green.

 Once a hallmark of the boy and girl next door, blue eyes have become
increasingly rare among American children.  Immigration patterns,
intermarriage, and genetics all play a part in their steady decline.
While the drop-off has been a century in the making, the plunge in the
past few decades has taken place at a remarkable rate.
 About half of Americans born at the turn of the 20th century had blue
eyes, according to Loyola University.  By mid-century that number had
dropped to a third.  Today, only abot 1 of every 6 Americans has blue
eyes.
 A centurey ago, 80% of people married within their ethnic group. Blue
eyes -- a genetically recessive trait -- were passed down, especially
among people of English, Irish and Northern European ancestry.
 The influx of nonwhites into the United States, especially from Latin
America and Asia, hastened the disappearance.  Between 1900 and 1960,
only 1 in 10 (10%) Americans were nonwhite.  Today that ration is 1 in
3 (33%).
 Boys are 3% to 5% more likely to have blue eyes than girls, but beyond
that it's a non-issue -- physiologically speaking.  Cultural
implications are another matter.
 Preferences for fair skin and blue eyes stretch back in Europe to at
least the Middle Ages.  For women in particular, fair skin and light
eyes have long been seen as indications of fertility and beauty.
 So consumed were Americans with this ideal that in the '70s and '80s
the fashion models who exemplified the All-American look were typically
Scandinavian.  But in the past decade, those standards have begun to
change, and Madison Avenue has taken note.  The look advertisers want
today favors honey-colored skin, brown hair, and green or brown eyes.
The most successful models are from Brazil.
 Blue is by far the most popular color contact lens at the largest
distributor of contact lens in the country.  But in the last 4 years,
blue lost market share.  Sales slipped from 53% to 45%, while brown
jumped from 8% to 15%.  (What's the other 40% not mentioned?)

... Are blue jeans recessive or dominant?
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12