The World of Carrots Trivia Game | Thematic Food

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Red hair colouring is the result of a recessive gene. If a baby inherits the gene from both parents (who may not necessarily be red haired themselves), it will have red hair. What is the name of the pigment which gives hair a red colour?

Answer: Pheomelanin

Eumelanin is the pigment which gives black or dark brown hair its colour. Pheomelanin is the one which makes hair red. Caucasian people with red hair also tend to have light coloured eyes (blue, green and grey) and fair skin.

2. Although red haired people can be born into almost every (genetic) population on Earth, one country has a far higher incidence than any other. With around thirteen percent of the people having red hair, and around forty percent carrying the gene for it, which country is this?

Answer: Scotland

It is Scotland that has the highest percentage of redheads in the population, with Ireland a close second. Both indigenous populations are descended from the ancient Celtic peoples. Scientists think that the genes for red hair are closely related to those for pale skin. Pale skin allows the body to produce vital Vitamin D in low levels of sunlight.

This would have been a useful survival trait in pre-modern times, and could be one possible reason for the higher incidence of red hair/pale skin among northern peoples.

3. In 2007, several newspapers ran articles citing research from the Oxford Hair Foundation which claimed that red hair would become rarer and rarer and eventually die out, possibly as soon as within the 21st century. It was later shown that which organisation was behind this spurious 'research'?

Answer: Procter and Gamble

Procter and Gamble is one of the largest producers of hair dye in the world. An investigation by the "How Stuff Works" television programme showed that it was P&G who was behind the fake "Oxford Hair Foundation" and the 'research' was either deeply flawed or just plain made-up. Proper peer reviewed and published scientific studies indicate that red hair will always be part of the human genome, at least for the long foreseeable future.

4. Which disease, a form of malnutrition, can cause a sufferer's hair to turn red?

Answer: Kwashiorkor

Kwashiorkor or 'kwash' occurs when a person has sufficient food, but with a lack of protein. A sufferer will not actually starve to death, but the lack of protein can cause symptoms including ulcers, swelling, and marked changes in the skin and hair pigmentation. Although rare in developed countries, it is still quite common in the third world.

5. Which famous author wrote "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League"?

Answer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"The Adventure of the Red-Headed League" was first published in "Strand" magazine in 1891, and was included in the short story collection "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" in 1892.

6. In a text from the early twelfth century, Theophilus Presbyter tells us how to make gold. Which bit of a red haired man is necessary for his recipe to work?

Answer: Blood

According to Presbyter, "mixing the blood of a red haired man with copper and the ashes of a basilisk" will produce gold!

Little is known about Theophilus; scholars think that the name itself could be a pen name of sorts, possibly for more than one author, who may have been Benedictine monks. His major work "De diversis artibus" has been dated to the first two decades of the twelfth century, with the oldest copy extant kept in the Austrian National Library in Vienna.

7. One celebration of red hair is "Redheadday" (English translation) which actually lasts for two days, and takes place each September in the town of Breda. In which country is Breda?

Answer: The Netherlands

As well as playing host to a large gathering of naturally red haired people, the "Roodharigendag" festival also features exhibitions and galleries of red themed artworks. The first event was held in 2005, and by 2010 attendees came from over 35 different countries to take part.

8. One person often depicted as having red hair is Mary Magdalene. We know she had red hair because it says so in the Bible.

Answer: False

Although she has been portrayed as a redhead many times over the years, there is no actual Biblical evidence that Mary Magdalene had red hair - her hair colour is not mentioned at all.

King David and Esau are both red haired according to the Bible.
Judas Iscariot has been pictured with red hair, notably by Shakespeare. By the time of Shakespeare, red hair had come to have negative cultural connotations, and was associated with evil, the Devil, and wrong doing. This is a possible explanation for the portrayals of Mary Magdalene as a redhead too - the "fallen woman".

9. One red head who has made the most of his crowning glory is American comedian "Carrot Top". What is his real name?

Answer: Scott Thompson

Thompson as Carrot Top has appeared as himself in episodes of various television shows including "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", "South Park", and "Scrubs".

10. In 1936, the women's All American Red Heads Team was founded. Which sport do they play?

Answer: Basketball

One of the first women's professional teams in US basketball, the Red Heads were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Members were not required to have red hair as such, the name of the team came from a beauty salon run by the wife of the team's founder and first manager.

Source: Author Rowena8482

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The World of Carrots Trivia Quiz

For untold generations, red-heads have been called "carrot-top". How much do you know about red hair in all its glory?

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>