Friday, November 09, 2007

Alien redhead seed facing extinction

Okay the alien bit was mine and I will expand, but the news is that internationally redheads have reduced for 4% to 2 % of the population. According to some genetic scientists, redheads (a hair colour created by a mutation in northern Europe thousands of years ago) could become extinct.

The alien theory

Years ago I had a good friend, a sculptor living and working out of an old country hotel, who maintained that green eyed, redheads were in fact the product of alien seeding.

This bloke was bald as a badger, but his goatee was definitely red and the eyes green. His position of being a spaceman was oddly supported by his otherworldly approach to life – but then he was a passionate sculptor.

I keep coming across this redhead thing, enough to wonder at the 2% figure being put on them. Just in the blog circle we have Redheaded Wisdom. And Enigma4ever features Botticelli’s Venus, complete with flowing red locks.

Two of my friends here in the sub-tropics are clearly redheads, albeit they are mother and daughter, which has an effect on the odds. The woman I adore is not exactly redhead, but she has those wonderful red lights through her brown.

Alien or mutant I think you redheads had better get down to some serious breeding.

Ref: Beauty Redheads are apparently face extinction.

Gingers extinct in 100 years, say scientists

13 comments:

enigma4ever said...

oh dear this is so concerning...we are facing extinction....and how about the blue eyed redheads are we also facing the same doom...

so you are partial to us Reds eh...well there is also Tina over at Fuzzy and Blue....and there are others I will have to wrack my ol brain....

Hope you are doing okay...with your recent PC illness, but it looks like you are back at full strength...

Praguetwin said...

I have a red goatee, and I was a childhood redhead, but alas my hair today could only be described as brown.

What is a Welshman to do?

Cartledge said...

enigma, I'm always for minorities :)

PT, you sound far too placid for a true red...

enigma4ever said...

Hey there...so Mr Cartledge...you should come over to the Enigma Cafe and have a sit today....I will invite Redheads in to sit and sip tea..( or something stronger)......( Enigma Cafe is on the Watergate Summer Blogroll)

( Hmm PT does sound placid...must be that Welsh thing....)

enigma4ever said...

BTW according to the article- we are heat and cold sensitive- I disagree- we are just good at keeping warm...and yes tend to crave warm places....just wanted to set the record straight....and btw....
it says that with such drastic odds that we should have fundraising and conservation groups set up....at that I spewed pepsi on the keyboard....so I should fund raise and there should "Save the Redheads" Group.....too funny...all I could picture was a Telethon with all of my anemic relatives from Kentucky playing the spoons ....yikes...

Cartledge said...

enigma, I thought a less serious diversion was in order. I would be delighted (as a mere brown haired mortal) to join you at the cafe.

Cartledge said...

I must admit a 'save the redheads' campaign sounds far more inviting than a 'save the dugongs'. You can google dugongs :)

D.K. Raed said...

I think the 1-2% figure is for worldwide manifestations of redhair. It seems reasonable to me, given the necessity of 2 recessive genes. The % in Celtic countries is much higher, culminating in Scotland, where 13% are redheads & 40% carry the recessive gene. Maybe due to all those Viking invaders?

In my own family, I am the only redhead. Out of 14 blood aunt/uncles, producing 50+ first cousins for me, only ONE other redhead. Lots of near-reds & some redbeards, though. We hear one grandmother was a redhead, or so she said.

I laughed at the "alien" connection -- for years, my husband has accused me of being a martian! And the combo redhair/green eyes IS most rare. In medieval times, it was one of the signs of a witch. That & a certain pattern of moles (which naturally show up so well on fair redhead skin). Good thing I am a "modern woman".

I've been thinking of adding an avatar of Boudiccea to my profile, but all the paintings I see are so warlike! What do you think? I much prefer Enigma's beautiful Aphrodite.

Thanks for giving me my laugh today, Cartledge. It's good to know there are redhead fans out there. Although I've been accused of being a Redheaded Orangutan (which I take as a compliment), I've yet to be compared to a Dugong (yikes, a sea cow?)!

D.K. Raed said...

sorry I went on so long & yet still have more to say: Enigma, we are also supposed to be more pain sensitive. My gyno once told me, when he worked Maternity ER & a redhead would present in labor, his first instructions to his assts were to "get out the heavy drugs, we got a redhead popping"!

Oh & as far as serious breeding, well let's just say, if your mate is not of the redhead persuasion or a recessive gene carrier, the odds are nil for redheaded children. But all is not lost, they have a 50% chance of carrying the recessive gene themselves, so it's really up to them if they want to perpetuate the "bloody ruddy colour"!

Cartledge said...

d.k., thank you for those stats, it beats my economics. The dugong wasn't a direct comparison, but perhaps a poor choice.
Boudiccea along with Hatshepsut are eternal heroines. Though I doubt the right hair colour for the latter I'm unsure on the former. Still, warlike or not Boudiccea represents a pretty special set of values.
Redheads have a few problems downunder - and no doubt in warmer climes there. That pale skin doesn't cope well with the sunshine we generally expect here.

D.K. Raed said...

right you are about the sunshine, we are the dermatologists' best customers! One once told me, the only time you don't need sunscreen is when it's a black moon night; otherwise, slather up lassie.

I'm still hunting for a nicer Boudiccea painting. I recall seeing one on a History Channel special, where she has a sword, but is guarding little children behind her with it. I think Athena was also redheaded? Not sure, maybe Mary Magdalene, too. Queen Elizabeth or Mary Queen of Scots, they are too fussy an image for me.

Cartledge said...

dk, look for Boadicea as well in google images. I'm sure there must be something there under one or the other.

Dada said...

Nice graphic cartledge (or should I say, "scarier than hell!"?). I mean, earth born redheads are scary enough, alien redheads ever more so. (Hmmm, now you have me wondering if that's why all the aliens I've seen shave their heads - to conceal it?)

(And, yes, I suppose your audience commenting here has prompted me to tease -- nice girls that they are.)