The Post Famous Redheads Quiz: Answers
Created | Updated Aug 27, 2012
How did your knowledge of redheads stack up?
The Post Famous Redheads Quiz: Answers
1. What famous British queen alarmed her enemies with her loud voice and striking red hair?
Boudicca. (Also spelled 'Boadicea', 'Buidica', and about any other way you can come up with.) According to ancient sources, the lady was tall, had a piercing voice, and long, red hair. The Romans were scared of her.
2. How unusual was it for English monarchs to have red hair?
Not at all. Besides Buidy-what'shername, there were a lot of rulers of the Sceptred Isle with fiery locks: Legend has it that King Arthur had red hair. Historically, there are lots of royal redheads in the English line, starting with William the Conqueror. There were also William Rufus (er, 'Rufus' means 'red'), Richard the Lionheart, Henry II, pretty much all of the Tudors, and Queen Victoria. There's also Prince Harry. Mary, Queen of Scots had red hair, which isn't too surprising, as Scotland has the highest percentage of redheads in the world – 13%. Oh, anti-monarchists, rejoice: Oliver Cromwell had red hair, as well. Other great British leaders? How about Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher?
3. What about US Presidents? Any redheads in the group?
Sure. Start with Thomas Jefferson. The former Colonies claim a number of presidents with coppery locks: Jefferson, Jackson, US Grant, Rutherford B Hayes, Silent Cal Coolidge, John F Kennedy, Dwight D Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter1. A forensic anthropologist at the University of Pittsburgh, Jeffrey Schwartz, says Washington had red hair. We can't tell, because he always powdered it. We refuse to discuss the question of what colour Ronald Reagan's hair was, or if, in the words of Gerald Ford, 'Ronnie doesn't dye his hair, he's just prematurely orange.'
4. Let's get out of the English-speaking realm for a minute. What famous Continental emperor sported the russet locks?
Napoleon Bonaparte. Besides being the 'cause of our woe', the great French general was a redhead, at least, according to some. He wasn't short, though, that's a canard. Napoleon was 5'7", which is quite a good height for his day.
5. What great composer (think seasonal mood music) was known as 'The Red Priest'?
Vivaldi. He studied for the priesthood before giving us 'The Four Seasons'. (That spring tune's stuck in your head now. Annoying, isn't it?)
6. Let's get literary. What 19th-century red-haired humorist declared, ' When red-haired people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn.'?
Mark Twain. What's that you say? Of course his hair was white when he was older, which is when those (silent) movies were made. But it used to be red, and he was proud of it.
7. What Bible characters have been accused of having red hair?
Adam, Esau, King David, Judas, and Jesus. No lie. That's sort of what started the whole discussion. Adam's name means 'red', of course, which could mean 'red earth'. But it makes people think. The same goes for Esau, Jacob's brother. Esau's other name is Edom, which means, er, red. Red lentils (as in the 'mess of pottage' story) or red hair? You decide. The Midrash, an ancient collection of Jewish tales about the Bible, has it that people in Israel considered red hair to be bad news because of Esau's (alleged) bad behaviour. I don't argue for this, I am merely reporting. This same source claims that David had trouble getting started in the king business because of this hair prejudice. Building on this, others claim that Jesus was called 'Son of David' because. . . you can guess the rest. Don't shoot the messenger. Take it up with the Wycliffe Society. The only things we can conclude from all this folklore is that there were people in Palestine with red hair back then, and that other people were critical of it.
8. What great Russian would rather have been red than dead?
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Who knew? Most of those posters were in black and white. Actually, we take this back. The man was on display, for heaven's sake. There are eyewitnesses. Yep, a red Red.
9. Another literary quote. Who wrote, 'The prejudice against habitual silence, among the lower order of the people, is almost as inveterate as the prejudice against red hair.'?
Wilkie Collins. In I Say No. There's a moral in there somewhere, but we can't find it. Maybe you will have better luck.
10. Are all Caucasians red-headed? What does the Chinese phrase 'ang mo' really mean?
Believe it or not, it means 'red hair'. This term is used in Malaysia and Singapore to describe Caucasians. The best guess is that early contact with Dutch traders meant these folk met a lot of red-headed sailors. Anyway, we think it's sort of like the word 'gringo', one of those 'you had to be there' moments.
There you have it. Red hair is no barrier to greatness. As usual, if you found this quiz a source of enlightenment, hilarity, or satisfaction at the confirmation of your personal store of knowledge, please spread the word. If not, please keep it to yourself. It will be our secret, along with whatever your real hair colour is.
