Every blue eyed person on the planet is a descendant of one single person
It’s fascinating but true: all blue-eyed people are believed to share a common ancestor, a single individual who lived around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.
This individual, likely from the region around the Black Sea, carried a genetic mutation that resulted in blue eyes. Before this mutation, all humans had brown eyes.
This mutation occurred in the OCA2 gene, which controls the production of melanin in the iris
The mutation essentially “turned off” the ability to produce the full amount of melanin, creating the light blue color we associate with blue eyes.
The blue-eyed trait is passed down from generation to generation, with each new person inheriting the mutation from their parents.
While the genetic mutation spread through Europe and beyond, it remains a rare feature worldwide, found in about 8-10% of the global population
So, next time you meet someone with blue eyes, remember that they share a link with all other blue-eyed people, tracing back to one common ancestor who changed the course of eye color history.