# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/41 "2009-12-21T19:20:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Ollos verdes son traidores, > azules son mentideiros, > os negros e acastañados > bueños son e verdadeiros. > > Green eyes are traitors, > blue ones are liars, > black and brown ones > are good and true. I have heard this one (also a Spanish proverb) Blue eyes say, Love me or I die. Brown eyes say, Love me or I kill thee. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/42 "2009-12-21T19:23:54Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > I have ice-blue, no color eyes.. (and I see them all the time!). Now _that’s_ a neat trick. Must be some kind of mutant superpower. ---
**Author:** ![fandango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5ac83/32.png) [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/43 "2009-12-21T19:45:27Z")
My own eyes have gotten lighter–I had brown eyes in grade school, where someone told me that having brown eyes means you’re full of shit–(must be related to that Danish saying?) Later my eyes turned hazel and now, my daughter always tells me my eyes are green–and she’s right, there is no (or very little) brown left in them! Her eyes are black (well, the irises are!). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/44 "2009-12-21T20:58:55Z")
You notice blue eyes. I have never looked at anyone and noticed there eyse UNLESS they are blue. And not just all blue eyes, it’s a particular type of blue eyes, that stand out. I don’t know why they just do. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/45 "2009-12-21T21:04:30Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > Everyone in my family has blue eyes, ranging in shade from a deep, cornflower blue (my mum and my grandad), to a very bright, pale blue (my grandma and my uncles and cousins), to blue-green (me), so they’re not unusual to me. > > My husband has the drakest brown eyes, with amazing lashes, and while I think they’re beautiful (they’re the first bit of him I fell in love with), I am slightly annoyed that when we have kids his brown-eyed genes will trample all over my pretty blus ones! My husband has dark brown eyes and black hair. Mine are blue. Our oldest son has dark brown eyes and hair, our youngest has bright blue eyes and blond hair. (I did know my husband must have a recessive gene for blue eyes though, since his brother has blue eyes as well. Do any of your husband’s family have eyes any color other than brown? No guarantees, but it might give you an idea if there is a blue gene lurking around in there.) ---
**Author:** ![ThirdOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@ThirdOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdOne)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/46 "2009-12-22T20:19:53Z")
Bluish-steel gray, look green with green clothing here. And I’m a brunette. Born blonde, my hair went darker and darker over the years. Mom had green eyes (like olives), dad blue. I married a dark brown eyed guy and my daughter has dark almost black you can’t see the pupils brown eyes. I never thought about it, but so many people comment on my dark hair with bluish eyes … apparently it’s uncommon, as so many brunettes (with blue eyes), bleach to blonde. _shrug_ I never really think about it. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/47 "2009-12-22T21:32:23Z")
I only notice blue eyes when they’re really big blue eyes. In general, I love green and hazel eyes. Brown eyes are good too but it depends on the shade of brown. Blue eyes are boring. My mother has green eyes and I’m jealous. I’d love to have her green eyes to compliment my red hair. Instead, I have boring blue eyes. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/48 "2009-12-22T21:47:29Z")
My son’s eyes were grey until he was 2 or 3 yrs old. I recall asking people, “is that normal? When do they change if they are going to?” because I’d only ever heard of one “person” with grey eyes (the fictional character Ellery Queen). When they changed, they became hazel. My daughter’s eyes were the dark, coffee brown of her father from birth and still are. I always assumed I had brown eyes, but I noticed after her birth that they were actually hazel. Did they change of was it just a case of comparing them to hers that made me notice? Not sure. If they were GREEN, of course it would be obvious, but they have just enough green in them to make them seem a lighter brown in most light (and a golden hazel in bright light). Both my maternal grandparents had blue eyes and red hair, ftr. (which makes them mutants in more ways than one:D) I always coveted the green eyes a cousin got, but I’m content with mine…I have been told many times that I have beautiful eyes, though not sure how much the color has to do with that opinion…could be more/all the shape. And I went to school with a girl with black hair and dark blue eyes…HATED HER:p (not…just jealous) I’ve heard it’s a particular combo seen in some Irish populations (which she was). 😕 “And I ask you friend, what’s a fella to do? When her hair is black and her eyes are blue? I’ve travelled around, all over this world…I ain’t never seen nothing like a Galway girl.” Steve Earle ---
**Author:** ![A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Spoonful_of_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/49 "2009-12-22T21:48:04Z")
I’ve always had really deep brown eyes. I didn’t hate them, but I never thought they were anything special either. I’d always had a sort of subtle admiration for those with lighter-colored eyes. About a month ago while we were eating lunch at a cafe in Vietnam, my girlfriend asked if my eyes changed colors for any particular reason, possibly indicative of my mood. After my puzzled “wtf?” she told me that she’d noticed my eyes frequently shift from brown to green and back. In 29 years I never knew that. I don’t know if it happened recently, maybe as a result of the climate change (we’d been backpacking south Asia for six months) or if it had been that way all my life. I have to think I would’ve noticed before now though. But sure enough, sometimes now when I look in the mirror I can see a greenish tint, though it’s not the drastic shift my girlfriend indicated. Still, a bit odd. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/50 "2009-12-22T22:02:04Z")
> [@Jennyrosity](#): > > My husband has the drakest brown eyes, with amazing lashes, and while I think they’re beautiful (they’re the first bit of him I fell in love with), I am slightly annoyed that when we have kids his brown-eyed genes will trample all over my pretty blus ones! My dad is fairly dark complected, with black hair and brown eyes. My mom is fair-skinned, with light brown hair and blue eyes. You’d think my dad’s genes would trample all over my mom’s, but I have blue eyes, blond hair, and fair skin. My sister has red hair, hazel eyes, and fair skin. Both of us obviously inherited our mother’s genes in terms of physical characteristics. (Obvious to everyone but my bubbe - my dad’s mom - who once told me that my sister’s red hair comes from my dad, because there are so many redheaded Jews. Not that there aren’t any redheaded Jews, but come on. My mom is of Irish descent. There are several people in her family with red hair. Everyone in my dad’s family that I’ve ever met or seen of picture of has black hair.) ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/51 "2009-12-22T22:11:50Z")
> [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](#): > > I’ve always had really deep brown eyes. I didn’t hate them, but I never thought they were anything special either. I’d always had a sort of subtle admiration for those with lighter-colored eyes. > > About a month ago while we were eating lunch at a cafe in Vietnam, my girlfriend asked if my eyes changed colors for any particular reason, possibly indicative of my mood. After my puzzled “wtf?” she told me that she’d noticed my eyes frequently shift from brown to green and back. In 29 years I never knew that. I don’t know if it happened recently, maybe as a result of the climate change (we’d been backpacking south Asia for six months) or if it had been that way all my life. I have to think I would’ve noticed before now though. > > But sure enough, sometimes now when I look in the mirror I can see a greenish tint, though it’s not the drastic shift my girlfriend indicated. Still, a bit odd. I read a book once on this purification diet/program which claimed changes in eye color and certain marking in the iris indicated health/toxicity (“Iridology” is, I think the term for this “science”). It came complete with before and after photos of eyes showing how the color lightened and blemishes went away after sticking to this particular diet (as I recall, vegan, gluten and sugar free, generally “pure”) and the images were quite dramatic. By “lighten” I don’t mean that browns switched to blue, but that the shade lightened and brightened from muddy/dark to clear/lighter brown, blue, green, whatever. And someone posted some info above on the possibility of eye color changing. Mine seem to change a bit from time to time, though with my color (hazel/brown) a lot depends on the lighting and colors around me they pick up. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/52 "2009-12-22T22:36:07Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > And I went to school with a girl with black hair and dark blue eyes..HATED HER:p (not…just jealous) I’ve heard it’s a particular combo seen in some Irish populations (which she was). 😕 I’m not sure I get you - is it that they’re dark blue that surprises you, or just blue at all? I’ve met several people with black hair and blue eyes, so it doesn’t strike me as all that unusual. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/53 "2009-12-22T22:38:23Z")
Well, they were a very vivid, dark shade of blue, yes, so that. But I have not encountered many people with that combination, personally (in fact, can’t think of another in real life). No idea how common or uncommon it is in general, just speaking to my experience. And yes, it was very striking on her. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@A\_Spoonful\_of\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Spoonful_of_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/54 "2009-12-22T23:03:11Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > I read a book once on this purification diet/program which claimed changes in eye color and certain marking in the iris indicated health/toxicity (“Iridology” is, I think the term for this “science”). It came complete with before and after photos of eyes showing how the color lightened and blemishes went away after sticking to this particular diet (as I recall, vegan, gluten and sugar free, generally “pure”) and the images were quite dramatic. > > By “lighten” I don’t mean that browns switched to blue, but that the shade lightened and brightened from muddy/dark to clear/lighter brown, blue, green, whatever. > > And someone posted some info above on the possibility of eye color changing. > > Mine seem to change a bit from time to time, though with my color (hazel/brown) a lot depends on the lighting and colors around me they pick up. Hmmm, that’s incredibly interesting. My girlfriend is a die-hard vegan and, though I’m not, I sort of trend in that direction when I’m with her for long periods of time (like, say, six months of traveling…). I still had a bit of dairy and the occasional chicken or beef dish, but it was by far the most extreme my diet has ever been in my life. Though I’m an omnivore at heart, I would certainly love to have cool green eyes with my dark complexion and hair. This warrants further research. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/55 "2009-12-24T06:55:11Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > My son’s eyes were grey until he was 2 or 3 yrs old. I recall asking people, “is that normal? When do they change if they are going to?” because I’d only ever heard of one “person” with grey eyes (the fictional character Ellery Queen). Some of the elves in “The Lord of the Rings” (book, not movie) had gray eyes, but that’s probably not the kind of people you were thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/56 "2009-12-24T16:34:49Z")
There’s an old love song, “Those brown eyes I loved so well.” Van Morrison had a hit with “Brown Eyed Girl”. Destiny’s Child, Lady Gaga, et al. also did “Brown Eyes” songs. It’s quite the romantic eye color, judging by song lyrics. My hazel eye color was complimented once by a Turkish co-worker. We were doing some project together and the late afternoon sun was slanting sideways across my face. She looked up and said “_Gözlerin bal rengi_” (Your eyes are honey-colored). My eyes change color depending on the lighting. In indirect light they’re deep brown but when the sun catches them just right they turn hazel or “honey colored.” I like that. My girlfriend has more-or-less gray eyes whose color varies depending on the lighting and environment. If she’s wearing anything in the range of green, blue, or teal-- especially teal-- her eyes take on the color of her outfit. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/57 "2009-12-24T16:46:33Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > Well, they were a very vivid, dark shade of blue, yes, so that. But I have not encountered many people with that combination, personally (in fact, can’t think of another in real life). No idea how common or uncommon it is in general, just speaking to my experience. > > And yes, it was very striking on her. Hmm. I just saw another stranger on Monday with black hair and blue eyes in Burlington, MA too. There are a lot of Irish folks in both MA and NH so that may be why it’s not terribly uncommon to see someone with that combination here. It’s a lot less rare than seeing a natural blonde or redhead with brown eyes, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/58 "2009-12-24T17:17:50Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > 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. Welcome to the Daily fucking Mail. Pretty much every article in the paper is of that standard or worse. ---
**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 24, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928/59 "2009-12-24T17:26:25Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Welcome to the Daily fucking Mail. Pretty much every article in the paper is of that standard or worse. I suppose complaining about the Daily Mail for poor writing is a bit like bitching about Andy Rooney for being so old and crotchety and hoping he’ll get “with it”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-blue-eyes-better-than-say-hazel/521928.md?page=2)