When you face an uncomfortable situation,
you might choose to run and hide.
But wouldn’t it be easier
if you could suddenly
blend into your surroundings?
Many animals can camouflage
or disguise their appearance.
Whether it’s a defense mechanism
to avoid predators
or an ability that helps them hunt prey,
they use different camouflage strategies.
Some animals perform this magic trick
with the help of biochromes,
or pigments that reflect or absorb
all the visible wavelengths of light.
In other creatures,
the physical structure of their skin,
scales or hair acts like a prism,
scattering or refracting
the light around them.
So if you could change into any color,
would you…
Hey, where’d you go?
Which method of camouflage
would work best for you?
Well, let’s look at some of the
animal kingdom’s most skilled
masters of disguise.
Maybe the most famous camouflager
would be the chameleon.
It changes colors when it feels afraid,
aggressive or tries to attract a mate.
If you had a chameleon's abilities,
you could change from green to blue
to bright orange in seconds.
Your skin would need to have
crystal-like cells, called iridophores,
that refract light.
They would compress or expand
based on your emotions
and change your coloring.
If you felt angry or passionate,
you’d turn bright red.
When you feel relaxed,
you might become a darker shade of blue
so no one bothers you.
Or you could show off
Or you could show off every color in your palette
to impress your latest crush.
OK, now let’s track down an arctic fox.
In the warmer months,
its brown coat allows it to blend
into the greens and browns
of its environment.
But in winter,
its fur turns white to blend in
with the endless, snowy tundra.
This protects the arctic fox from predators
and the prey it stalks.
If your hair color
naturally changed each season,
you probably wouldn’t need it to survive.
But it could be an excuse
to spend summers at the beach as a blond
or embrace the winter's darkness
with jet black hair.
But if you wanted to disappear,
the best strategy
would come from flounders.
Huh?
These fish change their color
to match their surroundings
using their vision and skin cells.
As they move
through different environments,
their retinas recognize different colors.
They transmit that information
to their skin cells,
which adjust their colors.
If you felt threatened
or wanted to avoid
an old fling walking nearby,
you could use this strategy.
People would have a tough time
spotting you if you looked like
a brick building or a parked car.
But, if they did see you changing colors,
it would probably make the situation
even more awkward.
Maybe you’d be better off
turning bright golden orange,
like the golden tortoise beetle.
It would give the impression
that you are poisonous
and people should avoid you.
And if everyone else
suddenly had camouflage skin,
it would change how everyone interacted.
People already express themselves
with clothing, tattoos and hairstyles.
Now they’d be able to change
their style or vibe very quickly.
People with eye-catching skin
would show they're open
to new connections.
And people who didn't want to be bothered
would simply disappear before your eyes.
But this would present
a threatening possibility too.
Military groups would camouflage
much more efficiently
without needing clothing or paints.
There could be spies hiding in plain sight
and gathering all kinds of information
about you.
So you’d have to stay even more alert
and keep your eyes peeled.
At least they wouldn’t be able
to make themselves completely invisible,
or could they?
Well, that’s a story for another WHAT IF.