Red Month

Since this is February – the "month of red" – and we are a ginger, precious, let's celebrate the color red!

I am actually fond of the color red, as it is closely related to the lovely color of purple (a distant cousin trice removed or something like that), and let's face it, red is a lovely, eye-catching color in its own right.

It catches your eye a lot better than most other colors.  Why?  I don't know, but that's a question for another day.

Red is definitely easier to pick out in a room full of other colors, as my family can attest to.  Look for gingers all in a row and you've found us.  You can't say the same for blond, black, or brown, can you?  Usually no.

And as you may imagine, there have been studies done on redheads.  Yup.  We're your lab rats.  Okay, not really, but there have been studies conducted for various reasons.

For example, take a look at this article from a site with unconfirmed credibility:

The first study revealed that redheads are more sensitive to thermal pain (i.e. perception of pain brought on by excessive cold and heat), and that they're also more resistant to the pain-numbing effects of certain anesthetics. The second study found that redheads required, on average, 19% more anesthetic than dark-haired (black or brown-haired) women. (Interestingly, neither study recruited blonde test participants.)

But the life of a redhead isn't all pain and suffering; a study led last year by researcher Lars Arendt-Nielson revealed that redheaded women are actually less sensitive to stinging sensations (like that of a pinprick) than either blondes or brunettes.  [This would explain why I can thrust needles through my fingers and not even notice.] So what's going on here? Researchers aren't entirely sure, but one hypothesis ties back — perhaps unsurprisingly — to redheads' mutant melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R).

Bizarre?  Here's the explanation:

People with fair skin and rosy locks get their distinctive looks from mutations in the gene that codes for melanocortin 1 receptor, a protein that aids in the synthesis of the pigment melanin.
...
Like most cell surface receptors, MC1R's activity is regulated by the binding of a specific set of complementary proteins. When it comes to pigment production, those proteins are called melanocyte stimulating hormones (MSH). In 98% of the population, MSH cause MC1R to production dark eumelanin, but in redheads, their mutant MC1R lead to the production of a red-tinged pheomelanin, instead. But here's the catch: melanocortin 1 receptors also interact with molecules that are structurally similar to melanocyte stimulating hormones, including hormones called endorphins. Endorphins have a whole bunch of physiological functions, but one of their primary roles is one of pain relief. Just remember: "endorphin" stands for "endogenous morphine," and morphine is a powerful painkiller.

Okay, a lot of technical terms here, and if you're as bad at absorbing science as I am, you probably only got the gist of what they were saying.  But that's fine, there won't be a quiz on this (can I get a sigh of relief?).

Anyway, interesting, isn't it?

There is also a rumor that redheads don't go grey.  But it's not youthful color for us forever – we go WHITE.  Which I'd prefer anyway.

And apparently, Aristotle is known for believing that redheads are emotionally unhousebroken.  I can't help but wonder if maybe he's prejudiced.

And that's the first entry for "Red Month"
~Meggy