Origins
Gangsters arose out of Prohibition, when alcohol was banned because lawmakers thought hangovers were responsible for the Great Depression.

Bloodbath
Prohibition made shaving easier as people never had the shakes. But gangsters had access to alcohol and cut themselves frequently.

Scar Face
Wasn’t very good at shaving.

Baby Face Nelson
Didn’t have to shave.

Pretty Boy Floyd
The only man with a new razor blade.

J Edgar Hoover
Had to shave particularly well when he wanted to dress up as a woman.

Racket
What a gangster made when he cut himself.

G Man
What people would say when faced with a particularly bad shave.

Liquor
A gangster tending his wounds.

Hood
Worn to hide a particularly nasty accident.

St Valentine’s Day massacre
It was a special day, so they all had a shave but the razors were terribly blunt.

Protection
Safety razor.

Extortion
The high price of electric razors.

Wise Guy
Gangster who decided not to shave.

Untouchables
Had beards.

Concrete boots
You could hear inexperienced gangsters approaching.

Hold up
Problem during a bank robbery. Often caused by heavy footwear and painful lesions on the face.

Bonnie Parker
Made sure the getaway car wasn’t on double yellow lines.

Dirty rat
Al Capone’s pet rodent.

Pretty Boy Floyd
Al Capone’s pet parrot.

Ma Barker
Al Capone’s pet dog.

The Brady Gang
After prohibition finished, they continued to terrorise America by making twee television comedy.

Conclusion
Gangsters were easy to spot in line-ups because of the amount of tissue paper on their faces, and soon all found themselves in Alcatraz, which was an Al Capone tribute act.