1 00:00:03,060 --> 00:00:05,400 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, winding it down with a couple of more 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: here from me, at least, with the Stuff You Should 3 00:00:07,620 --> 00:00:10,940 Speaker 1: Know Gets Weird playlist. Have you ever seen The Blue People? 4 00:00:11,060 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: There's a thing where, I'm not going to spoil it, 5 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: but let's just say there's a thing that happens where 6 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,639 Speaker 1: people's skin can turn blue. And this is the episode 7 00:00:19,700 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: called What's the Deal with Blue People? And no, not 8 00:00:23,660 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: David Cross and Arrested Development or. 9 00:00:25,460 --> 00:00:26,020 Speaker 2: The Blue Man Group. 10 00:00:29,390 --> 00:00:34,380 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 11 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:41,620 Speaker 3: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, and 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 3: there's Charles W. Chuck Bryan over there. And Jerry was 13 00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 3: just here. She said, peace out, suckas. And this is 14 00:00:49,270 --> 00:00:50,450 Speaker 3: Stuff You Should Know, of course. 15 00:00:51,470 --> 00:00:54,190 Speaker 2: It was nice of her to log on to say goodbye. 16 00:00:54,210 --> 00:00:55,150 Speaker 1: Right. 17 00:00:56,610 --> 00:00:58,510 Speaker 2: No, we're just kidding, Jerry. She's been busy lately. 18 00:00:58,950 --> 00:00:59,030 Speaker 1: Yeah. 19 00:00:59,050 --> 00:00:59,150 Speaker 3: Yeah. 20 00:00:59,590 --> 00:01:00,070 Speaker 2: That happens. 21 00:01:00,650 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 3: It totally happens in this busy go-go world of 2021. 22 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 3: Almost 2022. The double deuce. 23 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:09,819 Speaker 2: This year has just flown by. 24 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:15,059 Speaker 3: It really has. I think mercifully, because this is going 25 00:01:15,110 --> 00:01:18,530 Speaker 3: to be part of the lost years when we look back, 26 00:01:18,770 --> 00:01:19,069 Speaker 3: you know? 27 00:01:19,770 --> 00:01:22,350 Speaker 2: Yeah, it felt like 2020 took 18 years. 28 00:01:22,610 --> 00:01:22,850 Speaker 3: Right. 29 00:01:23,350 --> 00:01:26,250 Speaker 2: And somehow 2021 has just like been in a snap. 30 00:01:26,690 --> 00:01:26,870 Speaker 3: Yeah. 31 00:01:27,050 --> 00:01:27,789 Speaker 2: I don't know what's going on. 32 00:01:29,230 --> 00:01:32,370 Speaker 3: I don't think anyone does anymore, Chuck, so don't feel bad. 33 00:01:33,250 --> 00:01:37,729 Speaker 2: Can we shout out the people and sources that helped 34 00:01:37,770 --> 00:01:43,130 Speaker 2: us along for this one? Well, our buddy Dave Ruse 35 00:01:43,290 --> 00:01:45,230 Speaker 2: wrote an article for How Stuff Works. 36 00:01:45,530 --> 00:01:46,610 Speaker 3: Ta-da! 37 00:01:47,580 --> 00:01:50,140 Speaker 2: And I found a great article from Wired. I forgot 38 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 2: how much I love Wired. That's from Mallory Pickett. And 39 00:01:53,340 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 2: BBC News, ABC News, NPR, Morning A Dish, which is 40 00:01:56,300 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 2: always a fun listen. National Library of Medicine here in 41 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 2: the U.S. And then, as always, I feel like it 42 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:09,140 Speaker 2: makes appearance in every episode, jamaicahospital.org. That's right. Surprisingly helpful. 43 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:09,519 Speaker 3: Yeah. 44 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 2: Maybe not surprisingly. 45 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:14,220 Speaker 3: I wonder, is it Jamaica, Queens or Jamaica, Jamaica? 46 00:02:15,500 --> 00:02:17,419 Speaker 2: Oh, you know what? I was thinking Jamaica, Jamaica. It 47 00:02:17,460 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 2: may be Jamaica, Queens. Yeah. 48 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:21,700 Speaker 3: Should I Jamaica scene? Jamaica, Queens? 49 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: My neighbor across the street neighbor is from Jamaica, the country. Mm-hmm. 50 00:02:27,980 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 2: And I feel like a heel now because I was like, hey, 51 00:02:29,860 --> 00:02:34,310 Speaker 2: that hospital website's great, Pat. She's like, what are you 52 00:02:34,330 --> 00:02:34,990 Speaker 2: talking about? 53 00:02:35,190 --> 00:02:42,090 Speaker 3: She's like, okay, great. Glad you like some random hospital website. Oh, boy. 54 00:02:42,190 --> 00:02:45,609 Speaker 3: So we're talking today. You went and found some medical stuff. 55 00:02:45,870 --> 00:02:49,030 Speaker 3: That's why you went to look at JamaicaHospital.org, I'm guessing, 56 00:02:49,090 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 3: because we're talking about a really interesting condition and actually 57 00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:59,410 Speaker 3: a few kinds of conditions that have something– unusual and common, 58 00:02:59,430 --> 00:03:01,690 Speaker 3: and that is that the people who suffer from these 59 00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 3: conditions have blue skin. Blue skin. You heard it here first, everybody, 60 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 3: even though this really first started hitting the presses in 2008. 61 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you didn't hear it here first. I mean, 62 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,620 Speaker 2: this is all over the internet, but we're talking about 63 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 2: not the Blue Man Group, but the Blue People Group 64 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,260 Speaker 2: of Kentucky. It's a family that is, I guess it's 65 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:26,150 Speaker 2: pronounced Fugate? 66 00:03:26,470 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. 67 00:03:27,350 --> 00:03:28,269 Speaker 2: It's not Fugate? 68 00:03:29,030 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 3: No, that's Italian. He was from France. 69 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:32,940 Speaker 2: Well, that's a spoiler. 70 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 3: Oh, is it? I'm sorry. I take it back, everyone. 71 00:03:37,580 --> 00:03:39,300 Speaker 2: You know, it's not a spoiler, but for some reason, 72 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:44,230 Speaker 2: when I saw that, the original Martin Fugate was from France. 73 00:03:44,250 --> 00:03:47,590 Speaker 2: I'm not sure what part of France, but I was like, huh, 74 00:03:47,690 --> 00:03:49,510 Speaker 2: that's surprising. I was like, I don't know why it 75 00:03:49,530 --> 00:03:49,790 Speaker 2: would be. 76 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,710 Speaker 3: Yeah, he could have come from anywhere in the world 77 00:03:53,810 --> 00:03:57,570 Speaker 3: and he would have been like a completely overlookable person. 78 00:03:57,610 --> 00:04:00,970 Speaker 3: I think totally lost to history had it not been 79 00:04:01,090 --> 00:04:06,430 Speaker 3: for the rare, rare genetic mutation that he happened to 80 00:04:06,510 --> 00:04:09,260 Speaker 3: carry with him. And even that wouldn't have gotten him 81 00:04:09,300 --> 00:04:13,740 Speaker 3: into the history books, Chuck. Even that wouldn't have. Instead, 82 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:18,620 Speaker 3: it took Martin Fugate to happen upon against all odds. 83 00:04:19,150 --> 00:04:22,420 Speaker 3: To have found a wife who he was not related to, 84 00:04:22,450 --> 00:04:25,620 Speaker 3: who was a total stranger from a totally different country, 85 00:04:25,940 --> 00:04:30,340 Speaker 3: who also happened to have that same rare genetic mutation. 86 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:34,080 Speaker 3: And when the two get together, kapow, blue kids start 87 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:34,660 Speaker 3: popping out. 88 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: That's right. He came over from France to Kentucky, to 89 00:04:38,900 --> 00:04:40,779 Speaker 2: the Blue Hills of Kentucky, ironically. 90 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 3: Oh, wow. I hadn't thought about that. 91 00:04:43,690 --> 00:04:46,130 Speaker 2: In 1820. And like I said, he was from France 92 00:04:46,230 --> 00:04:47,690 Speaker 2: and he was an orphan, so he didn't know a 93 00:04:47,690 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 2: lot about his his family as far as whether or 94 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 2: not any of them were blue, I guess. 95 00:04:53,430 --> 00:04:57,230 Speaker 3: No. Or if so, he wasn't piping up about it. Yeah. 96 00:04:57,830 --> 00:05:00,570 Speaker 2: Maybe he just kept it quiet. But he did marry 97 00:05:00,750 --> 00:05:04,930 Speaker 2: a redheaded American named Elizabeth Smith, and they headed on 98 00:05:04,990 --> 00:05:08,210 Speaker 2: over to Troublesome Creek near Hazard County in Kentucky and 99 00:05:08,230 --> 00:05:12,060 Speaker 2: set up a homestead there. And it is a, I mean, 100 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 2: one of the doctors from one of these articles said, 101 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,460 Speaker 2: you know, it's maybe one in a 100,000 chance that 102 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,900 Speaker 2: you even have this genetic mutation. And he said, but, 103 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,250 Speaker 2: you know, once you start, I guess there's no other 104 00:05:26,290 --> 00:05:31,010 Speaker 2: way to say it. Once you start inbreeding, which can 105 00:05:31,070 --> 00:05:35,690 Speaker 2: happen in the 1800s in the ruralness of Kentucky, he 106 00:05:35,730 --> 00:05:37,190 Speaker 2: said that can go down all the way to like 107 00:05:37,450 --> 00:05:39,849 Speaker 2: one in eight chance. And that's exactly what happened. 108 00:05:40,130 --> 00:05:42,250 Speaker 3: Yeah. I was surprised it was even one in eight, 109 00:05:42,330 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 3: but there's some little fluke of genetics that, um, that 110 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:49,180 Speaker 3: you have to When you're talking about probability and genetics, 111 00:05:49,220 --> 00:05:52,100 Speaker 3: it's a little more difficult than half and half. 112 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:53,020 Speaker 2: It's not straight math. 113 00:05:53,060 --> 00:05:59,630 Speaker 3: Yeah. So apparently Martin himself possibly had a little bit 114 00:05:59,650 --> 00:06:03,370 Speaker 3: of blue to him. His wife Elizabeth had no blue 115 00:06:03,450 --> 00:06:07,109 Speaker 3: to her. She apparently had very, very pale skin and 116 00:06:07,510 --> 00:06:10,940 Speaker 3: bright red hair. But when the two got together and 117 00:06:10,980 --> 00:06:16,799 Speaker 3: those two genetic mutations donated... their mutations to that specific gene, 118 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 3: the kids that they had were like irresistibly blue. Like 119 00:06:22,820 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 3: there was no confusing. It's not like, yeah, Martin's kind 120 00:06:25,940 --> 00:06:28,260 Speaker 3: of blue. Have you ever noticed? Maybe he needs to 121 00:06:28,380 --> 00:06:32,659 Speaker 3: breathe more deeply. This was like straight up blue kids. 122 00:06:33,300 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 3: I've even seen them described as dark blue, not even 123 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,660 Speaker 3: a bluish hue or tint or tinge, dark blue skinned children. 124 00:06:41,380 --> 00:06:44,870 Speaker 2: Yeah, four of seven were blue. And it's funny you 125 00:06:44,910 --> 00:06:47,710 Speaker 2: said that she was not, the mother was not blue tinted. 126 00:06:48,860 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 2: But I imagine like before they knew about genetics and inbreeding, 127 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 2: if she would have been a little blue, that might 128 00:06:57,060 --> 00:07:00,039 Speaker 2: have been a reason to get together. You know what 129 00:07:00,060 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 2: I mean? 130 00:07:01,140 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 3: No, I don't. 131 00:07:01,980 --> 00:07:06,220 Speaker 2: Explain. Well, blue man happens to meet blue woman and 132 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,700 Speaker 2: they're like, geez, there's another one like me. And, you know, 133 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,260 Speaker 2: we've been sort of, you know, sort of embarrassing and 134 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 2: maybe we're cast out a little bit. So let's hitch 135 00:07:15,220 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 2: our wagons together because there's probably nothing wrong with us 136 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 2: having kids, right? Because medical science hadn't known that at 137 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 2: that point. 138 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 3: It's a story as old as time, Chuck. 139 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 2: But it was just complete happenstance though. 140 00:07:30,690 --> 00:07:33,330 Speaker 3: Right. Yeah. So and I wonder also, like it was 141 00:07:33,610 --> 00:07:36,330 Speaker 3: significant to me that they pointed out that his wife, 142 00:07:36,870 --> 00:07:41,260 Speaker 3: Elizabeth Smith Fugate's skin was almost translucent. It was so 143 00:07:41,300 --> 00:07:45,500 Speaker 3: pale because I wonder if she donated that to her children, 144 00:07:46,620 --> 00:07:49,070 Speaker 3: which allowed the blue to really shine through even more. 145 00:07:49,690 --> 00:07:50,190 Speaker 2: Oh, maybe. 146 00:07:50,430 --> 00:07:51,170 Speaker 3: It's possible. 147 00:07:51,450 --> 00:07:53,130 Speaker 2: Like the ultimate recipe for blueness? 148 00:07:53,250 --> 00:07:57,180 Speaker 3: Exactly. And they actually became known as this blue family. 149 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,500 Speaker 3: And they were not particularly proud of their blue skin. 150 00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 3: I think they were a little freaked out about it. 151 00:08:02,820 --> 00:08:05,860 Speaker 3: I think that their neighbors may not have particularly treated 152 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 3: them well. And so they already lived in like a 153 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:13,020 Speaker 3: pretty isolated part of Appalachia. But they took pains to 154 00:08:13,100 --> 00:08:17,610 Speaker 3: actually isolate themselves even further. And one of the consequences 155 00:08:17,690 --> 00:08:20,810 Speaker 3: of that was something you touched upon that that meant 156 00:08:20,850 --> 00:08:25,590 Speaker 3: that their son married their aunt and cousins married cousins, 157 00:08:25,710 --> 00:08:28,170 Speaker 3: even if they were way too close to be marrying. 158 00:08:28,630 --> 00:08:33,390 Speaker 3: And so one of the products of this intermarriage was 159 00:08:33,410 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 3: an entire small regional population of blue families or families 160 00:08:38,940 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 3: who have blue children or blue family members because these 161 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,709 Speaker 3: neighbor families were were still blood relatives of the fugates 162 00:08:47,030 --> 00:08:51,470 Speaker 3: who initially settled this area and just started reproducing through inbreeding. 163 00:08:52,410 --> 00:08:55,870 Speaker 2: That's right. And the condition that they had is not 164 00:08:55,910 --> 00:08:58,090 Speaker 2: a skin condition at all. It's actually a blood disorder, 165 00:08:58,150 --> 00:09:03,540 Speaker 2: like you mentioned. And it's called medemoglobinemia. Is that pretty good? 166 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 3: Wow. So it's not meth? No. Okay. Oh, I'm glad 167 00:09:08,980 --> 00:09:09,839 Speaker 3: you said it first then. 168 00:09:11,380 --> 00:09:13,860 Speaker 2: I actually took great pains today to look up. Between 169 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,579 Speaker 2: this and the other episode, we're recording pronunciations. 170 00:09:17,820 --> 00:09:18,020 Speaker 3: Yeah. 171 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,650 Speaker 2: And when you look at medemoglobinemia, that is 17 letters of, 172 00:09:24,140 --> 00:09:25,490 Speaker 2: it's a mouthful of letters. 173 00:09:25,610 --> 00:09:26,710 Speaker 3: Yeah, pure hell. 174 00:09:27,490 --> 00:09:29,670 Speaker 2: It's really one of those that I looked at over 175 00:09:29,710 --> 00:09:31,369 Speaker 2: and over and just could not get it right in 176 00:09:31,390 --> 00:09:33,290 Speaker 2: my head until I, you know, went and looked it 177 00:09:33,330 --> 00:09:34,610 Speaker 2: up on the internet. And I was like, oh, it's 178 00:09:34,630 --> 00:09:35,050 Speaker 2: not so hard. 179 00:09:35,070 --> 00:09:37,929 Speaker 3: All right, let me try. Let me try. Medemoglobinemia. 180 00:09:37,950 --> 00:09:40,599 Speaker 2: I think it's more of a T than a D. 181 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 3: Okay. What about a B? Do you want me to 182 00:09:45,660 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 3: try that one next? 183 00:09:48,380 --> 00:09:50,630 Speaker 2: This is like the worst acting audition ever. 184 00:09:50,790 --> 00:09:55,929 Speaker 3: Let me give you another one. What's my motivation here? 185 00:09:57,490 --> 00:09:58,390 Speaker 2: To get through this episode. 186 00:09:58,480 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 3: Okay. Fair enough. 187 00:10:00,370 --> 00:10:02,590 Speaker 2: So we're going to touch a little bit on melanin 188 00:10:02,610 --> 00:10:06,860 Speaker 2: throughout this episode, but you remember melanin from our, I think, 189 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:13,020 Speaker 2: pretty good episode on sunscreen and suntans, right? And this is, 190 00:10:14,020 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 2: you know, special cells in the body and the skin 191 00:10:16,540 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 2: make melanin, And melanin is responsible for coloring your skin. 192 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,020 Speaker 2: And there are all kinds of different melanin disorders, whether 193 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,439 Speaker 2: you have too much or too little, whether it will 194 00:10:28,460 --> 00:10:31,620 Speaker 2: make your skin lighter or darker, or whether or not 195 00:10:31,740 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 2: it happens in patches. I had a friend in Los 196 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 2: Angeles with vitiligo. 197 00:10:35,620 --> 00:10:37,359 Speaker 3: I have a friend, too. 198 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: Oh, you do? 199 00:10:39,140 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 2: Which leads to patches of light skin on the body. 200 00:10:43,070 --> 00:10:46,830 Speaker 2: Isn't that what Michael Jackson claimed to have had, too? Yes. 201 00:10:48,370 --> 00:10:49,050 Speaker 2: Was that verified? 202 00:10:49,530 --> 00:10:50,150 Speaker 3: I don't know. 203 00:10:50,170 --> 00:10:51,349 Speaker 2: I don't know either. 204 00:10:51,650 --> 00:10:52,469 Speaker 3: I really don't know. 205 00:10:52,490 --> 00:10:54,350 Speaker 2: I just remember there was a big stink when that 206 00:10:54,390 --> 00:10:56,010 Speaker 2: came out, and everyone was like, yeah, right. 207 00:10:56,470 --> 00:11:00,430 Speaker 3: Well, the reason why it was like, really? You got vitiligo? 208 00:11:00,490 --> 00:11:04,890 Speaker 3: Because it's usually patches, like the melanocytes, the melanin-producing cells 209 00:11:04,950 --> 00:11:07,490 Speaker 3: just kind of poop out or crap out in an area, 210 00:11:08,130 --> 00:11:12,950 Speaker 3: and it leaves patches without pigment. Not your entire face 211 00:11:13,929 --> 00:11:15,410 Speaker 3: without pigment, but who knows? 212 00:11:15,910 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 2: Well, I think his... I think what he said was 213 00:11:18,220 --> 00:11:21,540 Speaker 2: that he bleached his skin to match the light patches 214 00:11:21,620 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 2: was his reasoning. 215 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:26,380 Speaker 3: Oh, well, that's fairly reasonable. You know, if you're self-conscious 216 00:11:26,420 --> 00:11:29,860 Speaker 3: about vitiligo and you have a ton of money, you 217 00:11:29,900 --> 00:11:30,860 Speaker 3: could do something like that. 218 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 2: Who knows? 219 00:11:32,710 --> 00:11:33,070 Speaker 3: Who knows? 220 00:11:33,490 --> 00:11:36,210 Speaker 2: Should we talk about skin color or should we take 221 00:11:36,230 --> 00:11:37,410 Speaker 2: an awkward Michael Jackson break? 222 00:11:38,170 --> 00:11:40,550 Speaker 3: I think we just did. But the point is this 223 00:11:40,590 --> 00:11:44,030 Speaker 3: that I think you're making, Chuck, is that Changes in, like, 224 00:11:44,250 --> 00:11:47,469 Speaker 3: your skin color typically have to do with a lack 225 00:11:47,790 --> 00:11:51,750 Speaker 3: of or an overproduction of melanin, right? That's right. What 226 00:11:51,770 --> 00:11:55,310 Speaker 3: we're talking about, metemoglobinemia, right? 227 00:11:55,730 --> 00:11:55,910 Speaker 2: Yep. 228 00:11:56,910 --> 00:11:59,840 Speaker 3: Is actually a blood disorder. It has nothing to do 229 00:11:59,890 --> 00:12:04,359 Speaker 3: with the skin. It just shines through that super translucent 230 00:12:04,380 --> 00:12:05,099 Speaker 3: skin that we have. 231 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 2: Right. So what's going on here in the body? 232 00:12:07,580 --> 00:12:08,060 Speaker 3: Oh, yeah. 233 00:12:08,100 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: Okay. 234 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:09,540 Speaker 2: Okay. 235 00:12:10,260 --> 00:12:11,260 Speaker 3: So, you know. 236 00:12:11,300 --> 00:12:13,550 Speaker 2: Are you surprised I'm asking you to do this? 237 00:12:13,750 --> 00:12:17,050 Speaker 3: I'm a little surprised. I thought we maybe tag-teamed this one. 238 00:12:17,070 --> 00:12:21,350 Speaker 3: But okay, okay. So, you have like a pinkish hue 239 00:12:21,370 --> 00:12:27,439 Speaker 3: to you typically. Thank you. Being Caucasian because there's not 240 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:32,320 Speaker 3: a ton of melanin that's blocking the blood supply underneath 241 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,140 Speaker 3: in your tissues. It's kind of shining through. And your 242 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,290 Speaker 3: blood is red. And the reason it's red, Chuck, is because? 243 00:12:40,780 --> 00:12:44,060 Speaker 2: But the reason why blood is red? Well, remember in 244 00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 2: school they teach you that your blood is blue until 245 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:48,500 Speaker 2: you get cut and then it hits the air. 246 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:49,339 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's not true. 247 00:12:49,740 --> 00:12:51,059 Speaker 2: And then it turns red. That's what you hear on 248 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:52,540 Speaker 2: the playground in elementary school. 249 00:12:52,580 --> 00:12:53,319 Speaker 3: From dumb kids. 250 00:12:54,460 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 2: But that is not true. And I bet you anything 251 00:12:56,300 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 2: kids are still spreading that mistruth on the playground. 252 00:12:59,140 --> 00:13:02,839 Speaker 3: Yeah. It's got some staying power for sure as far 253 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:03,660 Speaker 3: as rumors go. 254 00:13:04,300 --> 00:13:06,140 Speaker 2: And you know what? My dad will sue your dad 255 00:13:06,179 --> 00:13:10,630 Speaker 2: for all the money he's got. Did you guys threaten lawsuits? 256 00:13:10,790 --> 00:13:12,790 Speaker 3: Sure. We were very litigious. 257 00:13:14,300 --> 00:13:15,479 Speaker 2: Kids did, though. It was very funny. 258 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,620 Speaker 3: We were like little Puritans in Salem town. 259 00:13:19,380 --> 00:13:22,939 Speaker 2: That's right. So blood is red. That was the question, right? 260 00:13:24,340 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah. 261 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:26,570 Speaker 3: Why is blood red? Right. 262 00:13:26,750 --> 00:13:29,130 Speaker 2: Because, I don't know, we've talked about this before, but 263 00:13:29,809 --> 00:13:32,790 Speaker 2: it's because our red blood cells have hemoglobin. It's a protein. 264 00:13:33,590 --> 00:13:36,450 Speaker 2: And it gets its red color from something called heme. 265 00:13:37,010 --> 00:13:40,260 Speaker 2: It's a compound that has an iron atom in there. 266 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:42,500 Speaker 2: And that iron atom is the key. That's what binds 267 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,610 Speaker 2: with oxygen and allows red blood cells to get oxygen 268 00:13:46,710 --> 00:13:49,890 Speaker 2: all over the body. And that's sort of what makes 269 00:13:49,970 --> 00:13:50,410 Speaker 2: us tick. 270 00:13:51,090 --> 00:13:54,189 Speaker 3: Yeah, it definitely is. I mean, that oxygen is super important. 271 00:13:54,309 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 3: So we want to have super red, rich hemoglobin blood, right? 272 00:13:59,179 --> 00:14:04,020 Speaker 3: Our bodies also produce something else called metemoglobins, I guess 273 00:14:04,059 --> 00:14:06,059 Speaker 3: is how you would pronounce it. That is not how 274 00:14:06,100 --> 00:14:09,470 Speaker 3: I've been pronouncing it in my head. But these metemoglobins 275 00:14:09,630 --> 00:14:13,500 Speaker 3: are basically the same thing as hemoglobins, but they have 276 00:14:13,530 --> 00:14:16,339 Speaker 3: a different kind of iron attached to them. The iron 277 00:14:16,380 --> 00:14:19,020 Speaker 3: they have is like there's really no other way to 278 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:20,580 Speaker 3: put it. Well, actually, there's plenty of other ways to 279 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:22,020 Speaker 3: put it. But one way you could put it is 280 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,450 Speaker 3: that it's rusted. It's oxidized iron, which means that it's 281 00:14:26,540 --> 00:14:30,450 Speaker 3: missing an electron that it would need to bind to oxygen, 282 00:14:30,490 --> 00:14:33,910 Speaker 3: which means it's useless for transporting oxygen through the blood. 283 00:14:34,420 --> 00:14:36,620 Speaker 3: So if you have a bunch of metemoglobin built up 284 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,330 Speaker 3: in your blood, your blood can reasonably turn blue. You 285 00:14:39,390 --> 00:14:43,390 Speaker 3: also may have some problems breathing because you don't have 286 00:14:43,490 --> 00:14:46,110 Speaker 3: any oxygen in your blood. Although that's not true, I'm sorry. 287 00:14:46,530 --> 00:14:49,570 Speaker 3: You would be able to breathe perfectly fine, but it 288 00:14:49,670 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 3: wouldn't clear up necessarily the lack of oxygen in your 289 00:14:53,700 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 3: blood because it's on a blood level rather than something 290 00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:58,100 Speaker 3: to do with your lungs. 291 00:14:58,860 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, that was my one question because... doctor after doctor 292 00:15:02,420 --> 00:15:07,620 Speaker 2: has confirmed that metivoglobinemia doesn't present any health issues. But 293 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 2: how can that be possible that your blood is having 294 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 2: trouble carrying oxygen through your body and it doesn't matter? 295 00:15:14,780 --> 00:15:16,610 Speaker 3: I had a really hard time with that too. And 296 00:15:16,650 --> 00:15:18,670 Speaker 3: the best I could come up with as far as 297 00:15:19,090 --> 00:15:21,410 Speaker 3: an answer, which is not definitive, but the best I 298 00:15:21,450 --> 00:15:23,810 Speaker 3: could come up with is that there's a threshold where 299 00:15:25,510 --> 00:15:29,220 Speaker 3: your blood will turn blue, where you have enough metemoglobins 300 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:34,060 Speaker 3: in there that it's blue, but there's not so many 301 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 3: metemoglobins that you're actually having trouble with your oxygen in 302 00:15:38,180 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 3: your body. So it can turn blue long before you 303 00:15:41,220 --> 00:15:46,260 Speaker 3: actually suffer from the effects of low oxygen. Does that 304 00:15:46,330 --> 00:15:46,750 Speaker 3: make sense? 305 00:15:47,390 --> 00:15:50,290 Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess that makes sense. And isn't the threshold... 306 00:15:50,470 --> 00:15:53,530 Speaker 2: To turn your skin blue, like a really low percentage even? 307 00:15:53,910 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 3: Like 1% of metemoglobins. If your blood is 1% metemoglobins, 308 00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:00,140 Speaker 3: you can start to turn blue, right? So it doesn't 309 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,900 Speaker 3: take very much, which means that you have 99% of 310 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:09,250 Speaker 3: the globins in your blood are hemoglobin, which means you're 311 00:16:09,270 --> 00:16:12,150 Speaker 3: still able to get all the oxygen you need. You 312 00:16:12,170 --> 00:16:14,530 Speaker 3: just have maybe a little less than somebody else. That's 313 00:16:14,610 --> 00:16:18,250 Speaker 3: my best guess from what I saw. And I... I 314 00:16:18,290 --> 00:16:22,260 Speaker 3: think at this point in our understanding of metemoglobinemia, it's 315 00:16:22,300 --> 00:16:23,240 Speaker 3: as good as anybody's. 316 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:25,980 Speaker 2: Well, that sounds like a perfect place for a break. 317 00:16:26,180 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 3: Okay. 318 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:29,420 Speaker 2: And we'll be right back to talk a little bit 319 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 2: more about this and other interesting blood conditions right after this. 320 00:16:33,860 --> 00:16:39,500 Speaker 2: Thank you. 321 00:16:53,860 --> 00:16:57,780 Speaker 3: So, Chuck, we were talking about metemoglobinemia. And the reason, 322 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:00,690 Speaker 3: like I think one of us said earlier, that the 323 00:17:00,710 --> 00:17:07,030 Speaker 3: body naturally produces these things, these metemoglobins. But we also 324 00:17:07,070 --> 00:17:13,050 Speaker 3: produce an enzyme that can convert excess metemoglobins into hemoglobin. 325 00:17:13,690 --> 00:17:16,050 Speaker 3: And it's got a doozy of a name, which I 326 00:17:16,090 --> 00:17:17,429 Speaker 3: just love. May I take this one? 327 00:17:18,170 --> 00:17:18,380 Speaker 2: Yes. 328 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:26,490 Speaker 3: This enzyme is called reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cytochrome B5 reductase. 329 00:17:27,290 --> 00:17:28,250 Speaker 3: One of the great all-time names. 330 00:17:28,270 --> 00:17:29,730 Speaker 2: What's its nickname? Sparky? 331 00:17:30,010 --> 00:17:31,750 Speaker 3: It has no nickname. You have to say the entire 332 00:17:31,770 --> 00:17:37,590 Speaker 3: thing every time. And so this enzyme, reduced nicotinamide adenine 333 00:17:37,609 --> 00:17:43,679 Speaker 3: dinucleotide cytochrome B5 reductase, is actually capable of converting the 334 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:50,090 Speaker 3: iron from its ferric state in metemoglobin's into its ferrous state, 335 00:17:50,350 --> 00:17:53,290 Speaker 3: which is capable of binding with oxygen, like the kind 336 00:17:53,310 --> 00:17:55,830 Speaker 3: that's found in hemoglobin. So for all intents and purposes, 337 00:17:56,290 --> 00:18:01,859 Speaker 3: reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cytochrome B5 reductase is capable of 338 00:18:01,930 --> 00:18:06,260 Speaker 3: converting metemoglobins into hemoglobin, and most of us are able 339 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 3: to do that. But if you're like a fugate and 340 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 3: you have that rare genetic condition where both parents donated 341 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:17,859 Speaker 3: that mutation to you, And you develop metemoglobinemia. But there's 342 00:18:17,940 --> 00:18:24,270 Speaker 3: some reduced amount of reduced nicotinamide, adenine, dinucleotide, cytochrome B5 reductase, 343 00:18:24,310 --> 00:18:29,150 Speaker 3: which means that metemoglobins that you naturally produce are able 344 00:18:29,190 --> 00:18:31,490 Speaker 3: to build up and accumulate in your blood. And when 345 00:18:31,510 --> 00:18:34,770 Speaker 3: they do that, that's how you start to turn blue. 346 00:18:34,790 --> 00:18:36,830 Speaker 3: That's how you cross that 1% threshold. 347 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,100 Speaker 2: That's right. And this is one of the rare times 348 00:18:41,180 --> 00:18:44,900 Speaker 2: where you can actually have a genetic condition that's Pretty 349 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,450 Speaker 2: easily solved. And in this case, it's just a pill. 350 00:18:48,430 --> 00:18:51,230 Speaker 2: And the guy who figured this out has sort of 351 00:18:51,270 --> 00:18:53,489 Speaker 2: an interesting story in his own right. His name is 352 00:18:53,890 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 2: Madison Cawine or Cawine? Cawine? 353 00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 3: I'm going with Cawine. 354 00:18:59,420 --> 00:18:59,900 Speaker 2: Cawine? 355 00:19:00,420 --> 00:19:03,440 Speaker 3: Cawine. Cawine. I'm going with Cawine. 356 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:06,899 Speaker 2: C-A-W-E-I-N. Cawine. 357 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,770 Speaker 3: Although I like Cawine. That doesn't sound like it'd be tasty, 358 00:19:10,810 --> 00:19:12,730 Speaker 3: but I'll bet it gives you a pretty good buzz. 359 00:19:14,130 --> 00:19:18,889 Speaker 2: He was the grandson of a pretty famous at the 360 00:19:18,930 --> 00:19:23,330 Speaker 2: time poet out of Kentucky, and Madison was the third 361 00:19:23,750 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 2: of the Madisons. And this is just a side note, 362 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:32,300 Speaker 2: very sad and interesting. His wife was poisoned and murdered 363 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,540 Speaker 2: by poison in the 1960s, and no one was ever 364 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,100 Speaker 2: caught and charged with a crime. And it kind of 365 00:19:38,140 --> 00:19:42,189 Speaker 2: remains one of Kentucky's... you know, sort of biggest cold cases. 366 00:19:42,390 --> 00:19:44,020 Speaker 3: Wow, I did not see that one coming. 367 00:19:44,619 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, he and his wife and this other couple were 368 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,820 Speaker 2: out drinking all night, supposedly, like just got... sloshed and 369 00:19:51,950 --> 00:19:55,820 Speaker 2: at a key at a country club um he madison 370 00:19:55,900 --> 00:19:57,419 Speaker 2: didn't even make it home i think he stayed the 371 00:19:57,460 --> 00:20:01,879 Speaker 2: night there but the other man uh the the man 372 00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:06,090 Speaker 2: from the other couple drove his wife home apparently just dropped. 373 00:20:06,190 --> 00:20:08,469 Speaker 2: They had another nightcap and she woke up dead. Well, 374 00:20:08,490 --> 00:20:11,750 Speaker 2: didn't wake up dead. She died. And they thought it 375 00:20:11,770 --> 00:20:14,750 Speaker 2: was just, you know, alcohol or some natural cause. But 376 00:20:14,770 --> 00:20:17,570 Speaker 2: then they found these two like little needle pricks in her. Wow. 377 00:20:17,930 --> 00:20:21,690 Speaker 2: Where they think she was, I guess, given a shot 378 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,460 Speaker 2: to pass out and then poisoned. And I can't remember 379 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,500 Speaker 2: the poison. It was some sort of like acid or something. 380 00:20:27,940 --> 00:20:28,300 Speaker 3: Wow. 381 00:20:28,740 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 2: But yeah, really, really interesting. Neither here nor there as 382 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,780 Speaker 2: far as this goes. But That's the sad story of Dr. 383 00:20:34,859 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 2: Madison Cowwine's wife. 384 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 3: Was he a suspect? Because I would have suspected him. 385 00:20:41,820 --> 00:20:44,119 Speaker 2: I don't think so because he wasn't even there. That's 386 00:20:44,140 --> 00:20:46,380 Speaker 2: the first thing I thought. But apparently it was pretty 387 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,120 Speaker 2: verified that he slept it off at the country club, 388 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:49,500 Speaker 2: I guess. 389 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,780 Speaker 3: Crazy. Because, I mean, one of the things that he 390 00:20:52,820 --> 00:20:55,620 Speaker 3: became famous for, if not the thing he became famous for, 391 00:20:55,660 --> 00:20:59,109 Speaker 3: was injecting people with some fairly weird stuff. 392 00:20:59,910 --> 00:21:00,170 Speaker 1: I know. 393 00:21:00,210 --> 00:21:00,750 Speaker 2: Isn't that weird? 394 00:21:00,910 --> 00:21:01,070 Speaker 1: Yeah. 395 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:02,580 Speaker 3: It is weird. 396 00:21:03,500 --> 00:21:04,189 Speaker 2: You're not buying it. 397 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 3: Nah, I don't want to, like, cast aspersions on somebody. 398 00:21:07,340 --> 00:21:09,970 Speaker 3: I don't know enough about the story, but that's just 399 00:21:10,010 --> 00:21:12,590 Speaker 3: very odd, especially... You're like, judging. 400 00:21:12,310 --> 00:21:13,689 Speaker 2: From this 90-second story. 401 00:21:13,790 --> 00:21:17,730 Speaker 3: Right, exactly. I can conclusively solve this case. I've seen 402 00:21:17,790 --> 00:21:20,350 Speaker 3: enough law and order to know that the husband almost 403 00:21:20,430 --> 00:21:20,990 Speaker 3: always did it. 404 00:21:21,470 --> 00:21:23,940 Speaker 2: Well, that is probably true, but probably not in this case. 405 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,980 Speaker 2: But at any rate, he was a hematologist at U, 406 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,580 Speaker 2: at University of Kentucky. 407 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. 408 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 2: And he heard about these people throughout the world and 409 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 2: really wanted to kind of get to the bottom of 410 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,540 Speaker 2: this when a couple of them, well, I don't think 411 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 2: these were Fugates, but Patrick and Rachel Ritchie, I guess, 412 00:21:43,350 --> 00:21:44,750 Speaker 2: you know, it happened in some other family. I know 413 00:21:44,770 --> 00:21:45,450 Speaker 2: that Combs is. 414 00:21:46,570 --> 00:21:49,250 Speaker 3: We knew a Combs from Kentucky. We had a friend 415 00:21:49,290 --> 00:21:50,870 Speaker 3: that we worked with for a little while. 416 00:21:51,730 --> 00:21:52,070 Speaker 2: Oh, really? 417 00:21:52,090 --> 00:21:54,310 Speaker 3: He was never, he never struck me as blue. Yeah. 418 00:21:55,090 --> 00:21:56,290 Speaker 2: He never struck you as blue. 419 00:21:56,310 --> 00:21:58,250 Speaker 3: But I wonder if he is related to the Combses. 420 00:21:58,980 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 2: Well, who knows? 421 00:21:59,740 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 3: Which would make them buy somehow a Fugate. Because again, 422 00:22:04,420 --> 00:22:07,290 Speaker 3: these families in the Fugate area were all, if you 423 00:22:07,330 --> 00:22:08,610 Speaker 3: went back far enough, Fugates. 424 00:22:09,090 --> 00:22:11,530 Speaker 2: Right, exactly. All right, so these people walk into his 425 00:22:11,590 --> 00:22:12,409 Speaker 2: office and what happened? 426 00:22:12,790 --> 00:22:15,430 Speaker 3: So here's the thing. They didn't walk into his office. 427 00:22:15,470 --> 00:22:17,910 Speaker 3: He went and found them. I read an article about 428 00:22:17,950 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 3: him and he became maybe a little obsessed with finding 429 00:22:22,220 --> 00:22:24,600 Speaker 3: these people, wanted to know what the heck was going on. 430 00:22:24,660 --> 00:22:27,020 Speaker 3: So he actually went out in the woods and and 431 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,199 Speaker 3: would wait for them and every once in a while 432 00:22:29,220 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 3: would see one and he'd chase them telling them to stop. 433 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:33,900 Speaker 3: And of course they would run off. So he figured 434 00:22:33,940 --> 00:22:35,820 Speaker 3: out another way to do it. He moved to Hazard 435 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 3: County near Troublesome Creek and he started asking around at clinics, 436 00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:43,020 Speaker 3: like had anybody ever treated a blue patient? And he 437 00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 3: finally struck gold, blue gold when he spoke to one 438 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:49,919 Speaker 3: nurse at a clinic that said, yeah, this, this one 439 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,859 Speaker 3: woman came in with blue skin and she was really 440 00:22:51,900 --> 00:22:54,260 Speaker 3: self-conscious about her skin. She came to the back door and, 441 00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:58,390 Speaker 3: was really just kind of meek and embarrassed. But yeah, 442 00:22:58,510 --> 00:23:02,230 Speaker 3: we've treated a blue person before. So Cowane basically hung 443 00:23:02,250 --> 00:23:05,310 Speaker 3: around this clinic until more blue people came in. And 444 00:23:05,670 --> 00:23:09,790 Speaker 3: this is where he met the Ritchie siblings. Yeah. 445 00:23:09,810 --> 00:23:12,030 Speaker 2: So he started to dig into their family a little bit. 446 00:23:12,950 --> 00:23:14,690 Speaker 2: It became pretty obvious to him that it was a 447 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:19,140 Speaker 2: genetic disorder. And he started digging around other stories around 448 00:23:19,940 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 2: North America and found an Inuit population in Alaska who 449 00:23:24,020 --> 00:23:27,449 Speaker 2: had who had the same condition. I'm just going to 450 00:23:27,710 --> 00:23:28,670 Speaker 2: call it this condition now. 451 00:23:28,890 --> 00:23:29,130 Speaker 3: Okay. 452 00:23:29,510 --> 00:23:30,370 Speaker 2: I think we've said it enough. 453 00:23:30,570 --> 00:23:30,750 Speaker 3: Sure. 454 00:23:30,790 --> 00:23:31,430 Speaker 2: Or at least I have. 455 00:23:31,490 --> 00:23:32,609 Speaker 3: Yeah. 456 00:23:32,630 --> 00:23:35,910 Speaker 2: And he said, well, you know, these people were interbreeding 457 00:23:35,950 --> 00:23:39,350 Speaker 2: a lot because they were very remote as well. And 458 00:23:39,369 --> 00:23:41,990 Speaker 2: so he said, I think we understand the problem here. 459 00:23:42,430 --> 00:23:44,980 Speaker 2: How do we fix it? Yeah. 460 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 3: I don't know if he, where he got this idea 461 00:23:49,300 --> 00:23:52,900 Speaker 3: is But he used something called methylene blue, which was 462 00:23:53,010 --> 00:23:56,930 Speaker 3: already like in wide use. It's used to stain tissue 463 00:23:57,410 --> 00:24:01,450 Speaker 3: because it affects some cells differently than others. It was 464 00:24:01,510 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 3: a malarial treatment, which malaria can actually produce metemoglobinemia. I'm 465 00:24:10,460 --> 00:24:13,440 Speaker 3: suddenly having trouble saying it because we haven't been practicing lately. 466 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 3: And what it does is it goes in. And it 467 00:24:17,700 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 3: interacts with the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cytochrome B5 reductase 468 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,940 Speaker 3: and basically gives it a boost and helps convert all 469 00:24:27,980 --> 00:24:35,369 Speaker 3: of that excess metemoglobins into hemoglobins in patients with metemoglobin anemia. 470 00:24:35,850 --> 00:24:37,990 Speaker 3: And so I don't know where he got the idea, 471 00:24:38,450 --> 00:24:41,649 Speaker 3: but he tried it and apparently injected the Richie kids 472 00:24:41,710 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 3: with it and they stopped being blue, like almost on 473 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:45,720 Speaker 3: the spot. 474 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,780 Speaker 2: Yeah, like minutes later, they returned to a, you know, 475 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:56,030 Speaker 2: a standard color. And I mean, they were overjoyed. Like, 476 00:24:56,190 --> 00:24:58,710 Speaker 2: could you imagine being like this your whole life, getting 477 00:24:58,750 --> 00:25:00,870 Speaker 2: a shot? And looking in the mirror a few minutes later, 478 00:25:00,890 --> 00:25:03,090 Speaker 2: you're like, oh, my gosh, it's like it's gone. 479 00:25:03,170 --> 00:25:06,209 Speaker 3: It's actually really sweet because they were very self-conscious, the 480 00:25:06,230 --> 00:25:08,709 Speaker 3: whole family. I mean, this family like retreated to the 481 00:25:08,770 --> 00:25:12,060 Speaker 3: woods to like people didn't know where they lived. And 482 00:25:12,100 --> 00:25:14,160 Speaker 3: they lived like five miles away from them and knew 483 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,440 Speaker 3: that there was this blue family still had no idea 484 00:25:16,500 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 3: where they lived. It was like that's how far they 485 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,660 Speaker 3: retreated from society because they were that self-conscious. So, yeah, 486 00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:23,959 Speaker 3: I'm sure is a pretty joyous occasion for them. 487 00:25:25,260 --> 00:25:27,120 Speaker 2: There's going to be a movie about this at some point, right? 488 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,530 Speaker 3: I can't believe there's not. There's a very famous interview 489 00:25:29,550 --> 00:25:32,410 Speaker 3: with Kyle Wayne in a magazine called Science 82. And 490 00:25:32,470 --> 00:25:36,810 Speaker 3: there's also a really famous painting that somebody did. And 491 00:25:36,830 --> 00:25:38,570 Speaker 3: it was just kind of lost to history who did it. 492 00:25:38,590 --> 00:25:40,670 Speaker 3: And I read this article. I can't remember what it 493 00:25:40,710 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 3: was on. But this person tracked down the artist, the 494 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,780 Speaker 3: initial artist, and got to see like the original because 495 00:25:47,820 --> 00:25:50,300 Speaker 3: it's been scanned so many times. It's really lost a step. 496 00:25:50,780 --> 00:25:53,159 Speaker 3: But the original is apparently really something to see. 497 00:25:54,050 --> 00:25:56,550 Speaker 2: Should we say the quote that Coane had in that 498 00:25:56,810 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 2: Science 82 article? He said, and they walked into the office, 499 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 2: he said, they were bluer than hell. Very Kentucky. 500 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, totally. 501 00:26:07,300 --> 00:26:11,840 Speaker 2: All right. So over time, Fugates started moving away. Like 502 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,239 Speaker 2: some of the younger population of the family got out 503 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,660 Speaker 2: of Hazard County. And it's so hard not to make 504 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 2: Dukes of Hazard jokes. I've been just sidestepping the whole time. 505 00:26:21,260 --> 00:26:22,380 Speaker 3: You've been doing really great. 506 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,510 Speaker 2: Thank you. But they started to move away over time. 507 00:26:25,790 --> 00:26:29,250 Speaker 2: And basically, you know, that's going to stop the interbreeding 508 00:26:29,270 --> 00:26:31,389 Speaker 2: and that's going to make fewer and fewer blue babies. 509 00:26:32,350 --> 00:26:36,230 Speaker 2: And as of 2012, I think some were still blue, 510 00:26:36,670 --> 00:26:37,550 Speaker 2: but not today. 511 00:26:37,570 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think now that there's a treatment, an easy treatment, 512 00:26:41,420 --> 00:26:43,780 Speaker 3: because they don't even have to be injected anymore. Like 513 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:45,460 Speaker 3: if you're blue and you don't want to be blue, 514 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:48,060 Speaker 3: you just take a methylene blue pill once a day 515 00:26:48,780 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 3: and it goes in. Apparently, once you excrete it out, 516 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,200 Speaker 3: the methylene blue You go back to being blue. So 517 00:26:55,700 --> 00:26:58,379 Speaker 3: you have to take it daily. But I'll bet there's 518 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,370 Speaker 3: members of that family now, and I'm just guessing here, 519 00:27:01,430 --> 00:27:04,290 Speaker 3: but that are proudly blue. Now that they know that 520 00:27:04,310 --> 00:27:06,250 Speaker 3: they don't have to be blue, some of them I'll 521 00:27:06,310 --> 00:27:08,590 Speaker 3: bet make a choice to be blue as kind of 522 00:27:09,210 --> 00:27:12,170 Speaker 3: like a pride in their family heritage. I'm guessing here. 523 00:27:12,890 --> 00:27:15,399 Speaker 2: Well, the thing I saw that there was one, and 524 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,899 Speaker 2: that was the one in 2012 that was still blue. 525 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 3: Like by choice? 526 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:21,820 Speaker 2: I think so. Yeah, just didn't take the pill. 527 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:22,060 Speaker 3: Gotcha. 528 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: Gotcha. 529 00:27:22,490 --> 00:27:23,950 Speaker 3: Wow, that's neat. 530 00:27:24,430 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 2: But not today anymore. So this is not the only 531 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 2: way you can get bluish or any, you know, I 532 00:27:32,180 --> 00:27:35,860 Speaker 2: guess silvery skin is another thing that comes into play 533 00:27:35,900 --> 00:27:40,620 Speaker 2: here with this next disorder. And this is one called argyria. 534 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,159 Speaker 2: And some people are bluish, some people are silver. If 535 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,990 Speaker 2: you've looked up, you know, blue people or silver people online, 536 00:27:49,330 --> 00:27:53,960 Speaker 2: you have no doubt seen uh paul karrison they called 537 00:27:53,980 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 2: him papa smurf and he is all over the internet 538 00:27:56,700 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 2: as one of the more famous cases of egeria. 539 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,020 Speaker 3: Yeah and he uh was he kind of emerged as 540 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 3: i don't know if a cautionary tale is right because 541 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:10,100 Speaker 3: that was not his purpose um but he he also 542 00:28:10,180 --> 00:28:12,950 Speaker 3: he he whether he meant to or not he served 543 00:28:13,010 --> 00:28:16,990 Speaker 3: as a cautionary tale about taking colloidal silver Because that 544 00:28:17,050 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 3: is what turned him blue. And it didn't just turn 545 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:21,920 Speaker 3: his skin blue. It turned his mucous membranes blue. So 546 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 3: if he like flashed his teeth, his gums were blue. 547 00:28:25,060 --> 00:28:26,879 Speaker 3: The inside of his mouth was blue. The inside of 548 00:28:26,940 --> 00:28:30,020 Speaker 3: his nose was blue. He was blue. Blue in hell, 549 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:31,679 Speaker 3: as Kyle Wayne would probably put it. 550 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 2: That's right. 551 00:28:33,540 --> 00:28:36,380 Speaker 3: And he did it because he saw an article about 552 00:28:36,460 --> 00:28:42,030 Speaker 3: how silver ions basically restored some cut flower back to 553 00:28:42,090 --> 00:28:44,910 Speaker 3: life again. And he thought, well, that'd be really something 554 00:28:44,930 --> 00:28:47,300 Speaker 3: to do. to see what it can do on a 555 00:28:47,340 --> 00:28:47,959 Speaker 3: human body. 556 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 2: I want to be a fresh daisy. 557 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:50,180 Speaker 1: Right. 558 00:28:50,660 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 3: And he wasn't the only person experimenting at the time. 559 00:28:53,940 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 3: Like apparently for a while it was an over-the-counter drug. 560 00:28:56,700 --> 00:28:59,870 Speaker 3: We've been using silver for a very long time. But 561 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,670 Speaker 3: he was somebody who used it every single day. He 562 00:29:04,710 --> 00:29:07,830 Speaker 3: was drinking like a 10-ounce drink of colloidal silver. He 563 00:29:07,870 --> 00:29:11,630 Speaker 3: figured out how to basically make his own colloidal silver potion. 564 00:29:11,950 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 3: And he also rubbed it on his face too. And 565 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,660 Speaker 3: so in very short order, he started to turn blue 566 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 3: because that is definitely a consequence of using silver too much, 567 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 3: of overexposure to silver. 568 00:29:23,070 --> 00:29:25,730 Speaker 2: That's right. And this can happen if you work in 569 00:29:26,110 --> 00:29:27,530 Speaker 2: like a silver mine or something. 570 00:29:27,630 --> 00:29:27,810 Speaker 3: Right. 571 00:29:28,190 --> 00:29:29,630 Speaker 2: Like it can be one of the side effects of 572 00:29:29,690 --> 00:29:30,850 Speaker 2: mining in silver mines. 573 00:29:30,890 --> 00:29:33,830 Speaker 3: I also saw that in the old time, not even 574 00:29:33,850 --> 00:29:39,590 Speaker 3: that old, but just pre-digital photography processing, photograph processing, you could. 575 00:29:39,510 --> 00:29:40,790 Speaker 2: Actually Old timey? 576 00:29:41,010 --> 00:29:42,410 Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, the 80s. 577 00:29:42,830 --> 00:29:43,410 Speaker 2: Yeah. 578 00:29:43,550 --> 00:29:47,790 Speaker 3: You could actually develop argyria from exposure to the silver 579 00:29:47,830 --> 00:29:52,100 Speaker 3: dust that was used to expose photographic plates. I think 580 00:29:52,670 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 3: prior to the 80s. I don't know when they stopped 581 00:29:55,150 --> 00:29:55,630 Speaker 3: using that. 582 00:29:56,460 --> 00:29:58,220 Speaker 2: I don't either. I spent a lot of times in 583 00:29:58,260 --> 00:30:02,300 Speaker 2: dark rooms... as a kid because of my dad. Because 584 00:30:02,340 --> 00:30:06,020 Speaker 2: you were bad? Yeah, go in there, turn on that 585 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 2: red light and sit there and think about what you've done. No, 586 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 2: my dad was an amateur photographer. Well, I guess semi-professionally 587 00:30:12,180 --> 00:30:15,490 Speaker 2: sold stuff, but he did his own developing and I 588 00:30:17,170 --> 00:30:18,490 Speaker 2: learned how to do it and did it some through 589 00:30:18,530 --> 00:30:19,750 Speaker 2: high school and then kind of quit doing it. It 590 00:30:19,770 --> 00:30:22,850 Speaker 2: was a lot of fun though. Dark rooms are very 591 00:30:22,890 --> 00:30:24,530 Speaker 2: like peaceful places. 592 00:30:24,770 --> 00:30:25,210 Speaker 3: Is that right? 593 00:30:25,850 --> 00:30:28,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, just, you know, they're dark obviously. Sure. And you're 594 00:30:28,630 --> 00:30:31,550 Speaker 2: in there for, long period of time and it's just 595 00:30:31,570 --> 00:30:33,970 Speaker 2: very nice usually by yourself but unless you're in a 596 00:30:34,150 --> 00:30:36,690 Speaker 2: teen romance movie and then you know the cute girls 597 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 2: in there. 598 00:30:36,950 --> 00:30:39,640 Speaker 3: With you I well I always associate them with the 599 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,740 Speaker 3: the murderer finally coming into focus and they happen to 600 00:30:42,780 --> 00:30:45,680 Speaker 3: be standing right next to the the photographer is developing 601 00:30:45,740 --> 00:30:49,020 Speaker 3: it so to me dark rooms are very tense scary. 602 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 2: Okay like as it has the as the photo paper 603 00:30:52,940 --> 00:30:55,570 Speaker 2: like comes into focus yeah Oh, very tense. 604 00:30:55,620 --> 00:30:58,510 Speaker 3: It shows the calls coming from inside the dark room. 605 00:30:58,530 --> 00:31:03,790 Speaker 2: That's right. Where were we? Okay, so what causes this 606 00:31:03,970 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 2: is an excess of silver ions in your body. And 607 00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:10,700 Speaker 2: when they're exposed to light, they react by forming dark 608 00:31:10,740 --> 00:31:14,360 Speaker 2: deposits on the skin that end up looking silverish. And 609 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,180 Speaker 2: the bad news about this is Once you've got it, 610 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:18,980 Speaker 2: it's there. You can't take a pill and get rid 611 00:31:19,020 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 2: of it. 612 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 3: No, it's irreversible. We don't have a way to remove 613 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,630 Speaker 3: excess silver from the tissues in the human body. And 614 00:31:25,670 --> 00:31:28,130 Speaker 3: that's all it is. It's just, it builds up. Normally 615 00:31:28,170 --> 00:31:31,010 Speaker 3: the body can excrete, you know, small amounts of silver 616 00:31:31,050 --> 00:31:34,770 Speaker 3: that we're exposed to from like, you know, touching silver 617 00:31:34,950 --> 00:31:37,710 Speaker 3: or snorting silver, that kind of stuff. 618 00:31:38,630 --> 00:31:38,870 Speaker 2: What? 619 00:31:39,190 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 3: You know, uh, Like we pee it out, we poop 620 00:31:42,460 --> 00:31:44,180 Speaker 3: it out and we get rid of it. But if 621 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:49,440 Speaker 3: we overcome that threshold and our silver ingestion exceeds our 622 00:31:49,460 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 3: ability to excrete it, it starts to build up in 623 00:31:51,740 --> 00:31:54,220 Speaker 3: the tissue. And so if you're drinking your own 10 624 00:31:54,220 --> 00:32:00,209 Speaker 3: ounce colloidal silver homebrew every single day, you're going to 625 00:32:00,690 --> 00:32:03,970 Speaker 3: overwhelm your body's ability to excrete silver very quickly. And 626 00:32:03,990 --> 00:32:05,660 Speaker 3: it's going to build up and build up and build up. 627 00:32:05,690 --> 00:32:08,650 Speaker 3: And pretty soon you're going to be blue or silver blue. 628 00:32:09,570 --> 00:32:13,130 Speaker 2: That's right. And if you look up images of kerosene, 629 00:32:13,150 --> 00:32:16,190 Speaker 2: you're probably also going to find pictures of Stan Jones, 630 00:32:16,230 --> 00:32:20,790 Speaker 2: a libertarian politician in Montana, who around Y2K said, you 631 00:32:20,830 --> 00:32:23,550 Speaker 2: know what, I think things are going to go south 632 00:32:23,610 --> 00:32:25,590 Speaker 2: and we're not going to have any antibiotics. So I'm 633 00:32:25,610 --> 00:32:29,670 Speaker 2: going to start making my own again, colloidal silver solution 634 00:32:30,570 --> 00:32:32,910 Speaker 2: and drink that stuff. And then there was a teacher 635 00:32:32,930 --> 00:32:36,260 Speaker 2: in Brooklyn too named Rosemary Jacobs, who very sadly, I 636 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,260 Speaker 2: think got nasal drops with silver when she was a kid. 637 00:32:40,900 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 2: And she was sort of, not sort of, she was 638 00:32:43,100 --> 00:32:44,080 Speaker 2: very silver for life. 639 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 3: Yes, she was. So these people, again, have proved to 640 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:51,350 Speaker 3: be cautionary tales to most people who are like, oh, 641 00:32:51,410 --> 00:32:53,650 Speaker 3: that's what happens if you take too much silver. I'm 642 00:32:53,690 --> 00:32:57,250 Speaker 3: not going to take colloidal silver supplements over the counter 643 00:32:57,270 --> 00:33:00,070 Speaker 3: or anything like that. I'm just going to steer clear 644 00:33:00,090 --> 00:33:02,750 Speaker 3: of silver altogether. Because one of the problems is there's 645 00:33:02,830 --> 00:33:07,130 Speaker 3: not a lot of peer-reviewed evidence, if any, that suggests 646 00:33:07,190 --> 00:33:12,170 Speaker 3: that silver has any beneficial effect when taken internally, right? 647 00:33:12,670 --> 00:33:17,780 Speaker 3: It is actually antimicrobial. It's pretty clever to use silver 648 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:23,220 Speaker 3: like in the pre-scientific days. But there's nothing that says like, yes, 649 00:33:23,300 --> 00:33:26,180 Speaker 3: if you drink a colloidal silver homebrew, it's going to 650 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:30,580 Speaker 3: have any effect on your life or your health. And 651 00:33:30,620 --> 00:33:33,400 Speaker 3: in fact, it might actually turn you blue. Despite this, 652 00:33:33,850 --> 00:33:39,250 Speaker 3: People still take colloidal silver pretty frequently. Apparently, Alex Jones 653 00:33:39,410 --> 00:33:43,210 Speaker 3: touts it. Gwyneth Paltrow touts it. Dr. Oz touts it. 654 00:33:44,010 --> 00:33:46,800 Speaker 3: And that's, you know, if it's not actually harming you, 655 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:50,520 Speaker 3: there doesn't seem to be any harm from it, aside 656 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:54,760 Speaker 3: from potentially irreversibly turning blue. But there's a larger harm 657 00:33:54,900 --> 00:33:58,060 Speaker 3: that I saw chucked to society in general, in that 658 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:04,110 Speaker 3: silver is an antimicrobial of last resort that is... they're 659 00:34:04,220 --> 00:34:10,290 Speaker 3: figuring out how to use it against antibiotic-resistant bugs like MRSA. 660 00:34:11,370 --> 00:34:14,190 Speaker 3: Silver will get in there and even kill MRSA. But 661 00:34:14,469 --> 00:34:19,930 Speaker 3: that silver resistance may be developed in bugs by all 662 00:34:19,969 --> 00:34:23,730 Speaker 3: these people taking colloidal silver supplements and drinking colloidal silver, 663 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,200 Speaker 3: you know, homebrews and stuff like that, that it's actually 664 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:31,400 Speaker 3: creating silver-resistant microbes, which is not a good thing for anybody. 665 00:34:31,420 --> 00:34:31,640 Speaker 1: Interesting. 666 00:34:32,690 --> 00:34:34,610 Speaker 2: All right. Well, let's take our second break. 667 00:34:34,810 --> 00:34:35,750 Speaker 3: Good. Yes. 668 00:34:36,210 --> 00:34:38,050 Speaker 2: And we'll talk a little bit more about colloidal silver 669 00:34:38,090 --> 00:34:38,569 Speaker 2: right after this. 670 00:34:58,670 --> 00:34:59,049 Speaker 3: All right. 671 00:34:59,510 --> 00:35:02,240 Speaker 2: So you mentioned earlier that, uh, kind of in passing 672 00:35:02,260 --> 00:35:05,960 Speaker 2: that colloidal silver had been used pre, you know, mainstream 673 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 2: medical science coming on board. And it's really true. And 674 00:35:09,700 --> 00:35:11,580 Speaker 2: they were kind of onto something in that, like you said, 675 00:35:11,620 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 2: there were, there are some antimicrobial properties. So people like 676 00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:19,880 Speaker 2: Pliny the Elder, Cyrus the Great, they both touted the 677 00:35:19,980 --> 00:35:23,200 Speaker 2: use of silver. Monks in the Middle Ages used silver 678 00:35:23,260 --> 00:35:28,319 Speaker 2: nitrate to treat ulcers and burns. And it was used 679 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,430 Speaker 2: a lot. It's kind of in a way, before we 680 00:35:31,590 --> 00:35:34,210 Speaker 2: had real antibiotics, one of the first antibiotics. 681 00:35:35,340 --> 00:35:40,100 Speaker 3: Yes. Again, externally, it messes up microbes, and we're not 682 00:35:40,140 --> 00:35:43,819 Speaker 3: exactly sure, even still today, what the mechanism is. The 683 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:48,310 Speaker 3: guesses are that it somehow penetrates the membrane of bacteria 684 00:35:48,770 --> 00:35:54,779 Speaker 3: and prevents it from replicating properly. or it does like 685 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:58,700 Speaker 3: some one, two punches on enzymes that the microbes need 686 00:35:58,739 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 3: to survive, but that it will leave your human skin 687 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:09,760 Speaker 3: cells alone. It just attacks microbes weirdly, bacteria specifically. So yeah, 688 00:36:09,780 --> 00:36:14,790 Speaker 3: it was like an early antibiotic, and it actually stayed 689 00:36:14,830 --> 00:36:18,540 Speaker 3: in use for a long time Nowadays, you'll find it 690 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 3: in like wound dressings. Sometimes sutures will be coated in silver. 691 00:36:22,900 --> 00:36:26,680 Speaker 3: Replacement joints, artificial joints will have some sort of silver 692 00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:32,450 Speaker 3: component to it to protect against infection. But we were 693 00:36:32,570 --> 00:36:34,969 Speaker 3: using them internally for a really long time, up until 694 00:36:34,989 --> 00:36:37,770 Speaker 3: the 60s even. I think babies got like silver eye 695 00:36:37,790 --> 00:36:40,589 Speaker 3: drops when they were born, which I had not heard 696 00:36:40,630 --> 00:36:42,510 Speaker 3: of until, you know, yesterday. 697 00:36:43,390 --> 00:36:47,160 Speaker 2: I had neither. Yeah, silver nitrate. to prevent eye infections. 698 00:36:48,130 --> 00:36:50,630 Speaker 2: But then they found out it can actually cause eye 699 00:36:50,650 --> 00:36:53,830 Speaker 2: damage and burn the skin. So they really worked on 700 00:36:55,650 --> 00:36:58,670 Speaker 2: just sort of... What's the word I'm looking for when 701 00:36:58,690 --> 00:37:01,450 Speaker 2: you make something less potent by mixing it with water? 702 00:37:01,469 --> 00:37:01,940 Speaker 3: Dilute it? 703 00:37:02,450 --> 00:37:05,310 Speaker 2: Diluting it. Right on the tip of my tongue. 704 00:37:05,830 --> 00:37:06,320 Speaker 3: You did it. 705 00:37:07,550 --> 00:37:09,549 Speaker 2: No, you did it. So they learned how to dilute it. 706 00:37:10,010 --> 00:37:12,810 Speaker 2: But the problem with diluting it in a formula is... 707 00:37:14,219 --> 00:37:16,860 Speaker 2: it wasn't an exact science. Like they didn't know exactly 708 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:20,800 Speaker 2: how much silver was still going to be active. And so, 709 00:37:21,420 --> 00:37:23,840 Speaker 2: you know, you couldn't really use it as a medicine 710 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,860 Speaker 2: anymore because it was either too weak to do anything 711 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:29,380 Speaker 2: or it was so much that you risk turning blue. 712 00:37:29,980 --> 00:37:32,379 Speaker 2: So eventually they just scrapped it as a medicine and said, 713 00:37:32,890 --> 00:37:35,890 Speaker 2: I think in 1999, the FDA said, this isn't a medicine, 714 00:37:35,910 --> 00:37:38,270 Speaker 2: you can't advertise it as such. So they said, all right, 715 00:37:38,330 --> 00:37:39,270 Speaker 2: we'll just say it's a supplement. 716 00:37:39,489 --> 00:37:39,689 Speaker 3: Right. 717 00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:42,100 Speaker 2: And just move it to the shelf, you know, four 718 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:42,500 Speaker 2: feet away. 719 00:37:42,580 --> 00:37:43,860 Speaker 3: And the FDA said, no. 720 00:37:45,710 --> 00:37:47,290 Speaker 2: And that's what happened. And you can still get this stuff. 721 00:37:47,330 --> 00:37:50,669 Speaker 2: That's where, you know, that's why Gwyneth Paltrow uses it. Yeah. 722 00:37:51,210 --> 00:37:53,069 Speaker 3: And I mean, like, again, it's one of those things 723 00:37:53,090 --> 00:37:56,450 Speaker 3: where it's like, yes, it makes sense. Silver has antimicrobial properties. 724 00:37:56,810 --> 00:37:59,610 Speaker 3: There's probably some microbes in your body you don't want. 725 00:38:00,460 --> 00:38:02,879 Speaker 3: So take some silver and see if it works. But again, 726 00:38:03,300 --> 00:38:06,700 Speaker 3: there's just not any peer-reviewed evidence that backs this up. 727 00:38:07,050 --> 00:38:10,950 Speaker 3: That's not necessarily to say that it doesn't work just 728 00:38:11,010 --> 00:38:14,230 Speaker 3: because there isn't peer-reviewed evidence that backs it up. Doesn't 729 00:38:14,290 --> 00:38:16,969 Speaker 3: also necessarily mean in the same breath that there's plenty 730 00:38:17,010 --> 00:38:20,060 Speaker 3: of peer-reviewed evidence that says it doesn't work. I'm not 731 00:38:20,100 --> 00:38:22,859 Speaker 3: suggesting anybody take this stuff. I'm just saying there's not 732 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:26,380 Speaker 3: peer-reviewed evidence to back up that it actually does anything. 733 00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:29,819 Speaker 3: And if you do take it, again, you risk permanently, 734 00:38:30,180 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 3: irreversibly turning blue. 735 00:38:33,410 --> 00:38:36,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I should point out, I don't know anything 736 00:38:36,060 --> 00:38:41,140 Speaker 2: about Gwyneth Paltrow's current usage, but her appearance on Dr. 737 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:44,340 Speaker 2: Oz in 2013 was when she touted it. She may 738 00:38:44,380 --> 00:38:45,299 Speaker 2: have given it up. Who knows? 739 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,590 Speaker 3: Who knows? Paul Karasaw never gave it up, though, Chuck. 740 00:38:48,650 --> 00:38:53,550 Speaker 3: He died in 2013 as well, same year that Gwyneth 741 00:38:53,570 --> 00:38:58,480 Speaker 3: Paltrow outed herself as a silver user. Yeah. And Paul Carisson, 742 00:38:59,580 --> 00:39:02,940 Speaker 3: he apparently used colloidal silver, that homebrew he made, up 743 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:06,279 Speaker 3: until the end. Like he never stopped, even though he 744 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:09,060 Speaker 3: apparently retreated from the public eye because he was tired 745 00:39:09,100 --> 00:39:11,980 Speaker 3: of being treated like a freak or a weirdo and 746 00:39:12,020 --> 00:39:15,239 Speaker 3: had some rough years toward the end, apparently after he 747 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 3: went public. But he still kept up with the colloidal silver, 748 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:21,680 Speaker 3: although that doesn't seem to have been linked to his death. 749 00:39:21,719 --> 00:39:24,260 Speaker 3: He was also a really heavy smoker for many years, 750 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:26,740 Speaker 3: and he suffered a heart attack and a stroke. 751 00:39:27,739 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I guess his point was probably, well, 752 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:33,859 Speaker 2: I'm already blue. Yeah. Like, why stop now? 753 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:37,160 Speaker 3: Can't get much bluer. So, what else you got? 754 00:39:38,070 --> 00:39:39,629 Speaker 2: Well, I just thought we'd wind it up with this 755 00:39:39,710 --> 00:39:44,350 Speaker 2: little kind of sidebar. This doesn't really have anything to 756 00:39:44,370 --> 00:39:46,969 Speaker 2: do with being blue or silver, but I thought it 757 00:39:46,989 --> 00:39:52,279 Speaker 2: was an interesting find that They basically determine there's something 758 00:39:52,300 --> 00:39:57,370 Speaker 2: called repigmenting that has happened to people to go their 759 00:39:57,390 --> 00:40:00,230 Speaker 2: skin both darker and lighter that has nothing to do. 760 00:40:00,250 --> 00:40:03,630 Speaker 2: And it's funny, this article kept calling it intermarriage. What 761 00:40:03,650 --> 00:40:04,690 Speaker 2: they mean is, you know. 762 00:40:05,590 --> 00:40:06,430 Speaker 3: Yeah. 763 00:40:08,140 --> 00:40:11,779 Speaker 2: What they mean is having sex and having babies of 764 00:40:11,860 --> 00:40:14,600 Speaker 2: two different skin colors. But they keep calling it intermarriage, 765 00:40:14,620 --> 00:40:16,700 Speaker 2: which I guess is, you know, very sweet. 766 00:40:16,780 --> 00:40:18,259 Speaker 3: It's just such a lovely way to put it. 767 00:40:18,770 --> 00:40:25,350 Speaker 2: It is. But they know that repigmenting happens regardless of intermarriage. 768 00:40:25,969 --> 00:40:28,550 Speaker 2: But what they found recently is that this has happened 769 00:40:28,690 --> 00:40:32,200 Speaker 2: a lot faster than anyone thought. And we're talking about 770 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:36,580 Speaker 2: 100 generations or as little as 100 generations, which is 771 00:40:36,620 --> 00:40:38,920 Speaker 2: a long time. But over the course of human history, 772 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:39,620 Speaker 2: it's not that long. 773 00:40:39,700 --> 00:40:42,600 Speaker 3: It's potentially. Yeah, it's not that long. Usually a generation 774 00:40:42,660 --> 00:40:44,960 Speaker 3: is chalked up at about 20 years. So we're talking 775 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:49,089 Speaker 3: as little as 2000 years. That groups that were once 776 00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:52,420 Speaker 3: lily white went back to being dark and groups that 777 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:56,180 Speaker 3: were dark can turn into a lily white population. And 778 00:40:56,219 --> 00:41:01,680 Speaker 3: that it's just basically more evidence that race is strictly 779 00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:04,660 Speaker 3: a social construct. Skin color has nothing to do with 780 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,480 Speaker 3: anything but the amount of melanin that our genes tell 781 00:41:08,500 --> 00:41:11,180 Speaker 3: our bodies to produce, which is triggered by the amount 782 00:41:11,219 --> 00:41:16,830 Speaker 3: of UV exposure that we have over something like 100 generations. Right. 783 00:41:16,989 --> 00:41:21,140 Speaker 2: And so if your family lineage moves from a place 784 00:41:22,219 --> 00:41:24,680 Speaker 2: that has lots of UV near the equator to a 785 00:41:24,700 --> 00:41:28,030 Speaker 2: place that doesn't have much daylight or vice versa, your 786 00:41:28,070 --> 00:41:30,670 Speaker 2: body is going to adapt and melanin production is going 787 00:41:30,690 --> 00:41:34,950 Speaker 2: to change. And over time, your entire family's skin color 788 00:41:34,969 --> 00:41:35,450 Speaker 2: can change. 789 00:41:35,790 --> 00:41:38,430 Speaker 3: Yeah, because we actually need UV, right? But we just 790 00:41:38,450 --> 00:41:39,960 Speaker 3: need a certain amount of it. If you have too 791 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,780 Speaker 3: much You can get skin cancer. Apparently it can have 792 00:41:44,330 --> 00:41:47,229 Speaker 3: reproductive issues. If you get too little, it can also 793 00:41:47,290 --> 00:41:49,770 Speaker 3: have issues on your bone because we use UV to 794 00:41:49,810 --> 00:41:53,550 Speaker 3: produce vitamin D, which we use for strong bones, bone density. 795 00:41:53,930 --> 00:41:55,819 Speaker 3: So our bodies have figured out how to kind of 796 00:41:56,340 --> 00:42:00,780 Speaker 3: adjust depending on that UV exposure by producing or slowing 797 00:42:00,820 --> 00:42:02,819 Speaker 3: down melanin production. That's it. 798 00:42:03,620 --> 00:42:04,200 Speaker 2: Pretty amazing. 799 00:42:04,219 --> 00:42:07,270 Speaker 3: Pretty neat. But it is surprising that it's, Well, actually, 800 00:42:07,290 --> 00:42:09,550 Speaker 3: it's not that surprising that it can happen over 100 801 00:42:09,550 --> 00:42:13,310 Speaker 3: generations or 2,000 years because the body is very responsive 802 00:42:13,370 --> 00:42:16,969 Speaker 3: to its environment. We adapt very easily. So that's not 803 00:42:17,010 --> 00:42:18,979 Speaker 3: particularly surprising, although it is neat. 804 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:22,140 Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it surprised the scientists. I think they 805 00:42:22,180 --> 00:42:25,000 Speaker 2: just thought it was quicker than they anticipated. 806 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:28,359 Speaker 3: So if you're a racist, just stop and think that 807 00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:31,440 Speaker 3: somewhere down your family line, there is a white person 808 00:42:31,500 --> 00:42:33,370 Speaker 3: or a black person. Ha ha. 809 00:42:34,489 --> 00:42:35,110 Speaker 2: Or in the future. 810 00:42:35,250 --> 00:42:36,319 Speaker 3: Yeah. That's true. 811 00:42:36,340 --> 00:42:37,379 Speaker 2: That's right. So take that. 812 00:42:38,380 --> 00:42:39,080 Speaker 3: You got anything else? 813 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:40,700 Speaker 2: I have nothing else. 814 00:42:41,060 --> 00:42:42,839 Speaker 3: All right. Well, if you want to know more about 815 00:42:42,900 --> 00:42:46,810 Speaker 3: blue people or colloidal silver or pigmentation, go start reading 816 00:42:46,910 --> 00:42:49,590 Speaker 3: up on it on the Internet. And thanks again to 817 00:42:49,650 --> 00:42:51,930 Speaker 3: all the great sites that you found in putting this 818 00:42:51,989 --> 00:42:56,200 Speaker 3: really good episode together, Chuck. And since I complimented Chuck's 819 00:42:56,340 --> 00:42:59,239 Speaker 3: episode putting together skills, it's time for Listener Mail. 820 00:43:01,860 --> 00:43:05,370 Speaker 2: I'm going to call this one of the many... Thanks 821 00:43:05,610 --> 00:43:09,230 Speaker 2: we got for the M, not NRA, but the Mr. 822 00:43:09,290 --> 00:43:09,990 Speaker 2: Nah episode. 823 00:43:10,030 --> 00:43:10,190 Speaker 3: Right. 824 00:43:11,550 --> 00:43:13,049 Speaker 2: This is one I think for both of us like 825 00:43:13,090 --> 00:43:16,760 Speaker 2: we were super stoked to do and like in retrospect 826 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:17,460 Speaker 2: very proud of. 827 00:43:17,469 --> 00:43:18,920 Speaker 3: Yeah. We're stoked. 828 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:21,700 Speaker 2: We were super stoked, not just stoked. 829 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:22,120 Speaker 3: Bruh. 830 00:43:22,660 --> 00:43:26,040 Speaker 2: Stoked plus. There's no way to say stoked without sounding 831 00:43:26,060 --> 00:43:27,100 Speaker 2: like a bro. No. 832 00:43:27,500 --> 00:43:28,759 Speaker 3: No way at all. 833 00:43:29,440 --> 00:43:31,040 Speaker 2: It stinks, too, because I'm not a bro, but I 834 00:43:31,060 --> 00:43:31,879 Speaker 2: do like saying stoked. 835 00:43:31,900 --> 00:43:34,620 Speaker 3: That's fine. Just say stoked. Be loud and proud like 836 00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:36,420 Speaker 3: the last remaining blue Fugate. 837 00:43:37,300 --> 00:43:38,890 Speaker 2: So this is from Mark, and it was a really 838 00:43:38,930 --> 00:43:41,279 Speaker 2: long one that I'm going to sort of summarize the 839 00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:46,109 Speaker 2: first part, is that Mark works in healthcare information technology 840 00:43:47,070 --> 00:43:48,569 Speaker 2: and had a rough go of it over the past 841 00:43:48,610 --> 00:43:53,089 Speaker 2: couple of years, like so many people, working alone and 842 00:43:54,250 --> 00:43:56,549 Speaker 2: listening to our show, which he said helped quite a bit, 843 00:43:57,290 --> 00:43:58,890 Speaker 2: losing some close friends to COVID. 844 00:43:59,090 --> 00:43:59,190 Speaker 3: Man. 845 00:43:59,770 --> 00:44:02,810 Speaker 2: And seeing all this up close and personal. So Mark 846 00:44:02,830 --> 00:44:06,290 Speaker 2: had a tough time. So he says this, after working 847 00:44:06,330 --> 00:44:09,989 Speaker 2: for almost two years on the COVID-19 problem, the last 848 00:44:10,030 --> 00:44:13,590 Speaker 2: thing I wanted to hear was your podcast about Mr. 849 00:44:13,660 --> 00:44:17,000 Speaker 2: Nah vaccines. When I saw the topic pop up on 850 00:44:17,020 --> 00:44:19,780 Speaker 2: my player, took a deep breath and decided to listen anyway. 851 00:44:20,239 --> 00:44:22,279 Speaker 2: I knew almost everything you shared on the podcast, but 852 00:44:22,300 --> 00:44:26,400 Speaker 2: became enthralled in the recap of this amazing story. To 853 00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:29,640 Speaker 2: my surprise, I was again brought to tears by, with 854 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:32,380 Speaker 2: a recognition, one that you two share, of these brilliant 855 00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:35,250 Speaker 2: helpers who use their gifts for the benefit of all humanity. 856 00:44:35,870 --> 00:44:38,270 Speaker 2: At the risk of making you blush, you two are 857 00:44:38,310 --> 00:44:41,650 Speaker 2: part of those helpers. You presented this Mr. Nah episode 858 00:44:42,010 --> 00:44:45,890 Speaker 2: with a childlike curiosity and relatable simplicity that anyone with 859 00:44:45,930 --> 00:44:49,640 Speaker 2: doubts on taking the vaccine would reconsider. I can't believe 860 00:44:49,660 --> 00:44:52,739 Speaker 2: that I have to say this, but facts help, and 861 00:44:52,820 --> 00:44:56,540 Speaker 2: fact-sharers are helpers. I might also add that letting go 862 00:44:56,580 --> 00:44:59,110 Speaker 2: of any biases to let your curiosity grow Curiosity to 863 00:44:59,130 --> 00:45:02,930 Speaker 2: take hold is heroic. And that is from Mark, and boy, 864 00:45:03,410 --> 00:45:05,950 Speaker 2: I'm going to read that one another hundred times today. 865 00:45:05,989 --> 00:45:07,969 Speaker 3: Yeah, just print it out and fold it up and 866 00:45:08,010 --> 00:45:08,989 Speaker 3: keep it under your pillow. 867 00:45:09,700 --> 00:45:11,800 Speaker 2: Yes, thank you, Mark. He wanted his last name to 868 00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:13,960 Speaker 2: be withheld, but appreciate the work you've done, Mark, and 869 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:14,560 Speaker 2: hang in there. 870 00:45:14,620 --> 00:45:18,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, same to you, Mark, and that was very high praise. 871 00:45:18,100 --> 00:45:19,520 Speaker 3: Thank you very much for it. It means a lot 872 00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:23,860 Speaker 3: to hear something like that. One other thing, though, Chuck, 873 00:45:24,130 --> 00:45:29,759 Speaker 3: that Mark reminded me of, that people with metemoglobinemia actually 874 00:45:29,780 --> 00:45:30,880 Speaker 3: can blush blue. 875 00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:33,840 Speaker 2: Oh, so they get bluer? 876 00:45:33,900 --> 00:45:34,799 Speaker 3: Yeah. Isn't that neat? 877 00:45:35,700 --> 00:45:36,560 Speaker 2: I guess that makes sense. 878 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:38,779 Speaker 3: Thanks for that too, Mark. Even though you had no 879 00:45:38,860 --> 00:45:40,879 Speaker 3: idea you were setting us up for it, you did. 880 00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:45,210 Speaker 3: So you're just basically an altogether great person. If you 881 00:45:45,250 --> 00:45:47,270 Speaker 3: want to be a great person like Mark and write 882 00:45:47,350 --> 00:45:49,489 Speaker 3: in to let us know whatever you want to let 883 00:45:49,530 --> 00:45:51,370 Speaker 3: us know, we want to hear from you. You can 884 00:45:51,410 --> 00:45:54,110 Speaker 3: wrap it up and spank it on that bottom until 885 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,180 Speaker 3: it's blue in the face, and send it off to 886 00:45:57,239 --> 00:46:04,049 Speaker 3: stuffpodcasts at iheartradio.com. Stuff You Should Know is a production 887 00:46:04,110 --> 00:46:05,010 Speaker 3: of iHeartRadio. 888 00:46:05,469 --> 00:46:09,710 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 889 00:46:09,870 --> 00:46:11,650 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.