If you want to produce a true redhead you need two people who carry a recessive gene called chromosone 16. When they come together you end up with a mutation in the MC1R protein and there you go....a redhead is born!

What that means for the child goes well beyond a fear of the sun and an inability to wear pink.

First off, the dentist!

I used to drive mine mad. I was always crying and trying to push them away when I was a kid. It hurt so much! Even though they gave me the shot, I could feel every pinch of the clamps and my gums would scream! As I got older I got more vocal. "I'm not frozen!" I would say and they would give me a second shot, or a third. Once I was given the maximum amount allowed and then sent home as I could easily feel what they were doing. I couldn't explain it then but I can now.

More on my vindication can be found here.

I also remember getting my tonsils out. Not the whole operation, but more than I should remember. I remember what the OR looked like and I remember being awake, and in pain, as I was wheeled out of the OR and being taken to recovery. I was told it was all a dream. Or was it?

Go forward 20 years and I'm a week away from having my gallbladder removed when a coworker tells me they heard of a study showing redheads waking up during surgery isn't uncommon. I'm a Librarian! I started to research and guess what??

The University of Louisville did some studies on redheaded women (only women, they didn't want to mix up the genders) and how they related to anesthetic.

MedScape

With this research in hand I went to see my Doctor and he laughed. I spoke with the anesthiologist who was putting me under and he said he was used to redheads. They put me out before 8am on a Tuesday with assurances to talk with me in the afternoon. Too bad I didn't come out of the anesthetic until Wednesday! None of the nurses or the attendings thought it was unusual. "It's the hair".

See the original post:

The science of Red Hair - Daily Kos