Speaking of hair... (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Kleist]

Why is it that people from hot places have lots and lots, while people from cold places have almost none? Wouldn't logic dictate the other way round?

For example, I see plenty of Italians around here with out-of-control body hair, but my genes are firmly Scandanavian, and I have virtually none

Talk amongst yerselves

 

[Alex Spindler]

I don't know about you, but I proclaim today to be the Day of the Wookie!

 

[Jens Raethel]

Jeff:

You said scandinavian!

Were exactly?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, Swedish and Norwegian, Danish and, Irish(which is not Scandanavian I realize)

 

[Jun-Dai Bates]

scottish people have plenty of hair, thank you very much. My belief with this is that the effects of evolution were already greatly diminished by the time that people began to inhabit the northern climes. In any case, I think the general trend is in fact for people from colder climates to have more body hair (scottish, russian, mongolian being a few stereotypical examples of people with a good deal of hair). But there are plenty of exceptions.

 

[Jun-Dai Bates]

Keep in mind that when you say "Scandinavian" or "Swedish" or somesuch, you aren't referring to a single genetic pool, but multiple waves of people from different sources all having an impact on the appearance of your modern day Scandinavians.
other things to think about: Body hair can serve more functions than simply protection against cold. Italians aren't exactly tropical, and the whitest portion of their blood comes from the north (I think. Correct me if I'm wrong). Africans and Pacific Islanders aren't exactly bear-chested (from what I've observed, anyways).
I think if you isolated the population of every country and stripped away civilization, the people in colder climates would generally have much more body hair. And everyone would have better eyesight.