In a small hospital in Japan, there was a bit of commotion in the Maternity Ward. A Japanese man was pacing back and forth in the hallway,
his face a mask of worry and confusion. His wife had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl,
but there was something unusual about the baby that troubled him deeply:
the little one had a full head of bright red hair,
which was a stark contrast to the black hair they both had.
Baffled and somewhat upset, the father sought out the doctor who had delivered his child.
“Doctor,” the father began,
“I must tell you, I am quite upset.
My daughter has red hair. This cannot be. My wife and I have black hair.
She cannot be my child.”
The doctor nodded understandingly and tried to reassure the man.
“There is no need to worry,
” he explained, “hair color can be a strange thing.
It’s possible that one of your distant relatives had red hair.
It’s all about genetics.”
But the father was not convinced.
“That can’t be,” he insisted. “We are 100% Asian.
Our families have black hair through and through.”
The doctor pondered for a moment,
then asked a more personal question.
“Tell me, how often do you have sex?”
The man looked down. “Well,” he admitted,
“it’s been a very busy year. I’ve been working non-stop.
Maybe we have been together once or twice every month.”
The doctor nodded as if he had expected this answer and said with a smile,
“Ah, I see. That explains everything.”
The man looked up, puzzled. “What do you mean?” he asked.
The doctor said simply, “My friend, it’s just a coincidence.”