posted
OK, this is weird. I *do* agree that men (and women) go for something that is unusual...but why blond hair? ________________________________________________
March 2, 2006 -- - Back in the ice age, Northern European cavemen got all the chicks.
Thanks to a food shortage and a man shortage about 10,000 years ago, men were in such demand they had their pick of mates.
With so much competition among women to find a mate, nature and evolution kicked in to give some cave women a distinctive look to attract the opposite sex: blond hair and blue eyes.
So says a new study published in the British science journal Evolution and Human Behavior.
Are Blondes Mutants? The study's author, Canadian anthropologist Peter Frost, concludes that although blond hair and blue eyes started as a genetic mutation, men were pulled in by the golden locks and baby blues, thus populating the area with blond and blue-eyed children.
While the rest of the world has predominantly brown hair and brown eyes, Northern Europeans have the greatest variety of hair and eye color found anywhere, and Frost believes it resulted from the sexual appeal of these traits.
"When an individual is faced with potential mates of equal value, it will tend to select the one that 'stands out from the crowd,' the study said.
Still, the study admits it's unclear why the mutation happened in Europe and not elsewhere.
The theory is backed by several other studies, including one conducted in Japan that found that the gene responsible for blond hair appeared for the first time about 11,000 years ago.
The Grass Is Always Greener Though a caveman bachelor may have had no problem finding a date for Saturday night, his existence was far from ideal.
According to the study, men of the time were forced to go on long hunting expeditions over vast areas to find their prey.
With no means to preserve food for the journey, an unforgiving ecosystem and the risks presented by the hunt itself, some men never made it back.
The ones who did were highly sought after.
To add to the difficulties, women weren't really equipped to gather food and the arctic environment didn't allow for opportunities close to home. Frost argues that if a woman wanted to eat, she needed a man.
Women had to attract men to survive.
Frost concluded that Mother Nature answered the call by introducing hair and eye colors -- like the more than seven distinct colors found in Northern and eastern Europe today.
If he is correct, it appears that even 10,000 years ago, blondes had more fun.
mother nature did not kick in to introduce anything... thats not what genetics is all about...
genes mutate all the time. each resulting mutation is either better equiped for its habitat or not. the colour mutation here probably had something to do with temperature and light, decreasing melanin. natural selection then makes this mutation more readily available in the gene pool.
however, it is a recessive trait. this means it is probably going to be sought after. on the flip side, 2 blue eyed parents will have blue eyed kids... so in an area where it is favoured by natural selection the brown eyes, dark hair look becomes attractive.
guess the grass is always greener!!!
i prefer mixes of the two. i have fair skin, blue eyes and brown hair....
i love the egyptian men who have golden skin, green eyes and light brown hair.
i have a friend in egypt who has the above colouring. i asked him "how come youve got such different colouring", wondering if there was perhaps an area in egypt where this was common, (i'll be on the next plane) but his response was simply "just lucky i guess"!
MousseT Member # 9226
posted
quote:Originally posted by Charm El Feikh?: OK, forgive me... but....
mother nature did not kick in to introduce anything... thats not what genetics is all about...
genes mutate all the time. each resulting mutation is either better equiped for its habitat or not. the colour mutation here probably had something to do with temperature and light, decreasing melanin. natural selection then makes this mutation more readily available in the gene pool.
however, it is a recessive trait. this means it is probably going to be sought after. on the flip side, 2 blue eyed parents will have blue eyed kids... so in an area where it is favoured by natural selection the brown eyes, dark hair look becomes attractive.
guess the grass is always greener!!!
i prefer mixes of the two. i have fair skin, blue eyes and brown hair....
i love the egyptian men who have golden skin, green eyes and light brown hair.
i have a friend in egypt who has the above colouring. i asked him "how come youve got such different colouring", wondering if there was perhaps an area in egypt where this was common, (i'll be on the next plane) but his response was simply "just lucky i guess"!
Just listened to the news on TV yesterday: they said the last blond will be born in Finland in 2270 or around that date as it is a highly recessive character.
Power to the darkies!!!!!
Charm El Feikh? Member # 10243
posted
Well im doing my bit for blue eyes.. despite its recessive character, and me reproducing with a dominent 'darkie', i cleverly managed to produce 4 blue eyed babies!!!
long live us!!
Serendipity Member # 7211
posted
gooo brownies we rule the world imagine in my class i was the only girl with dark hair.
Snoozin Member # 6244
posted
Blonds are people too.
Serendipity Member # 7211
posted
are they? I didnt know that (joking with you) you know most arabs, or should i say iraqis, dye their hair blonde. or high light it. I think i am the only one with brown hair!
Snoozin Member # 6244
posted
quote:Originally posted by Serendipity: are they? I didnt know that (joking with you) you know most arabs, or should i say iraqis, dye their hair blonde. or high light it. I think i am the only one with brown hair!
I'm cool with people dyeing their hair....as long as it is a shade that is complementary to skin tone. I've heard you should dye your hair the same color it was when you were five years old for the best results. I don't know how true that is....
But most Arab women I've seen with dyed blond hair don't, um, shall I say they don't look their best? Brown hair is gorgeous and I personally think women with brown hair look more sophisticated.
Serendipity Member # 7211
posted
if i dye my hair anymore.. I am afraid i will turn bold!! it neeeds healing time after the disaterous experience i had last time.. I wanted to dye it black/purple. she dyed it with some cheap colour that made it PINK!!!!! and poor my hair it suffered a lot
_XX_ Member # 10256
posted
[QUOTE]Originally posted by MousseT: [qb] Just listened to the news on TV yesterday: they said the last blond will be born in Finland in 2270 or around that date as it is a highly recessive character.
The World Health Organization, the Geneva-based health arm of the United Nations, insisted on Tuesday that despite the many media reports to the contrary, it had never conducted a study predicting the extinction of the natural blond hair gene.
This despite stories around the world citing WHO research stating that natural blondes would become extinct by 2202.
Reports to that effect had appeared in recent days on CNN and ABC News and in the London Daily Mail, among others. But WHO said it has never conducted research on the topic.
WHO "has no knowledge of how these news reports originated but would like to stress that we have no opinion on the future existence of blondes," it said in a statement released at United Nations headquarters in New York.
According to the published reports, the supposed WHO study had predicted that the last blond on earth would be in Finland, which today has the world's highest concentration of true blondes.
The reports said blond hair was caused by a recessive gene, so both sides of the family have to have it to extend the shade into the next generation. But too few people carry the gene to assure its long-term survival.
On its surface though, the story is somewhat believable since the indigenous people of northern Europe are headed toward severe population decline over the next century due to low birth rates. Apparently, blondes don't have more fun.
Truedevotion Member # 10049
posted
Yes, we have still! Yahoo, Finnish blondes
Corvinous Member # 6578
posted
As long as the blond is not so by dyeing her hair, then I love It
posted ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)