Yesterday, I caught part of a television quiz between two kids of around 11 years old. One of the questions was on the topic of blue blood:

What is true about blue blood?
A. It does not exist.
B. It is blood containing no oxygen.
C. Only noble people have it.

The first kid answered A. Sounds about right, I’d say. But no, the quiz host said, that was the wrong answer. The turn then went to the other kid, who offered a hesitant B. “Correct!” the host said. “Blood containing oxygen is red, blood without oxygen is blue. You can see this from the blue colour of the veins in your hands and arms.” Well, yes, your veins do look more blue than red, but that’s because the true colour of the blood is masked by several layers of tissue. Also, the “oxygen-rich is red, oxygen-poor is blue” scheme is how it’s drawn in biology textbooks, but in reality all human blood really is quite red. Has this quiz master guy never had a wound, or what?

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