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Redheads Feel Pain Differently Than the Rest of Us

Posted by Soulskill on from the no-redheads-were-harmed-in-the-posting-of-this-story dept.

schwit1 writes "If you think redheads are inherently different, well, you'd be right; they're better than you. In fact, they have a higher pain threshold than most of us, and can handle spicier food, too. It turns out that gingers are less sensitive to stinging pain in the skin, according to researchers who injected capsicum, the active ingredient in chilies, into the arms of patients. Professor Lars Arendt-Nielsen, one of the researchers, said, 'Our tests showed that redheads are less sensitive to this particular type of pain. They react less to pressure close to the injected area, or to a pinprick. They seem to be a bit better protected, and that is a really interesting finding.' The finding also means redheads can handle spicier food, reports Science Nordic. It lends some scientific weight to previous suggestions that gingers have a different pain response to the rest of, which were even investigated by MythBusters."

6 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Eureka by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This report jibes with my own ongoing research into the pain threshold of redheads. In the videos, they seem to almost enjoy the pain. It is quite fascinating stuff!

  2. Gingers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    All this time I thought that calling someone a 'ginger' was pejorative.

    1. Re:Gingers? by Bonker · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've always thought the 'Gingers have no souls' bit was invented totally by Matt Stone, a Jewish/Irish/American ginger, for 'South Park' as a 'take that' for Jewish critics of the show who describe him as a 'Self-hating Jew'.

      I've always thought that Ginger skin-tone and hair coloration was very attractive on women. I've not heard a lot of disrespect for Gingers before the South Park episode, and then it's been entirely tongue-in-cheek.

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  3. Gingers? by SecurityGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know, we've come a long way. We used to put people down for a host of things. About a century ago we got over the notion that women weren't smart enough to vote. Not so many decades ago being black and flirting with a white woman could get you killed. I'll bet more than a few of you are acquainted with the idea that "nerd" was not a badge of honor way back in high school. Like I say, we've come a long way, but it's somehow still cool to put down the "gingers".

    Grow up already.

    And not to be totally off topic, but this notion of people with red hair having a differing response to pain has been known for a long time. Wikipedia has references going back at least decade. I'm pretty sure I've known about this for longer than that. Finding older refs is left as an exercise for the reader.

  4. Re:So you met my exwife? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    There's difference between an anecdote and a scientific study.

    Then again, you go to a chiropractor. A chiropractor who has a TENS machine.

  5. Re:So you met my exwife? RTFA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Redheads as a group have both higher and lower than average responses to different types of pain.