Just like the men who wear them, bows can be very interesting:

1. Their first use was during the Prussian wars when Croatian mercenaries used them to tie their shirt collars shut. French started using them after this making them a style item throughout the XVIII and XIX century.

2. They normally have two different shapes when opened and extended, the cricket bat and the butterfly wing.

3. The biggest bow tie in the world is 15 ft long and 7 ft tall. It was created in 2014 by a San Diego resident as a publicity stunt for his bow tie shop. He required help from several assistants to tie the knot.

4. Perfect alignment is not expected — nor preferred. This neckwear is suppose to look somewhat floppy or off-kilter. Laid back gentleman style. Or at least that is what the GQ Magazine is trying to sell us.

5. Playboy, Pringles, Kentucky Fried Chicken, they all share the bow tie in their logos.

6. One of the youngest entrepreneurs in the world is making a fortune with his bow tie shop. Mo Bridges started making bow ties when he was nine. His grandma who taught him how to sew, then he opened a shop in Etsy and now he owns an online store where he sells his creations globally.

7. A good quality silk tie will require approximately 110 silkworm cocoons.

8. Iran banned the sale of bow ties (along with traditional ties) in the province of Gilan after the 1979 Islamic revolution, deeming it a symbol of western decadence. Wearing them however, is not banned.

9. A person who collects ties is called a Grabatologist.

10. The true bow tie aficionado will argue that the self-tie bow tie is the only acceptable option. While we agree that self-tie bow ties are sartorially more respectable, sales and production numbers beg to differ. Be surprised to find out that 78% of all bow ties produced are pre-tied compared to 22% being the self-tie style. This is pretty much translated as “convenience over style”.

11. The origin of the French term “cravat” goes back to when aristocracy started wearing the Croatians’ neckwear.

12.  The days that bring the most visitors to the video “how to tie a bow tie” in youtube are in this order: New Years Eve, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and “National Bow Tie Day”.

13. At one point in history, merely touching a man’s tie knot was cause for a duel.