Series · The Wet Machinery

Blood And Guts

What's flowing through you, eating in your stomach, and rebuilding your insides daily.

18 episodes ~72 min

Start Series

All episodes

All series →

01
The Frog That Hides Its Blood to Vanish
Glass frogs become invisible by stuffing their red blood cells into their liver, making their skin as clear as a window.
Unread
02
The Platypus Swallows Food Into Its Throat
The platypus has no stomach; its esophagus connects directly to its intestines, making digestion a total mystery.
Unread
03
A toddler could swim through a whale's arteries
A blue whale heart is the size of a bumper car, and its primary blood vessels are wide enough for a human child to crawl through.
Unread
04
Butterflies are born from a literal puddle of soup
Inside a chrysalis, a caterpillar digests itself into a liquid goo before rebuilding its body from scratch.
Unread
05
Your immune system dies every three days
While red blood cells last for months, most white blood cells survive for only 1 to 3 days in your bloodstream.
Unread
06
A Sloth Can Starve to Death on a Full Stomach
It takes thirty days for a sloth to process a single meal, making it the slowest digestive system on the planet.
Unread
07
The Only Part of Your Body That Breathes Air Directly
Your cornea has zero blood vessels and must suck oxygen from the atmosphere to stay alive.
Unread
08
The Plant That Delivers a Year of Pain
The Gympie-Gympie tree produces a neurotoxin so potent that victims have been known to lose their minds from the agony.
Unread
09
The Animal That Eats Anthrax For Breakfast
Vultures possess stomach acid so corrosive that it dissolves metal and kills the world's deadliest bacteria instantly.
Unread
10
The acid in your belly melts steel
Your stomach produces a liquid so corrosive it can dissolve a stainless steel razor blade in less than half a day.
Unread
11
The Alien Blood That Keeps Humans Alive
Horseshoe crabs have bright blue blood that is used to test every vaccine on the planet.
Unread
12
The Insect Sting That Mimics a Gunshot
The bullet ant delivers a neurotoxin that causes 24 hours of waves of pure, paralyzing agony.
Unread
13
The 60,000 Mile Highway Inside Your Body
If you unraveled every blood vessel in a single adult body, they would wrap around the Earth twice.
Unread
14
The Chemical Shield Inside Your Gut
Your stomach produces acid strong enough to dissolve steel, but a layer of snot keeps you alive.
Unread
15
Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood
And maybe a different kind of consciousness.
Unread
16
Owls turn their heads 270°. Here's how
An evolutionary blood-flow trick we still can't copy.
Unread
17
The Lizard That Shoots Blood From Its Eyes
When a coyote gets too close, the Texas horned lizard answers with a four-foot jet of its own blood.
Unread
18
A Toxic Rainbow At The Bottom Of The World
The Danakil Depression is a tectonic scar where the Earth’s crust is pulling apart, bringing acid pools and chlorine gas to the surface.
Unread

Blood And Guts

All episodes

The Frog That Hides Its Blood to Vanish

The Platypus Swallows Food Into Its Throat

A toddler could swim through a whale's arteries

Butterflies are born from a literal puddle of soup

Your immune system dies every three days

A Sloth Can Starve to Death on a Full Stomach

The Only Part of Your Body That Breathes Air Directly

The Plant That Delivers a Year of Pain

The Animal That Eats Anthrax For Breakfast

The acid in your belly melts steel

The Alien Blood That Keeps Humans Alive

The Insect Sting That Mimics a Gunshot

The 60,000 Mile Highway Inside Your Body

The Chemical Shield Inside Your Gut

Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood

Owls turn their heads 270°. Here's how

The Lizard That Shoots Blood From Its Eyes

A Toxic Rainbow At The Bottom Of The World