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Human BodySurprise 4/5Difficulty 2/5Reviewed on September 14, 2026

Human venous blood is not blue, but dark red.

Why it is true

Venous blood is often depicted as blue in books, but it is actually dark red. The bluish colour we see in veins is due to the way light penetrates the skin and is absorbed by deoxygenated haemoglobin.

Source: NIH

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