Mystery of Appalachia's 'Blue Family' solved

[Still Waters]

In the Appalachian Mountains rests a medical oddity so unusual that it at first seems a massive hoax.

Dating back to the early 1800s, an isolated family in eastern Kentucky - who can trace their roots back to a French orphan - started producing children who were blue.

As a result of a coincidental meeting of recessive genes, intermarriage and inbreeding, members of the Fugate family were born with a rare condition that made them visibly discoloured.

Read more...

[I Am Not Resisting]

I remember seeing something on TV about this a few years back but I didn't know they discovered why. Very interesting!

[tipotep]

Why is it that they don't have a recent picture ?

I had a laugh at this ...

intermarriage and inbreeding

You have to expect a few genetic errors when you practice that

TiP.

[glorybebe]

Why is it that they don't have a recent picture ?

I had a laugh at this ...

You have to expect a few genetic errors when you practice that

TiP.

Yeah, a recent picture would be cool! Very, very interesting....

[Spectre1979]

recent pic or it's fake. That's my feelings on it.

[Zakalwe]

does noone believe in smurfs anymore?

[jesspy]

So that is what is wrong with the smurfs

[Zakalwe]

I always thought it was because smurfette didn't put out

[Myles]

I believe they were blue, but the photo looks too blue to be true.

[Abramelin]

http://joeblog.tumblr.com/post/56846766/thefugates

[King Fluffs]

In his youth, my uncle knew a guy who was blue.

[chubaccatron]

Seems pretty obvious to me. They were Chiss.

[Calibeliever]

I remember hearing about the Fugates in college in the 80's.

[Kryso]

Seems pretty obvious to me. They were Chiss.

A knew Grand Admiral Thrawn survived, lol.

[J. K.]

Check out this fella.

[BrandOfAmber]

Overdosing on colloidal silver can also make you turn blue.

[+DieChecker]

Maybe this is where Blue Man Group got thier idea?

Or maybe where Avatar got the idea for the Navari?

Or where Watchmen got he idea for Doctor Manhattan?

Mystique? (X-Men)

[+DieChecker]

http://corky.net/dotan/log/2006/07/blue-people-for-real.html

[RotaryGraph]

This is why you shouldn't chew Willy Wonka's Gum

[Princess Serenity]

This is interesting. Never heard of these people 'til you brought them up.

[HawkLord]

So THATS why some people believe in alien/human hybrids

[jaguarsky]

I grew up in the "tri-state" area, eastern Kentucky, SW, Ohio and western WV. I heard of these folks long ago. It really is unfair, as was mentioned previously, to call them inbred, which really does have a negative connotation. You have to remember that those were very different times, there were many fewer families in small rural areas. While the gene pool was small it was not a kiddie pool.

I was surprised when I read this article though to find that the family was French. I was going to go the way of Billy Connelly's "Pale blue Scotsman".

[Myles]

I'm still not buying into the posted photo. They look too blue. Other pics of this condition show them as a blue/grey color.

[J. K.]

I'm still not buying into the posted photo. They look too blue. Other pics of this condition show them as a blue/grey color.

I thought that the whole photo is colorized, almost in a pointillist manner. Black and white photography was more common at the time when it looks like the photo was taken.

[JP333]

That would be awesome. I wish I was that color.