Ethnicity vs. skin tone

[darkerhorse]

What would you guess about the ancestry of Louie Prima?

[MarcuccioV]

What would you guess about the ancestry of Louie Prima?

I don't have to guess; I already knew he was Sicilian. His features could possibly favor a Greek influence...

[darkerhorse]

I was thinking North African.

[MarcuccioV]

I was thinking North African.

I couldn't rule either one out...

[darkerhorse]

Hair texture among other features.

[adam213]

I used to think you could figure out someone’s eye color — or even question biological relationships — by looking at the eye colors of their father, grandparents, and other relatives. But I recently learned that the old “one gene” explanation for eye color is outdated. Eye color is now understood to be controlled by multiple genes, making it more of a gradient than a simple dominant/recessive trait. While you can calculate general probabilities, unexpected results aren’t really anomalies — they’re just how genetics works. For example, in my family, I have brown eyes (which had about a 66% chance), one sibling has blue eyes (17% odds), and the other has hazel eyes (also 17%).

Interestingly, the woman who cut my hair today told me I have “Italian skin.” She’s Italian too, but fair-skinned with cool blue undertones, while mine has more of an olive tone. We even compared the color of our veins — mine looked bluish green at first, but next to hers (which were greenish blue), mine appeared clearly green. I think without a leftover summer tan, they’d look a bit more bluish green again. Either way, I took her comment as a nice compliment.