A little known fact ....

Red hair is the rarest natural hair color in our species. Trevor is in the elite group of being one of 2% of the world's population that has this phenotype.

Now, if you are wondering how I came to this little known fact about red hair, here is your answer. I was blog hopping the other day and ran across a girl's blog in which she noted several of her children have red hair. She had recently participated in a "cross the country" contribution for a book on red hair(www.littleredheadbook.com) Of course the book was filled with red haired children of all ages, with each having varying shades of red. Supposedly there are 5 types of red hair. Until this, I had really not given much thought to it. It is interesting to note that I once had red hair like Trevor's. I have a lock of my hair when I was little and compared to his when he was younger, we matched! Hard for me to believe my hair was once as red as his.

Other relatives to have red hair: Granny Steed, Grandma Withrow

Now a little history:

A 2002 study found that redheads are harder to sedate than any other people requiring twenty percent more anesthesia. Inadequate doses cause people to wake up during surgery and have increased recall of procedures. (I can vouch that study is accurate)

Archaeological digs in the Chinese desert of Takla Makan found mummified redheads dating back 3,000 years.

Red-heads' hair maintains its natural color longer than any other hair color. A little known fact about natural red hair is that it never turns gray. As a person ages, their red hair will turn to a sandy-blonde color. It will then ultimately turn white.(Grandma Withrow's hair was white!)

Red headedness is, genetically speaking, a recessive trait. It may appear after several generations of darker hair.

On a lighter note- a little known fact about natural red hair is, that, red heads generally have less hair on their heads than blondes or brunettes. Adult Blondes have approximately 140,000 hairs; brunettes have 110,000, and red heads only grow about 90,000 hairs on their heads but the diameter of each hair is greater.

Since red-headed people have the fairest of skin, they tend to sunburn more easily. They are also more susceptible to skin cancer and wrinkles(Now I know why I have wrinkles!-lol). That's why people with natural red hair need to protect their skin with moisturizers and sunblocks.

Red haired people have had to endure a range of unflattering nicknames and phrases including such oldies as carrot-top, red on head, red, agent orange, big red, fireball, and fire truck. They've also been greeted with such salutations as “Is your hair on fire?” and “Here comes a fire truck!” Is there any wonder that red haired people tend to develop a good sense of humor?

Red hair is most common in the British Isles, with a full 13% of the Scottish population possessing the phenotype for red hair and at least 40% of the population carrying the gene. It is easy to see why red hair is often associated with Celtic origins.

Red hair is a pretty new for us humans--scientists estimate that the gene for red hair has only been around for about 50,000 years, a pretty short time all things considered. Geneticists believe that a mutation of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) lead to the rise of red hair. Northern European groups that invaded and settled the British Isles likely carried the mutated gene.

Two factors contributed to the gene being dispersed in these groups: geographic isolation (island separated from mainland Europe) and genetic drift. Genetic drift is when, by chance, a trait becomes firmly established with a population due to there not being any selective pressure against it. In addition, it is also present in Neanderthals, and probably shows up in the common ancestor of sapiens and neaderthals.....The gene goes back at least 100,000 years, according to the article at www.rdos.net/copies/red-hair-origin.htm

Don't forget to check the link out above..it's really a cute and interesting site!