About RedHead

"That is WAY too high. Consider that redheads are almost unknown among African and Asian populations, and are extremely rare in Latin America. So that eliminates countries with about 4.8 billion people, or about 80 percent of the world's population.
Nearly ALL the world's natural redheads (and blondes, for that matter) are found among the populations of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. Even in those countries, it is doubtful that natural redheads account for as much as 5 percent (1 in 20) of the white population. If they did, however, then redheads would be something less than 5 percent of 20 percent of the world's population -- or 1 percent of the total world population! VERY rare, indeed!"

HISTORY
· There were many periods in art history in which red haired women in Europe were popular as subjects of numerous paintings. These include the eras of Renaissance, Pre-Raphaelite, and nineteenth century English art. Artists such as Botticelli, Rossetti and Waterhouse frequently featured red haired subjects.
· Paintings of mermaids throughout art history very often show the sirens as having red hair.

· "Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair (fr 16)." Xenophanes (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

· During the Tokugawa or Edo period (1600 - 1867), the Japanese produced a type of art known as Koma-ga, which literally means "red hair painting", after the Dutch blond and red haired people. They were made for export to the West.

· During the years 1483-1784, women with red hair were suspected of witchcraft and endured torture and death through being burned at the stake or drowned. Women who were accused of witchcraft were searched for 'Witch marks'; basically any abnormality including moles, freckles, warts and most especially obvious differences such as an extra finger, crossed eyes or red hair. The amount of women killed due to suspected witchcraft was estimated at around 45,000.

· Claimed to be part of the Wicca Oath: "The witch will dye her hair red for all witches have red hair, symbolic of Isis who was figured in Egypt with red hair and in the red heifer her sacred image (if she does not dye her hair red if it is not red, she is only a pretend witch). This does not mean all beautiful red heads are witches, it means the occult gives them a demonic image they of all people should protest. Over time they begin to withdraw and shut out the world. And at the end they all die lonely, eyes sunken, ashen faces, forsaken of their lovers, their sexual perversions and memories of the past no longer enjoyable. Many kill others and themselves to end their tormented and demented lives."
· Elizabeth Siddal, a nineteenth century artist who was also the lover and muse of Rossetti, overdosed on laudanum in 1862. Devastated, Rossetti buried his poems with her at Highgate Cemetery. Seven years later however, he wanted them back. Permission was given for the coffin to be opened. The men who opened the coffin found not only the poetry, but also a heap of red hair.

· Ancient Greeks bleached their hair to orange as a fiery symbol of courage.

GENETICS
· Red hair comes about due to a pigment called pheomelanin.

· Red hair is generally thought of as a recessive gene. It may skip generations.

· However, as with other pigments that determine eye and skin colour, the red hair gene can often be seen in varying shades, such as strawberry blonde or dark auburn hair - depending upon how much pheomelanin is present.

· Both parents must have the red hair gene (not necessarily red hair) for their child to have red hair.

· Professor Jonathan Rees conducted a study of redheads at Edinburgh University. He identified the "gene for red hair" the melanocortin 1 receptor. Professor Rees found that this single gene, carried by up to 40% of Scots, was responsible for red hair. He estimated that the first human redheads walked this earth 50,000 years ago and then spread throughout northern Europe.

People with dangerous variants of a gene called the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) have at least double the risk of contracting skin cancer, even if they have medium or olive skin.