6 Surprising Facts About Brown Eyes

If you have brown eyes, you might find it interesting to note that your eye color makes you seem more trustworthy. That's right, according to a 2013 study involving 238 participants, brown-eyed people's faces were rated more trustworthy than blue-eyed faces. Here are six more facts about brown eyes that you probably don't already know.

1. Originally, all humans had brown eyes. Blue eyes (and other light colored eyes) resulted from a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene that "turned off" a person's ability to produce pigment, or melanin. This mutation occurred between six and ten thousand years ago and is said to be traceable to a single person.

2. Darker eyes are most common in North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Southern Europe. You'd be part of the minority in Denmark, though: Only 11% of the population there has brown eyes!

3. Very light-colored brown eyes are referred to as honey or copper colored.

4. People with brown eyes are said to have quicker reaction times. This could be due to the fact that brown-eyed people are less sensitive to light.

5. Two parents with brown eyes can yield a blue- or green-eyed child. Often, recessive traits for light eyes are passed along for generations before surfacing.

6. Many brown-eyed people are born with blue/gray eyes, which darken over time as melanin is formed. Unlike hair and skin, eyes don't continuously produce melanin, which means they can lighten or darken over time.

Blue-Eyed Humans Have A Single, Common Ancestor [Human N Health]
Human Eye Color Charts [All About Vision]
Reasons to Feel Good About Having Blue Eyes [Mental Floss]
Your Eye Color Reveals A Lot About You [Bit Rebel]
People With Brown Eyes Appear More Trustworthy, But That’s Not The Whole Story [Scientific American]

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