# Are blue eyes better than say...Hazel? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928 "2009-12-20T05:17:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dandmb50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba9def/32.png) [@Dandmb50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandmb50)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/1 "2009-12-20T05:17:20Z")
Have you ever heard someone say “My, does that child ever have beautiful Hazel eyes” but we hear it all the time with people that have Blue eyes. What’s the fascination with [Blue eyes](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-476244/Why-blue-eyed-boys-girls-brilliant.html)? Does everyone feel this way, I have even noticed myself saying it. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/2 "2009-12-20T05:27:20Z")
I think blue eyes get more attention because they’re 1) more common in children than adults and thus “cute”, 2) less common in adults and thus somewhat unusual/noticeable, and 3) stand out because of the contrast between the blue and the brown/red/yellow/black shades on the rest of the human body. It also doesn’t hurt that a clear daytime sky is blue, so many people have a positive association with the color light blue. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/3 "2009-12-20T05:41:59Z")
Don’t be surprised if this gets moved to another forum that is more suited for people’s opinions. In the meantime, I had a little fun: [Oh, I don’t know…](http://www.bluegrasslyrics.com/jimmy_song.cfm-recordID=sp117.htm) [Hazel eyes were awfully important in a certain secret garden…](http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/secretgardenthe/lilyseyes.htm) [These are “cool and limpid.”](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/jimmy-dorsey-green-eyes-lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/4 "2009-12-20T05:51:28Z")
Well to keep it as a GQ, does eye color have any effect on vision? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Urban_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/5 "2009-12-20T07:23:03Z")
The article in _The Daily Mail_ appears to derive from two related papers published in the early 1990s ([Miller _et al_. 1992](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1528697); [Rowe and Evans 1994](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7808908)), neither of which provides any support for the claim that intelligence is related to eye colour, or that it is a predictor of academic success. The first study found no statistically significant difference in reactive motor skill performance based on eye colour. The second identified that amongst 61 men, those with brown eyes managed to score a greater number of returns in a forehand rally of racquetball. This finding was not demonstrated within the female group. Construing these frankly contradictory findings into the thesis ‘_Why blue-eyed boys (and girls) are so brilliant_’ is some indication of the degree of scientific illiteracy in a newspaper which has supported the MMR scare, and even thinks that [Facebook causes cancer](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1149207/How-using-Facebook-raise-risk-cancer.html). ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/6 "2009-12-20T08:18:02Z")
Someone please explain to me how blue eyes are more common in childen than adults? 😕 I’ve read that sentence over several times but it does not compute. I’m a pushover for blue eyes. There’s nothing wrong with brown or hazel, other than that they are common. Blue eyes, you notice. They’re beautiful. If Hugh Laurie (as House) didn’t have those piercing blue eyes, he would look like more of a homeless guy than he already does. My own eye color? Undetermined! A mixture, mostly green. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@The\_Urban\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Urban_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/7 "2009-12-20T08:28:51Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Someone please explain to me how blue eyes are more common in childen than adults? 😕 I’ve read that sentence over several times but it does not compute. Melanocyte cells, including those in the iris, gradually start producing pigments during childhood. Prior to this eyes appear blue due to relatively small amounts of melanin. Adults possessing the genetic anomaly ensuring this change does not take place, are rarer. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/8 "2009-12-20T08:31:53Z")
I learnt from a recent thread [“Why do NFL players paint chalk under their eyes?”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=541799) that: [http://www.unh.edu/inquiryjournal/05/articles/powers.htm](http://www.unh.edu/inquiryjournal/05/articles/powers.htm) > [@](#): > > Blue-eyed individuals, because they have less iris pigment to screen out unwanted light, have a greater level of intraocular scatter (light reflected within the eye) than non-blue-eyed people. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/9 "2009-12-20T08:32:24Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Someone please explain to me how blue eyes are more common in childen than adults? 😕 I’ve read that sentence over several times but it does not compute. It’s not unusual for a child’s irises to get darker as the child gets older. I remember my youngest brother had blue eyes when he was born, and now they’re greenish brown. That also does happen with hair color sometimes, but I don’t know how that compares in terms of frequency. [Wikipedia says the same as **The Urban Spaceman** :](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color#Changes_in_eye_color_throughout_life) > [@](#): > > In European populations, children are most commonly born with unpigmented eyes. As the child develops, melanocytes—cells found within the iris of human eyes (as well as skin and hair follicles)—slowly begin to produce melanin. Because melanocyte cells continually produce pigment, eye color, in theory, can be changed. > > Changes (lightening or darkening) of eye colors during puberty, early childhood, pregnancy, and sometimes after serious trauma (like heterochromia) do represent cause for plausible argument to state that some eyes can or do change, based on chemical reactions and hormonal changes within the body. Most eye changes happen when the infant is around one year old, although it can happen up to three years of age. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/10 "2009-12-20T08:33:19Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Someone please explain to me how blue eyes are more common in childen than adults? 😕 I’ve read that sentence over several times but it does not compute. Well babies can have blue eyes that become brown over the first few years of life, maybe that’s what he meant. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/11 "2009-12-20T14:25:08Z")
The things you learn! I knew babies eyes often turn color, but not kids! ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/12 "2009-12-20T16:34:14Z")
People are suckers for blue eyes for some reason. It’s like blond hair - something to do with both the American/Eurocentric beauty ideals, and youthfulness. White babies are more likely to have blue eyes, but I have never seen eye color changes (not counting those people whose eyes appear different colors in different lights, etc) in any person over the age of 2 years. Things can change quite a bit before then, but by the time they are talking their eye color is how it’s going to be for the rest of their life. Blue eyes (and blond hair) bore me. I have them and so does my whole family. Give me green, hazel, or brown (the darker the better) any day. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/13 "2009-12-20T16:39:20Z")
In anticipation of this being moved to IMHO…give me dark brown eyes any day. Blue eyes look like your head is full of sky. And I say that coming from a family of all blue-eyed people. I like eyes that are so dark they look black. That and green eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/14 "2009-12-20T16:53:53Z")
Blue-eyed people are fascinating because… they are MUTANTS! [Blue-Eyed Humans Have A Single, Common Ancestor](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130170343.htm) > [@](#): > > ScienceDaily (Jan. 31, 2008) — New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today. > > What is the genetic mutation > > “Originally, we all had brown eyes”, said Professor Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. “But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a “switch”, which literally “turned off” the ability to produce brown eyes”. The OCA2 gene codes for the so-called P protein, which is involved in the production of melanin, the pigment that gives colour to our hair, eyes and skin. The “switch”, which is located in the gene adjacent to OCA2 does not, however, turn off the gene entirely, but rather limits its action to reducing the production of melanin in the iris – effectively “diluting” brown eyes to blue. The switch’s effect on OCA2 is very specific therefore. If the OCA2 gene had been completely destroyed or turned off, human beings would be without melanin in their hair, eyes or skin colour – a condition known as albinism. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/15 "2009-12-20T17:07:19Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > White babies are more likely to have blue eyes, but I have never seen eye color changes (not counting those people whose eyes appear different colors in different lights, etc) in any person over the age of 2 years. Things can change quite a bit before then, but by the time they are talking their eye color is how it’s going to be for the rest of their life. First of all, I did say “children”, not some specific age, and a two year old is a child. Second, _my_ eyes changed color when I was in elementary school, so I can personally attest to the fact that changes later in childhood are possible. Some people’s eyes also change color when they are much older, due to a loss of melanin that sometimes comes with age. But you don’t have to take my word for it. [Here’s the abstract of a medical study](http://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/115/5/659) published in _Archives of Ophthalmology_ that found: > [@](#): > > Most individuals achieve stable eye color by 6 years of age. However, a subpopulation of 10% to 15% of white subjects have changes in eye color through-out adolescence and adulthood in the eye color range that can be expected to reflect changes in iridial melanin content or distribution. These data also suggest that such changes in eye color, or the propensity to such changes, may be genetically determined. Back to the OP, brown eyes have also been the subject of praise in Western popular culture. Although blue eyes are more commonly referenced, there are a number of well-known songs about dark-eyed people, such as Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Chuck Berry’s much covered “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”. In early rock and blues songs, describing an attractive person as having brown eyes was often a way of suggesting that this person was black without being explicit enough to make white listeners uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/16 "2009-12-20T17:19:33Z")
That was a pretty stupid article. Disparate individuals like Stephen Fry, Marie Curie, and Lily Cole? Lily Cole who hasn’t done anything but get accepted to university? The article just mentions some famous people who happen to be blue eyed. You could do the same with brown eyes or freckles or weird birth marks and pretend it’s science. Good grief. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/17 "2009-12-20T18:40:20Z")
Moved from GQ to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/18 "2009-12-20T18:45:00Z")
> [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](#): > > In anticipation of this being moved to IMHO…give me dark brown eyes any day. Oh, me too. I have blue eyes, but I’m a sucker for guys with dark brown eyes and even darker hair. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/19 "2009-12-20T18:57:03Z")
The lighter the iris color, the more noticeable changes in pupil size, which can be linked to states of arousal. I have no idea of the significance of that; just that it was an interesting fact, or factoid. Since we’re in IMHO now, I’ll say the only two women whose babies I seriously considered having had eyes that were chestnut brown and hazel. (Come to think of it, they were both nuts.) Blue eyes and blond hair do absolutely nothing for me (maybe I’m jaded, growing up in Southern California). I used to long for a women with blue eyes and black hair, but it never worked out when I was younger and any women around my age with jet black hair is almost certainly dying it, which lessens the mistake somewhat (and black hair is not always kind to older faces). ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/20 "2009-12-20T19:06:50Z")
I like blue eyes because blue is my favorite color. Blue is my favorite color, because I have blue eyes. (I suppose I should explain a bit. When I was real young I based my “favorites” on personal characteristics. Look, it seemed logical enough at age four). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928.md?page=2)