Q 01/05

Blond hair is characterised by low levels of which dark pigment?

A) Haemoglobin

B) Eumelanin

C) Carotene

D) Keratin

Answer · why

B) Eumelanin

Very pale blond comes from a patchy, scarce distribution of pigment; sandy blond has a little more of it.

Q 02/05

Why is natural blond hair significantly less common in adults than in children?

A) The gene switches off at puberty

B) Sunlight lightens only children

C) Adults produce less keratin

D) It tends to darken with age

Answer · why

D) It tends to darken with age

A Greek historian noticed the same thing among the Gauls two thousand years ago, writing that their children were born with greyish hair that changed ...

Q 03/05

The English word 'blond' comes from Old French and possibly from Medieval Latin 'blundus', meaning what?

A) Northern

B) Yellow

C) Pale

D) Beautiful

Answer · why

B) Yellow

Another French-derived colour word, brunette, works the same way in English.

Q 04/05

In which year is the word 'blond' first documented in English?

A) 1481

B) 1066

C) 1750

D) 1611

Answer · why

A) 1481

Old French blund or blont described a colour midway between golden and light chestnut.

Q 05/05

According to Christie Davies, roughly what share of adults in Europe and North America are naturally blond?

A) Around 5%

B) Around 25%

C) Around 40%

D) Around 15%

Answer · why

A) Around 5%

A 2003 study put the figure for American adults at just four percent.