Redheads may go extinct by 2060 according to an article citing National Geographic. As a member of this endangered minority, this would be alarming if I believed it. I hope to be alive in 2060, or at least my soul in a vast computer network. And just looking at the comments on the Reddit thread show that at least nerdy guys like redheaded women. The best quote from the article is,
"National Geographic says the gene at first had the beneficial effect of increasing the body's ability to make vitamin D from sunlight. However, today's carriers are more prone to skin cancer and have a higher sensitivity to heat and cold-related pain."
Less rickets, more cancer & pain. Great trade-off, thanks Nature. Realizing that I’m a mutant of the Mc1r gene led me to some reading up on our condition, culture and challenges. Wikipedia is fantastic for including Conan along with Shakespeare, Churchill and Jefferson as famous redheads and detailing all the comic book and sci-fi redheads.
I’d never heard the term “ginger” before the classic South Park episode “Ginger Kids” where Cartman first argues that they should all be destroyed, and then after being tricked into thinking he is a “ginger”, he argues that they are the chosen people. (Tough to disagree with Cartman that Carrot Top should be killed.) Apparently there is more anti-“ginger” sentiment in the U.K. than the States. That kind of treatment makes my fiery temper boil! If you thought that crude stereotype was funny, then you sir, are a bigot.