"Here is a fun fact. Did you know that in the United States Vietnamese immigrants have cornered the market on fingernail salons? It's true. You know, they began arriving in the late 1976, part of the diaspora following the American War, and they began opening fingernail salons. Today, up to 80% of all fingernail salons from coast to coast are owned by Vietnamese people. Ah, but there's a very interesting historical fact to explain it. Listen to this. One of the most fascinating practices of late 19th century Vietnam was that of men wearing their fingernails extremely long. It was typically a practice of the upper classes, but also of scholars. The fact that confuses the great scholar in Vietnamese history is often portrayed with long fingernails made the practice a prestigious symbol, not only of scholarship, but of virtue. As with many other Vietnamese practices, it has its roots in ancient Chinese history. References to a precious nail culture have been found in the historical records of the Shang dynasty dating to 1000 BC. Meticulous and groomed nails were all the passion during the warring state period of 40 AD, and during the Tang dynasty of 800 AD. Romantic poetry, the romantic poetry of that era often mentions the lover's inspiration of long, beautiful fingernails. And more recently, the last empress of the Shang empire, Hsing Hsing, is often portrayed in a very famous pose with long or inspiring fingernails circa 1900. Even in modern day Vietnam, the customs surround her. Here's the story about a man who has not trimmed his fingernails for 40 years. Oddly enough, he is a construction worker. Of course, this is another example of how Vietnamese people managed to accomplish something that to someone in the outside world would see in..."