Could Red Soon Be Dead? [Readheads going extinct?]

Radio Netherlands ^ | November 2, 2005 | by Kathy Clugston

[Incorrigible]

Bump

[pissant]

Let us hope not!!

[yarddog]

I remember when my first daughter was born. My first thoughts were "oh no, red hair".

[JohnnyZ]

I like redhead chicks in theory, but in practice it's hard to find a good one.

[Irish Rose]

I always thought dark red was a nice hair color, all the more so because it's unusual. Here's hoping these people are wrong.

[SteveMcKing]

Yeah, and I hear sickle cell disease will disappear too - because of genetics, low prevalence, and its deleterious nature.

(Flame away, biologists....)

[Atlas Sneezed]

[RepubMommy]

Interesting ping, thanks! Have to forward this to my mom. hey, even if the "breed" dies out, there will always be artifical means which as a redhead, I understand how other would want the color;)

[ECM]

Wow, creepy...;)

[manwiththehands]

Oh, NO! Get those red head guys and red head gals together breeding! Some of the best moments of my life were with an Irish, blue-eyed, fair and auburn beauty. :)

(Little River Band in my head)

[SteveMcKing]

"But if you go to Ireland or England, and also some Scandinavian countries, you'll see more people with red hair there than you will in China or Africa."

Wow this person's a GENIUS!

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I have a dark-brown-haired father and a red-haired mother. I came out with dark brown hair, incredibly fair skin, and red highlights in the beard.

As long as people like me are reproducing, the gene is going to stay alive. The fact that it isn't being expressed has nothing to do with its existence. Look at the domestic dog. Every variety, from the puny Chihuahua to the gigantic Great Dane (and everything in between) evolved from a common ancestor. All the genetic qualities needed to produce a Chihuahua, a Great Dane, a Maltese Terrier, and even the Pug, were present within the genetic makeup of that common ancestor. They simply weren't expressed until selective breeding brought them out.

[RepubMommy]

ping

[RepubMommy]

A recent report by the Oxford Hair Foundation in the UK has caused shockwaves in the Netherlands: redheads, it says, are dying out, and could become extinct as soon as 2060.

I'm currently pg with my third girl, my hair is naturally auburn and I have true redheads on both mine and my husband's side. One of my daughters is a brunette, the other is a dirty blonde. I put in the order for the redhead the second I found out I was pg.

[yarddog]

I was reading an article about Ramses the Great a while back and was struck by something. He had red wavy hair.

At first they thought the henna dye was to change his hair color but study with electron microscope showed it was definitely red. Apparently it had turned grey and he had dyed it back red.

[Recovering Hermit]

I like redhead chicks in theory, but in practice it's hard to find a good one.

Did the curtains match the carpet?

[Jim Noble]

Well, they put out like crazy, so it's hard to imagine they will become extinct...

[mollynme]

And no one is half a redhead - you're either a redhead or you're not.

Not true. My oldest brother is a dark brunette (what he has left, that is) but the one time he tried to grow a beard, it was definitely red! I'm the only one of 4 kids that actually was born a redhead but my youngest brother (blonde) passed the gene on to two of his four kids.