The Scarlet Mark

Curious Cases

BBC

Science

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2016

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Drs Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry are on hand to solve everyday mysteries sent in by listeners. For the last few weeks they've been collecting cases to investigate using the power of science - from why people shout on their mobile phones to what causes traffic jams.

In the first episode, called 'The Scarlet Mark', they get to the root of the following conundrum, posed by Sheena Cruickshank in Manchester:

'My eldest son is ginger but I am blonde and my husband brunette so we are constantly asked where the red came from. Further, people do say the "ginger gene" is dying out, but how good is that maths or is it just anecdotal?'

Our science sleuths set out to discover what makes gingers ginger with a tale of fancy mice, Tudor queens and ginger beards.

Featuring historian and author Kate Williams and Jonathan Rees from the University of Edinburgh, one of the team who discovered the ginger gene.

If you have any scientific cases for the team to investigate please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Presenters: Hannah Fry & Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, this is the podcast version of the curious cases of Drs. Rutherford and Fry.
0:05.3	Drs. Isn't it in the title? It is. I'm Dr.
0:08.3	It's just curious case of Brother Finn and Fry. Oh is it?
0:10.7	Yeah, but we are doctors with a Finn and Fry. What are you a doctor of?
0:13.8	Everything. I think I can actually claim to be a doctor of everything because
0:19.1	mathematics is the language of the universe.
0:22.4	And these are the types of issues we're going to have to deal with, dear listener.
0:26.0	And what's Dr. Fry and we're going to do in this episode?
0:29.6	This episode is about the curious case of the Scarlet Mark.
0:33.6	That's being...
0:35.2	...gingers. That's you.
0:36.8	That's you.
0:38.9	It is. I am cursed with the mark of the Scarlet Jean.
0:43.6	No, no, no, no, no, it's not cursed. It's a stop the ear.
0:46.3	Blessed. Your hair is an astonishing beacon of awesomeness.
0:51.0	I do take quite a lot of care of my hair. It's true.
0:55.1	And the idea behind this series is that you dear listener send us in
0:58.9	your queries, the things that have been puzzling you for years,
1:02.4	things that you observe that have been slightly annoying you.
1:05.6	And we, Dr. Fry, Dr. Rutherford, we will try to find out the scientific answer to your curious cases.
1:12.0	Indeed. So on with the show.
1:20.4	Today's study is close to my own heart, dear listener.
	...

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