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- Book fiend,culture-vulture, world traveller, daughter of the tropics now living in the Great White North.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
4:21 PM | Posted by
Lotus Reads |
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Apparently blondes have been having fun since the end of the "Ice Age"
A new study has found that north European women evolved blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to make them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males.
According to the article in "Evolution and Human Behavior", "...blond hair originated in the region because of food shortages 10,000-11,000 years ago. Until then, humans had the dark brown hair and dark eyes that still dominate in the rest of the world. Almost the only sustenance in northern Europe came from roaming herds of mammoths, reindeer, bison and horses. Finding them required long, arduous hunting trips in which numerous males died, leading to a high ratio of surviving women to men.The increase in competition for males led to rapid change as women struggled to evolve the most alluring qualities. Peter Frost (a Canadian anthropologist) believes his theory is supported by studies which show blonde hair is an indicator for high oestrogen levels in women..."
Now we all know that celebrity blondes such as Marilyn Monroe, Jessica Simpson, Reese Witherspoon and Paris Hilton are held up as ideals of feminine allure. However, the future of the blonde is uncertain.
A study by the World Health Organisation found that natural blonds are likely to be extinct within 200 years because there are too few people carrying the blond gene. According to the WHO study, the last natural blond is likely to be born in Finland during 2202.
A new study has found that north European women evolved blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to make them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males.
According to the article in "Evolution and Human Behavior", "...blond hair originated in the region because of food shortages 10,000-11,000 years ago. Until then, humans had the dark brown hair and dark eyes that still dominate in the rest of the world. Almost the only sustenance in northern Europe came from roaming herds of mammoths, reindeer, bison and horses. Finding them required long, arduous hunting trips in which numerous males died, leading to a high ratio of surviving women to men.The increase in competition for males led to rapid change as women struggled to evolve the most alluring qualities. Peter Frost (a Canadian anthropologist) believes his theory is supported by studies which show blonde hair is an indicator for high oestrogen levels in women..."
Now we all know that celebrity blondes such as Marilyn Monroe, Jessica Simpson, Reese Witherspoon and Paris Hilton are held up as ideals of feminine allure. However, the future of the blonde is uncertain.
A study by the World Health Organisation found that natural blonds are likely to be extinct within 200 years because there are too few people carrying the blond gene. According to the WHO study, the last natural blond is likely to be born in Finland during 2202.
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4 comments:
woww! how interesting. how can they predict when the last blond will be born and where? Is the blond gene more prevalent in finland? but wait...i have black hair and brown eyes so does that mean i got beat out by a blond for a caveman? hah. If that's what i was fighting for, i'm glad i lost:)
The mystery of genetics! lol However, I think because blonde, being a recessive gene, it gradually cancels itself out in the presence of the more dominant brown gene, no? You're the scientist, you tell me! ;) BTW, which field of science are you in?
And lol, yes, I wouldn't want a caveman either!!!
I've always rooted for the brunette - even when we read "Archie and Veronica", my friends would want to be Betty, but I was always Veronica! lol
that's true...but if that was the case, red hair recessive too...and i see far fewer red headed people than blondes! I did my undergraduate degree in biology, i just graduated last may...so now i'm working in a lab in chicago before i go to grad school in fall '07
hmmm i liked betty just cuz she was nice! ALSO, in the flintstones, wasn't one of them redheaded and the other brunette? wat were their names...wilma and betty? hahha:)
Wish I could be back at school again - those were such great years!!! Love the city of Chicago,I try to visit the museums there atleast once every 2 years or so. Would you happen to know the names of any really nice Indian restaurants there?
And yes, you're absolutely right about redheads, it's just a matter of time before they are extinct, too - thank goodness the "Clairol" ones will never die! ;)