Hello people. I hope you have had a great day. This question is just out of blue and just off the top of my head.

This question has bothered me for quite some time, and if you have an idea to this, it would help a lot. Now just about all indigenous life on this earth has brown eyes! So where did the blue eyes come from in human beings?

Variety is the spice of life - or so we're told. And wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same? Vive-la-difference.

Where do blue eyes come from? 'Mother Nature' would be my guess.
It's genetic. And isn't it great? There's brown eyes, hazel eyes, blue eyes (and there's different versions of brown-hazel-and blue). It's like a canvas - with heaps of colours - but who's doing the painting? Well, it depends whether you believe in scientific or religious explanations - or both. What about skin colour - there's many variations of those too. As well as hair types - you name it - Mother Nature provides. And it never ceases to amaze - does it?

Then there's the creatures who have one brown eye and one blue eye.
The twins whose bodies are joined. And the list can go on and on.
For every norm - you'll always find exceptions - that's the miracle of life - as well as the curse. Depends on your outlook...

My mother used to believe that people with red hair - were short tempered, nasty creatures - until she had a grandson with red hair...

Yes! mother nature does throw some strange curve balls. So would it be fair to say that white man came from black people if these random events have merit.

It asks the same question as to why indigenous populations originally all had brown eyes - brown eyes correlate (generally) with darker skin, and most indigenous cultures live in parts of the world with a greater number of hours of sunlight because they are relatively closer to the equator. So although they originally would (and still) have the blue eye recessive gene, natural selection meant that the blue eye/fairer skin combination wouldn't be of benefit in equatorial areas as much as brown eye/brown skin, so it was selected against over eons.

What natural benefit red hair and blue eyes have in northern latitudes I have no idea. I am brown/brown, hubby is blue/blonde, and we have two children both with fair skin and red hair. Not sure how that came about.....and neither of us is from Viking stock.

Vikings get the blame for red hair generally. But there was supposedly also a line of red-haired Jews, and a line of red-haired Maori's. Although red hair is recessive, there seems to be more and more red-heds around as a percentage of the population these days.

As for the eyes, dont forget the green-eyed people too!

Human races, like all other natural populations, are based on heredity; the passing on of characteristics from parents to offspring.
And all hereditary characteristics are determined by tiny particles called genes. Members of the same race have more genes in common than do members of different races. Many people however misunderstand what race is - and consequently use the term incorrectly. For example, some people speak of the 'English-speaking race.' But people of many races speak English. Language is a cultural trait and is not determined biologically. Confusion also exists about race and nationality, race and culture, and race and intelligence.

People often speak of the 'German race,' or the 'Welsh race.' There are no such races, though there may be more of less distinct subpopulations in those countries. There is no single Jewish race, though most Jews of Europe and the United States are of Mediterranean origin. The Jews of Egypt, Greece, Iran, Morocco, the previous Soviet Union, and Western Europe differ considerably from one another because of their differing histories. Neither is there a single black race. For example the people of Benin differ genetically from those of their neighbouring Burkina Faso. Because of shifting national boundaries, a close relationship between any race and any nationality would be merely coincidental.

Prehistoric people lived in a world quite different from today's. They first appeared about 2 million years ago, at a time when the earth had grown cold. Glaciers were gradually covering parts of the northern continents, and ice blanketed all of Antarctica. Only Africa, southeastern Asia, and most of Central and South America remained warm. The first human beings appeared in Africa during this period...

Thank you all for your input. I have read what you all have said, but here is one more question that needs answering. In black society, and I talk about those in the past tense, No accurate data to where the first case began with blue eyes, but there is African photographic evidence to suggest mother natures genetic mood swings, are accurate. Because of evolution itself, ( brown eyes) it would suggest more study is needed. But the fact remains! The side effect did start in the black side of the living beings. Albino's have been recorded in black societies and this substantiates my theory, and the big question of where is the missing link, too our known existence. But there is a lot more theories to this, and I would like to name one! ATLANTIS! Or more the question, out side help! Yes! I seem to be always heading in the realm's of the off planet thinking. I try to stay away from the hypothetical but it seems we are moving forward at a very fast rate. Sorry for putting that in, it's there for thinking purposes only. DNA or outside help! I still cant put my finger on it.
As you can see, I love to throw in the odd curve ball.

At a party yesterday I raised the issue of blue eyes for general discussion. The consensus was that the northern hemisphere has longer periods of time covered in snow and that blue eyes afford greater protection against snow glare than brown, so that is why the Vikings et al experienced natural selection for blue eyes - they could see their enemies better and at longer ranges thus had a greater chance for survival than a Viking with brown eyes.

Don't know if there is any substantiation to this but its an interesting comment.

People with red hair often process certain minerals poorly in their diet, particularly zinc. This I do know for a fact.

One theory that I came across was that the aboriginal inhabitants of northern Europe had blue eyes. When the Indo-Europeans moved into the continent, some interbred with these people and became predominantly the Germanic branch. Other offshoots appeared in Celtic, Slavic and Italic branches.

Some interesting stuff on the genetics of eye colour:

http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1188788008/4#4

"I myself have blue eyes, and all of my children, also have blue eyes." And lets not forget the love of my life, perfect in every way. But my mother has brown eyes, and to my knowledge, the brown gene should take first place.
Just a little hint! Screen your self and your partner, before you breed. Sorry about that, now back to the point. The question of where blue eyed people began will maybe always remains a mystery, But I still think there is a bigger picture to why we are here. ( meaning, on universal terms). As some of you may know, the nearest blue_green planet is nearly three hundred light years, compared to our pathetic 40 thousand, well you know what I am getting at. Ask your self this! Why have we evolved in this place that we have? Why! are we the only freak of life. Look! If you can put your mind around of how big the univers is, can you say we are still alone?.