The History of Blond Hair

The genetic mutation that's linked to blond hair only popped up about 11,000 years ago, spreading from modern-day Lithuania out across Scandinavia and the rest of northern Europe rapidly.

There are a couple of competing theories about why this happened. Some scientists believe that lighter hair, like lighter skin, allows for more effective vitamin D manufacturing, which was extremely important for maintaining health in the chilly, dark northern Europe of the last Ice Age.

The other school of thought holds that blondes evolved simply because the color was novel and interesting, so in a time when there were very few men compared to women, men were more likely to select blond mates, leading blond women to reproduce much more often.