Minisode 02 – Guess What I Heard: “Bluer’N Hell”
Welcome back, Strange Woods walkers! In this week's podcast, we give you another minisode to introduce you to the second of our three new series: Guess What I Heard. Ever heard a story that made you say "Wait, whaaaaa???" or a cool fact or thing that blew your mind? That's what we're shooting for with this series: super interesting and strange stuff that you may never have heard before. This week, we discuss...blue people!
STOP! INSIDE JOKES AHEAD! If you haven’t gotten to listen to the episode yet, spoiler alert! This post contains lots of stuff that will make waaay more sense if you listen to the episode before or while reading. So if you haven’t already, pump the brakes and listen to the episode or just click above to play so that you can be in on all the shenanigans to follow!
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Produced by Peter Woodward
"Bluer'n hell..."
The Martin Fugate Family
- In the early 1800s, there was a family that had a crazy trait: four of their seven children were blue-toned from head to toe. The Fugate family of Troublesome Creek, Kentucky demonstrates a condition called “hereditary methemoglobinemia”, a very rare genetic abnormality that shows up under very specific circumstances. This happened to this family in particular because the family bred within itself.
- Yeah…a little incest. Or a lot.
The Science
Or...so why they blue then?
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- So…what is methemoglobinemia?
- It is a condition caused by an inherited faulty gene. This faulty gene affects the function of red blood cells by altering hemoglobin, which is what carries oxygen to cells and tissues throughout the body. In people with this condition, normal hemoglobin is replaced by as much as 50% methemoglobin, which cannot deliver oxygen to tissues. As a result, the oxygen deprivation turns the skin blue/gray and the blood deep brown like chocolate.
- This is a very rare phenomenon, but it surfaced in this family as product of incest. Normally, the genes that make this happen are recessive, not dominant, so they are far less likely to occur unless you happen to have two people with those traits. But when a family with the same genes breeds, 2 + 2 will equal 4 and…BOOM…blue kids.
- Methemoglobinemia can also be acquired (caused by an outside source) by chemical exposure to some medications like xylocaine and benzocaine. Again, this is very rare.
- Significant health problems can result from lack of oxygenation that this causes in the body. Consequently, this condition causes issues like hypoxia (low oxygen), respiratory distress and failure, heart problems, neurological problems, seizures, and even death.
So...what to do about the blue?
Descendants of Martin and Elizabeth Fugate continued to turn up blue intermittently for several generations. As a whole, the family did not have significant health problems, but did have a lot of embarrassment due to the social stigma associated with incest.
- In the 1960s, Dr. Madison Cawein conducted testing on two Fugate descendants. He determined that by treating them with an enzyme called diaphorase, he could fix the problem.
- Diaphorase is an enzyme that is missing in the methemoglobinemia patient. It converts methemoglobin into hemoglobin, which has the power to carry oxygen to cells and tissues.
- They were treated with a drug called methylene blue that precipitated that change, and guess what…they turned pink! By taking the medication daily, the condition was resolved!
- Benjamin Stacy, born in 1975, was the last recorded Fugate descendant to be born blue. He maintained his blue hue for only two weeks, and it spontaneously resolved.
Papa Smurf, or Another Blue Dude, Dude...
- Paul Karason turned blue, but for a completely different reason than the Fugates. He was born with a normal skin tone and became blue as a result of…get ready…silver poisoning!
- He began taking a supplement called colloidal silver. Colloidal silver is a very old remedy that was used for its antimicrobial properties for things like wound care and gastrointestinal issues as far back as ancient Greece. It was heavily used before antibiotics were discovered.
- Karason took it as a health supplement, both in liquid form and topically. Because of his excessive use, he acquired a condition called argyria, blue skin resulting from excessive exposure to chemical compounds of silver. His condition was permanent and lasted until his passing in 2013.
Check out his interview on Oprah.
And yes, Oprah is still very much around. She has an entire network. O. The O Network. She has lots of money. Like…a lot. Not past her prime at all. Just…wanted to be clear. Don’t come for us, please, Ms. Oprah. We meant no disrespect.
What else did we learn today?
There was once an Italian eurodance trio called Eiffel 65 that invented an earworm called “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”. Proceed with caution: it will get stuck in your head.
This is the music video. Peep this. It’s awful.
If you rearrange "globin", you can get "goblin."
This Noah's thing looks pretty rad...
And this is what you do with a burner phone, Jeremy...
OR this…
Or even this.
But whatever you do, you don’t leave it intact. That’s the rule.
As always, thanks so much for tuning in and supporting the podcast! We hope you are enjoying the minisodes. Please give us all the feedback!
Until we meet again, remember: incest is not the best, don’t use colloidal silver just willy-nilly, and always always always STAY STRANGE!
Some articles and sources:
Peter’s wife. Registered nurse. Uber-fan of The Strange Woods Podcast.
One Reply to “Minisode 02 – Guess What I Heard: “Bluer’N Hell””
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A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment.
I think that you need to write more about this
subject matter, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people do not
discuss these issues. To the next! Many thanks!!