Answers to Questions Kids Ask! - Where "Why?" Turns to "Wow!"
Born on this day
July 17, 20101899 - James Cagney
1917 - Phyllis Diller
1920 - Kenneth Wolstenholme D.F.C.
1934 - Donald Sutherland
1935 - Diahann Carroll
1940 - Tim Brooke-Taylor
1942 - Spencer Davis
1948 - Wayne Sleep
1952 - David Hasselhoff
1982 - Natasha Hamilton
The answer is a simple one. Melanin. Melanin, you know, is the chemical pigment that gives us all our skin color. No matter what the shade of your skin (or hair, for that matter) — white, yellow, tan, olive, brown, or black, — the color comes from varying amounts of melanin produced by cells in your skin.
When you are exposed to the sun, those cells begin to produce extra melanin. That’s how you tan. (And, regardless, of skin color, everyone’s skin is affected by the sun!) It’s also what causes freckles. Sometimes the tanning isn’t uniform and some of the cells containing melanin seem to be especially energetic. They work overtime. That causes some tiny patches of skin to darken from melanin, while others don’t. Voila. You’ve got Freckles!
Link to this question!
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