All blue-eyed people share one other characteristic besides blue eyes.
It is said to have originated between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, making it the second most popular eye color in the world.
All individuals were born with different shades of brown eyes, suggesting that the wide range of iris coloration is a product of genetic mutation.
There are many other fascinating facts about people with blue eyes.
For example, they are more sensitive to light; according to Auckland Eye, higher melanin content in the iris means more protection from UV and blue light damage to the back of the eye.
Because blue-eyed people have less melanin than people with other colors, photophobia – excessive sensitivity to light – predominates.
Despite the negative connotations, blue eyes have several benefits.
Joanna Rowe, a professor at the University of Louisville, found that people with this eye color are likely to be better strategic thinkers, the Daily Mail reports.
According to the professor: “It is observed rather than explained.”
“There is no scientific answer yet.
Stephen Hawking, Alexander Fleming, and Marie Curie are just some of the famous blue-eyed individuals with sharp minds.
Most interestingly, many people were surprised to learn that blue-eyed people share a single trait.
Someone writes: “I didn’t know!
Interesting…
One more joke: “Spoiler alert: all their eyes are blue.”
But it turns out to be much more interesting than this (very obvious) answer.
The HERC2 gene is the cause of blue eyes.
This gene controls the amount of the brown pigment melanin produced and inhibits OCA2, resulting in different shades of brown eyes.
“In the beginning, we all had brown eyes,” says Professor Hans Eiberg of the Institute of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Copenhagen. However due to a genetic mutation that affected the OCA2 gene of our chromosomes, a “switch” was created that effectively “turned off” the ability to produce brown eyes.
The Independent claims it started when people first made the journey from Africa to Europe.
According to a study conducted at the University of Copenhagen, all blue-eyed people are descendants of the same person.
The fact that every blue-eyed person contains this first mutant gene is pretty compelling evidence, even if its origin is unknown.
Professor Eiberg says that research into the genetic mutation of blue-eyed people only shows that nature is constantly combining the human genome, creating a genetic cocktail of chromosomes and experimenting with new changes as it can.
As a child I was a blond, blue eyed little girl. Then, somewhere along the way my eyes became hazel. THEN, cataracts were removed. I was once more the blue eyed person!! Wow. What a surprise.