Sunday mystery
What is going on with this chart?
Here’s the ratio of male to female births in England and Wales since 1838. Anyone have an explanation as to what is going on? I know Danny Dorling has views but I don’t find them convincing. But I also don’t have an explanation. Answers on a postcard please…
There's a phenomenon called the 'Returning Soldier effect' which has been observed for quite a while and seems to fit - though it seems the exact mechanism (genetic? hormonal? something else?) is still debated and unclear.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Returning_soldier_effect
Thanks