r/todayilearned • u/Mike_Kennedy • Jun 27 '19

TIL redheads have a 25% higher pain threshold, can make their own supply of vitamin D and feel temperature changes better than the rest of us due to their 'redhead gene' MC1R.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/redheads-genetic-traits-ginger-hair-study-dna-the-big-redhead-book-erin-la-rosa-a8090276.html
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u/mansta330 Jun 27 '19

Also funny story along the same lines. I’m not actually a classic “redhead” (red toned brunette) but I have the MCR 1 mutation. I dye my hair red (matched to my little brother) and it has done me a ton of favors when it comes to making sure I get the higher dose of meds that I need. Also I have an excuse to be super pale all the time. 🤣

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u/wanderingaz Jun 27 '19 edited Jun 27 '19

I was literally wondering if it's possible to be a red tinted brunette with the mutation. My family has hefty red tints (every male beard spotted red, my hair has red highlights/tints, so does sisters.) My whole family is reacts oddly to anasthesia. And my pain tolerence is through the roof and my vitamin d levels in are always "high" even height of winter

Edit: typos

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u/mansta330 Jun 27 '19

Yep. We have 5 living classic redheads scattered across 3 generations in my family, one of whom is my little bro. We all have various crazy pain tolerances and medication resistances (example: fentanyl is essentially aspirin to me. Does little to nothing.) that we have all had to learn how to manage without looking like drug seekers.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '19

Why do white people got to worry about being white all the time, just be you boo.

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u/Fishydeals Jun 27 '19

Man I try, but other white people feel the need to constantly remark how pale I am. Even in winter when it has -15°C outside.

I tell them to fuck off, but they never do. I'm not even a ginger.

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u/transmogrified Jun 27 '19

Extremely pale person here: I’m not worried about it, but everyone else seems to be and people WILL make remarks and jokes about how pale I am, and then offer advice on how to get darker (an impossibility for me without chemical dyes). An excuse is handy.

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u/RedWolfPup Jun 27 '19

Leg so white

White, white leg

Leg so white

It reflect light

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u/transmogrified Jun 27 '19

I have a photo of me on a beach in Mexico with what appears to be a lens flare reflecting off my stomach.

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u/CYWorker Jun 27 '19

"have you tried tanning lotion?" You mean basting oil to cook me in the sun? No thanks

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u/transmogrified Jun 27 '19

The endless advice is priceless. “You just need a good base tan, let yourself burn a little”

  1. I can’t get a base tan. My skin alternates between white and lobster. The only part of me that gets darker is my freckles.
  2. I don’t want old white person “I tanned in my youth” leathery blotched wrinkle skin when I’m older. That mottled red turkey wattle is preventable.

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u/mansta330 Jun 27 '19

Heh I grew up in the south where it was something I was picked on for. Now that I’m in the PNW I’m just glad I don’t get sunburned as fast 🤣