00:03Why do humans have different eye colors?
00:05And does one color have an evolutionary advantage?
00:08These are questions scientists have been trying to figure out for decades.
00:12But now, anthropologists say,
00:13lighter eyes might actually have an edge under certain conditions.
00:17Researchers conducted 30-second eye tests,
00:19all while dimming the lights incrementally,
00:21for both brown and blue-eyed participants.
00:23They found that those with blue eyes were able to read
00:25under significantly darker conditions at just 0.7 lux.
00:29Meanwhile, those with brown eyes tapped out once the light levels fell to just 0.82 lux.
00:34So why might this be of evolutionary benefit?
00:36Well, that's still unclear.
00:37But the researchers say their best guess
00:39is that it provided some advantage during the low-light months of winter,
00:42as mankind moved north out of Africa.
00:45Perhaps blue-eyed people were able to hunt for longer,
00:47or work longer days next to dimly lit campfires.
00:50Experts warn that this not-yet-peer-reviewed study is still incomplete,
00:53and that the photo-processing parts of everyone's eyes are the same,
00:57regardless of iris color.
00:58Still, if the results are sound,
01:00it shines a light on how such a small mutation can affect the course of human history.
01:05How the?
01:10Obviously came on like...
