Sixteenth-century mayor Hans Steininger was famous for his supposedly four-foot-long beard—until it killed him. Today, Steininger's beard is still displayed at the local museum in Branau am Inn, Austria. Steininger was said to often roll his beard up into his pocket and out of the way. But when a fire broke out one day, he forgot to tuck his beard away and tripped at the top of a flight of stairs. The fall was lethal, and so Steininger's beard became famous for more than its length.