Who would have thought giving away two thousand dollars would be so tough? That's not what Dr. Daniel Kamen, a forty-eight year old horse chiropractor from Illinois thought when he created "The Worst Toupee In The USA" contest. "I guess I was wrong," said Kamen. "There apparently aren't any bad toupees out there." That is, in spite of getting over thirty thousand hits on his web site, http://www.threeboyspress.com
Kamen started the contest in September to promote his new book "Sam Donaldson's Toupee And Other Material Off The Top Of My Head". The contest ends on November 14th, 2005, the day Leo Baekeland, the inventor of plastic, was born. To be eligible for a prize, contestants must submit pictures of their own toupee and the public votes to determine the winners.
"Right now I only have celebrities posted on the site but they're not eligible for prizes." Aside from the money, other prizes include a rug shampooer, a gallon of varnish, and a Mr. Potato Head set.
Kamen not only credits ABC newscaster Sam Donaldson's bad toupee as the inspiration for his book, but also for changing world events. According to Kamen, President Reagan's first quote at the Berlin Wall was, "Mr. Donaldson, tear off that rug." Kamen adds, "Not since Watergate has there been such an obvious cover-up."