelry was highly coveted in the Victorian age. Today, the trend is coming back.