18 Facts About Redheads | eBaum's World

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18 Facts About Redheads

Increase your knowledge about gingers!

By Mizuka Ishiwatari

Published 10 years ago

Increase your knowledge about gingers!

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1
Red hair is a mutation of the MC1R gene on chromosome 16. The mutation blocks the production of eumelanin (dark brown and black pigment), which causes a buildup of the phaeomelanin (red and blond pigments).

2
Approximately 1-2% of humans, or about two in 100 people, have red hair.

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3
The ancient Greeks believed that redheads would turn into vampires after they died.

4
Otherwise dark hair may turn red in cases of severe protein deficiency due to starvation.

5
During the Middle Ages, a child with red hair was thought to be conceived during “unclean sex” or during menstruation.

6
Red hair doesn’t gray as much as other hair colors. Red hair initially tends to turn blond and then white.

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7
“Gingerphobia” is a fear of redheads. “Gingerism” is the bullying or prejudice of redheads.

8
The most rare hair color in humans is red.

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9
During the witch hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe, many women were burned at the stake as witches merely because they had red hair.

10
People with red hair have twice the risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease.

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11
Mark Twain once quipped that “while the rest of the human race are descended from monkeys, redheads derive from cats.

12
Because redheads have thicker hair than people with other hair colors, they have fewer strands of hair. For example, while blondes have on average 140,000 hairs, redheads have approximately 90,000.

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13
According to legend, the first redhead was Prince Idon of Mu who, upon discovering Atlantis, was imprinted with the island’s stunning red sunset and leaves in the form of red hair and freckles so future generations would be reminded of Atlantis’ first sunset.

14
Red hair is a recessive trait, which means that a child must inherit one red hair gene from each parent. Recessive traits often come in pairs, and redheads are more likely than other people to be left handed.

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15
The sixteenth-century artist Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) painted so many redheads that his name became associated with a shade of red.

16
In ancient Rome, redheaded slaves were often more expensive than those with other hair color.

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17
Hitler reportedly banned the marriage of redheads in order to prevent “deviant offspring.”

18
While Scotland has the highest proportion (13%) of redheads (followed by Ireland with 10%), the United States has the largest population of redheads on the planet, with between 6-18 million redheads, or 2-6% of the population.

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