Strange Facts about REDHEADS
By: Casey Harding-brown
I am the only redhead in my entire family. Of my 40 plus aunts, uncles, cousins I was the only "carrot top" at every full family function. My Mom, Dad, and brother all have brown hair. So naturally, I've been curious about why I look different from the rest of the people I am genetically tied to and if those differences go deeper than looks. Well, turns out there are a lot of random, interesting, and just plain weird facts about redheads that make us stand out from the crowd.
1.According to Cosmopolitan (aka the sex bible), redhead women have more sex than blondes and brunettes. This is based on two studies, one done in Germany and one in England.
2. Red hair is the rarest color in the world, making up less than 2% of the world population.
3. Redheads don’t go grey, their strands turn white or blonde.
4. Because red hair and left-handedness are both recessive traits (which tend to come in pairs), redheads are more likely to be left handed.
5. They change temperatures faster than others which makes them more sensitive to hot/cold weather.
6. It takes more anesthesia to put redheads into the unconscious.
7. Bees are attracted to them. Scientists are still trying to figure this one out, but one theory is that the red looks similar to flowers. Personally, I have lots of experience with bees trying to pollinate me. It’s become a joke in my friend group that I’m the bee whisperer.
8. They tend to have less hair but thicker strands.
9. In ancient Rome, redheaded slaves were often more expensive than those with other hair color.
10. Because they can have a harder time absorbing vitamin d due to their lower melatonin concentration (when speaking about fair skin redheads-the hair color can appear in all ethnicities) redheads can produce their own vitamin d internally, when exposed to low levels of light.
Ever since coming off my hormonal birth control, my monthly pre-period craving has become the world renowned classic, otherwise known as gelato, helado, or ice cream. I’m declaring this a safe space for what I am about to say (or should I say write) next is definitely controversial; Until recently, ice cream was never top of my list. To clarify, I am not a psychopath. If ice cream cake was presented at a birthday party, I would be excited about the upgrade from your standard yellow cake with chocolate frosting. If I found myself in Italy, you bet I was seeking out dulce de leche gelato. My dad routinely ended his night with a generous bowl of some sort of chocolate, coffee, nut combo before falling asleep with his head on my mom’s lap, no later than 9:30pm. It was readily available and normalized as an everyday treat, yet for whatever reason it wasn't my go to. I didn’t have anything against it per say, it just never called to me. Until recently that is. And ever since my hormones came back to their normal selves, I have been a mad woman on the hunt for the best ice cream in Denver.
Yes, yes it may officially be fall but with temperatures hovering in the 80’s all week, I say ice cream season is still in full swing. Also, who doesn’t like ice cream year round? Why should we confine such a delectable dessert to one season?! Plus many places now offer seasonal flavors such as pumpkin chocolate chip. Whatever the weather may be, I hope you enjoy indulging in these woman owned ice cream shops as much as I did.