Boy or girl?

摘要

Last March Helen Lang had her fourth child, Catherine. It was a shock for her and her husband Chas and his family, who were convinced the new arrival would be another boy. Chas is one of three brothers, and between them they have produced six sons. Catherine is the first girl on Chas's side of the family for three generations. The family's propensity for boys could admittedly be down to chance alone - if enough people toss a coin enough times, someone's eventually going to get ten heads in a row. But could it also be something in the Lang genes? Something that Catherine's genes managed to overcome? Most of us think that the sex of our offspring is a matter of chance, a random process with an equal likelihood of producing a boy or a girl. But scientists believe that Mother Nature doesn't simply toss a coin. And it isn't just odd cases like that of Chas and his brothers that have convinced them. Records show that, worldwide, slightly more males are born than females -106 boys for every 100 girls, in fact. Then there are all sorts of other strange findings. For example, high-status men such as presidents and lords tend to produce sons, but those who work as divers, test pilots, clergymen and sawmill workers have more daughters. More boys are born after unseasonably hot weather. Older fathers and those under stress produce more daughters. And, during and after each world war there was a glut of baby boys.