"The term bangs, always used in the plural, is, as you know the fringe of hair usually cut squarely across the forehead. According to etymology scholar Robert Barnhart, the term is strictly American in origin (the Brits call it fringe) first surfacing in 1878. It was believed influenced by the adverbial use of bang in the meaning of abruptly, as in hair cut bang off; some sources offer a relation to earlier bangtailed (1861) of a horse's tail that has been cut horizontally across."
Source: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Etymology-Meaning-Words-1474/bangs-fringe.htm
I've decided to add another source, that basically confirms the above information, But mainly because this site "Word Detective" is awesome! How could I have never seen this before, especially with my insatiable curiosity...
As an afterthought, I just want to point out that today is also 4/20. Heh heh.
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