Redhead facts & myths

Good Lord I should go into hiding!

1. Red hair is seen on the heads of only four percent of people. Most of these exist in the U.K., the Republic of Ireland, and Australia.
2. There is a belief that redheads are prone to industrial deafness. This actually could be true as the melanocytes are found in the middle ear.
3. A 2002 study found that redhead are harder to sedate than any other people requiring twenty percent more anesthesia. Inadequate doses cause people to wake up during surgery and have increased recall of procedures.
4. In the late 16th century, the fat of a redheaded man was an essential ingredient for poison.
   The Egyptians regarded the color as so unlucky that they had a ceremony in which they burned red-headed maidens alive to wipe out the tint.
5. An Irish judge in 2001 fined a man for disorderly conduct stating "I am a firm believer that hair coloring has an effect on temper and your coloring suggests you have a temper."
6. Redheads have always been thought untrustworthy. Judas is most always depicted as a redhead displaying the prejudice against red hair.
7. Adolph Hitler reportedly banned the marriages of two redheads as he feared their children would be "deviant offspring".
8. Red haired children have been historically branded as offspring of "unclean" sex. This has earned them taunts such as "red-knob" or "tampon tops."
9. Bees are thought to sting redheads more than others.
10. In Denmark it is an honor to have a redheaded child.
11. In Corsica, if you pass a redhead in the street you are to spit and turn around.
12. In Poland, if you pass three red-heads you'll win the state lottery.
13. In Greek Mythology, redheads turn into Vampires when they die.
14. During the Spanish Inquisition flame colored hair was evidence that its owner had stolen the fire of hell and had to be burned as a witch.
15. Russian tradition declares that red hair is both a sign that a person holds a fiery temper and craziness.
16. A Russian Proverb warns "There was never a saint with red hair."
17. Aristotle was known to believe that redheads were emotionally unhousebroken.
18. A French Proverb states that "redheaded women are either violent or false, and usually are both." 

See also: 

Redheads are vampires, and other interesting myths

DNA project aims to count Scots redheads

Is gingerism as bad as racism?

Redheaded donors are being turned away at sperm bank

Understand Red Head Genetics - cool but nerdy reading!