Kristen addresses the argument over whether human blood is blue. She talks about common misconceptions and what gives blood its color. As a bonus, she also talks about the variations in colors of blood in other animals.

CORRECTION: In this episode, Kristen says “octopi” to indicate the plural of “octopus.” Because “octopus” originated from Greek and not Latin (which does use “i” to pluralize words) and because “octopus” has been a word in English for a long time, Kristen would have preferred to pluralize the word using English rules: “octopuses.”

• Correction references and other neat facts about octopuses:
• • https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ten-curious-facts-about-octopuses-7625828/
  • https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-many-plurals-of-octopus-octopi-octopuses-octopodes

Episode References and Resources

• Textbook: Vander’s Human Physiology 13th Edition
• Blog on why veins appear blue: https://scienceblogs.com/scientificactivist/2008/04/17/why-are-veins-blue
• • Primary publication from 1996: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/22db/3b06a1abb585cb4c0683dd03a806800c1c28.pdf
• Animal Blood Comes in a Rainbow of Colors: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150312-blood-antarctica-octopus-animals-science-colors/

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