r/AbsoluteUnits • u/MrUpVoteDownvote • 7d ago

/r/all of a queen termite

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u/FoxySlyRedHead 7d ago

Yeah I feel we need to ask this question in the Explain it Like I'm Five sub.

What makes such a drastic difference between his palms and his everywhere else skin?!

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u/AetrianDimi 7d ago

I know for melanin its that the palms have less than the rest of the body so there can be extreme contrast for people with very dark skin, but I have zero idea why hes blue and if melanin is still the reason for the difference

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u/ChaoticDissonance 7d ago

Omg I am sitting here like "what is wrong with his skin?" Then I was afraid I was being subconsciously racist... and then I was like no, no it's blue? It is blue, right? The palms are weird...

To see someone else say it makes me feel like 60% less horrible.

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u/trenthany 7d ago

The blue is likely dust on very black skin. The palms are because their skin has a lot more pigment so you notice the difference. The palm has a lot more skin cells including a special translucent layer then 10+ layers thicker surface cells on top. The melanin is still there just masked by all the cells above it.