Methemoglobinemia

Skin tone varies greatly from person to person and for a variety of reasons. However, everyone is familiar with the common range of skin tones, and it is rare to see someone whose skin tone could be described as surprising. This was not the case with the Fugates, who had blue skin.

There was a family of blue-skinned humans in the 1820s in a place called Troublesome Creek, Kentucky. Martin Fugate, the patriarch, was described as having "indigo blue" skin. He married Elizabeth Smith, and four of their seven children were born with blue skin.

A baby named Benjamin Stacy was born in the 1970s with skin that the doctor described as "blue as Lake Louise." He was the great grandson of Luna Fugate, who was the great granddaughter of Martin, and he was the same color as her. Martin passed on methemoglobinemia to his children, and the condition was passed down through inbreeding. The recessive gene remained in the family line and manifested itself again with the birth of Benjamin Stacy. Their hemoglobin is unable to transport oxygen through the blood, and many patients with the condition, which can also be caused by medication, will die. However, if enzyme levels are properly balanced, a person can live a full life, as did all of the Fugates. They'll just be a bright blue color.