Fiery Redhead - Every Mans kryptonite

[uk666]

Fiery Redhead - Every Mans kryptonite

As a redhead, it can be hard to go through life without hearing myths and stereotypes about your red hair. From being considered a witch in the Middle Ages to being a fiery seductress, redheads have heard it all. 

Yet, even throughout history, red hair has held an enigmatic appeal and attraction.

Explore the beauty of red hair in all of its shades here:

1. Approximately 1-2% of humans, or about two in 100 people in the world, have red hair.
2. The ancient Greeks believed that redheads would turn into vampires after they died.
3. “Gingerphobia” is a fear of redheads. 
4. “Gingerism” is the bullying or prejudice of redheads, it really does exist, people do experience bullying, and people do feel discriminated against.
5. In some cultures, such as certain parts of Africa, redheads are still believed to be witches.
6. Otherwise, dark hair may turn red or blond in cases of severe protein deficiency due to starvation.
7. Some ancient pagan witches and sorcerers dyed their hair red to perform certain rituals.
8. 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.
9. Red hair doesn’t grey as much as other hair colours.
10. Red hair initially tends to turn blond and then white.
11. During the Spanish Inquisition, some inquisitors claimed that someone had red air because that person had stolen fires from hell. They were branded as witches and burned to death.
12. Because natural red hair holds its pigment more than other colours, it is harder to dye.
13. Redheaded women report bruising more easily than other women of different hair colours.
14. People with red hair have twice the risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease.
15. Because redheads have thicker hair than people with other hair colours, they have fewer strands of hair. For example, while blondes have on average 140,000 hairs, redheads have approximately 90,000.
16. Hitler reportedly banned the marriage of redheads in order to prevent “deviant offspring.”
17. According to Hamburg sex researcher Dr. Werner Habermehl, women with red hair have more sex than women with other hair colours. He also postulates that women in a relationship who dye their hair red may be signalling that they are unhappy and looking for something better.
18. 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.
19. The sixteenth-century artist Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) painted so many redheads that his name became associated with a shade of red.
20. The rarest hair colour in humans is red.
21. In 1995, Professor Jonathan Reese discovered that mutations of the gene MC1R on chromosome 16 were responsible for red hair (known as the “ginger gene”). The gene mutation responsible for red hair in humans probably arose 20,000-40,000 years ago.
22. According to a Clairol Colour Attitude survey, 71% of redheads think that the word “bold” describes them, which is 24 points ahead of blonds.
23. Mark Twain once quipped that “while the rest of the human race are descended from monkeys, redheads derive from cats.”
24. There is a common perception that redheads could become extinct in 100 years. However, a National Geographic article states that while redheads may decline, barring a catastrophe, the gene for red hair will not likely become extinct.
25. While Scotland has the highest proportion (13%) of redheads (followed by Ireland with 10%), the United States has the largest population of redheads in the world, with between 6-18 million redheads, or 2-6% of the population.
26. The gene that causes red hair initially had the benefit of increasing the body’s ability to make vitamin D, which was important for people living farther away from the equator. However, today’s redheads are more likely to develop skin cancer and premature wrinkles.
27. November 5th is National Redhead Day, which is also known as Love Your Red Hair Day. While we think every day should celebrate red hair, this day in particular is a chance to hold your flame-coloured locks up proudly!

Scholars note that redheads have influenced history out of proportion to their numbers. Famous redheads include:

• Roman emperor Nero
• Helen of Troy
• Cleopatra
• The ancient god of love Aphrodite
• Queen Elizabeth I
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Oliver Cromwell
• Emily Dickinson
• Antonio Vivaldi
• Thomas Jefferson
• Vincent Van Gogh
• Mark Twain
• James Joyce
• Winston Churchill
• Malcolm X
• Galileo
• King David.