A couple years back, I had a roommate who also had curly red hair. Her color was artificial, but it was still enough for our next-door neighbor to one day remark to us, as we carried a Craigslist couch up the stairs, “You know, I can’t tell you girls apart.”
I wasn’t even surprised. I know all too well that people think all gingers look alike. And not just alike, but indistinguishable.
When I was in grade school, my family carpooled with another family who had a red-haired daughter a year younger than me. We looked nothing alike, but because we both had red hair, people assumed we were related.
One kid in particular was convinced that we were secretly twins. She liked to sneak up on us after school as we waited for our ride, and try to get us to admit it.
I don’t know what she was hoping to accomplish. Like, maybe if she just asked enough, she’d wear us down. Or if she could just catch us off guard…
I think it has something to do with proximity. We were always together after school – because we carpooled, of course – but to an observer’s mind, this forms a unit. Red hair is unusual; ergo, two redheaded people spotted together must be related. And, of course, commented upon.
To be fair, I do have quite a few relatives with red hair. But not every random ginger is related to me. Two redheads do not a Weasley family make.
There’s nothing quite like finishing all the artwork for a post and then realizing you forgot to draw all the eyebrows…
Leonardo DaVinci made the same mistake when he was working on art for his blog.
It is indeed an easy one to make.