Vox

Great Headline

First, I love that hot redheads are being singled out:

'Hot' Redheads Bound for Extinction

LONDON (UPI) -- While redheads are all the rage in the fashion world, they could be extinct by 2060 because there aren't enough of them to keep the hair color going.

Redheads were buried alive by ancient Egyptians as a sacrifice to appease the sun god and turned out of dairies because it was believed they would turn the milk sour, The Mirror reported.

Scotland has the highest number of redheads in the world -- about 13 percent of the population compared to 2 percent of Americans -- and the Scots descended from the Celts, who were violent warriors. [what does that have to do with the story?]

Ireland has 320,000 natural redheads, but worldwide it is estimated that just 1 percent of the global population has red hair.

Dr. John Gray of the Oxford Hair Foundation says natural red hair may be gone in 55 years.

"The way things are going, red hair will either be extremely rare or extinct," he said.

The problem is that just 4 percent of the population carries the red hair gene, known as MC1R. Because the gene is recessive, it is diluted whenever carriers have children with people who have the stronger brown hair gene.

Second, someone needs to go about forming a redheads dating service - lets make lots of little redheaded babies and replenish the stock. Apparently, America isn't doing it's part.

To AB, who described my hair as 'spun Celtic copper' over a decade ago, thanks - even if it was a line, I still blush when I think of it. Or maybe it's just when I think of you.....

Posted by Vox at August 6, 2004 08:52 AM | general