Rudolph the Blue-Eyed Reindeer

Golden Days of Summer     (Photo by Nattfodd)    

Nope, not a different song.  Not even a different story.  Just a different part of Rudolph’s highly-publicized anatomy.

People have been so focused upon Rudolph’s nose that they haven’t bothered much with the orbs to the left and right of it.  It’s quite possible

(and somewhat sad) that no one has even asked what color Rudolph’s eyes are.

"Dartmouth College anthropologist and evolutionary biologist Nathaniel J. Dominy” therefore found it within his heart to gaze into Rudolph’s pupils.  Surrounding them were irises of the deepest blue.

Dominy dared to do this just before Christmas, when winter in the Arctic is filled with blue and purple hues.  Reindeer eye color changes with the seasons.  The winter-blue iris tissue helps reindeer to detect light that “is scattered high in the atmosphere.”

Catch Rudolph on an off day, say in July, and his eyes would instead be golden.  But what about his nose?  Perhaps it’s red in the summer, too, especially if he’s been dipping into some fermented eggnog.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/why-rudolph%E2%80%99s-shiny-red-nose-makes-scientific-sense/ar-BBnQNdx?li=BBnb7Kz

Copyright December 26, 2015 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved