What’s Your Type? A Collection of Trivia and Fun Facts About Blood Types
Blood types indicated as A, B, O, and AB.
They’re used in fortune-telling and once sparked trends in personality and compatibility tests.
While blood type is crucial in medical settings such as for transfusions, it’s probably not something most people think about in everyday life.
In this article, we’ll share trivia and fun facts to help you learn more about blood types!
We’ve gathered a variety of tidbits about blood types, including their hidden aspects and the blood types of non-human creatures.
Check out these interesting facts about blood types you might not have known before!
[What’s Your Type?] Trivia and Fun Facts About Blood Types (1–10)
Blood type and personality are completely unrelated.
You’ve probably heard at least once the claims about blood types and personality—Type A is meticulous, Type O is easygoing, and so on.
Some people may even have had unpleasant experiences because of their blood type.
The reason such ideas spread seems to be the popularity of books on so-called ‘blood type human studies.’ But in fact, there’s no scientific basis for these claims at all.
Many people find it unpleasant to have their personality judged or pigeonholed based on blood type.
It’s something to be careful about when bringing up blood types in conversation.
There are diseases that people are more prone to depending on their blood type.
Did you know that your blood type can make you more susceptible to certain diseases? The reason lies in differences in immunity by blood type.
It’s generally said that type O has the strongest immunity, but there’s data showing that people with type O bleed more easily and have a higher risk of duodenal ulcers.
Type A is linked to cancer, type B to lung diseases, and type AB to higher risks of influenza and cognitive impairment.
Although type AB is considered to have the lowest overall immunity, its immune system can produce antibodies against bacteria, making allergies less likely.
The rarest blood type in the world is Rh-null.
The Rh blood type is usually either positive or negative, right? But in this world, there are people who have the “Rh null” type.
Rh null means a type that lacks all Rh antigens.
It’s said that only about 50 people worldwide have this rare blood.
What’s more, people with type O Rh null blood can donate to anyone, so it’s called “golden blood.” However, those with Rh null can only receive transfusions from other Rh null individuals, so it might not be such a welcome situation for them personally.
Originally, blood types were not ABO but ABC.
Speaking of blood types, it’s common to label them as A, B, O, and AB, but some of you may have wondered why it’s not A, B, and then C.
In fact, blood types were originally labeled A, B, and C.
At first, it was thought there were only three blood types, and later the fourth type, AB, was discovered.
The C type was renamed to O, and in 1928 the League of Nations declared the standardization to the current A, B, O, and AB.
The person who discovered blood types was the Austrian pathologist Karl Landsteiner.
Humanity was originally all type O.
Have you heard the saying that “all humans were originally type O”? The reason is likely that our ancestors, Homo sapiens, are believed to have been type O.
Humanity was born in Africa and later migrated across the globe, and it’s said that as people adapted to local environments and diets, their gut microbiota changed, giving rise to blood types A and B.
Many people know their own blood type, but surprisingly few know its roots.
Why not take this opportunity to dig a little deeper?
People with type O Rh-null blood can donate blood to individuals of any blood type.
There are two blood group systems tested using red blood cells: the ABO type and the Rh type.
The ABO system mainly includes four types—A, B, O, and AB—while the Rh system basically has two types: positive or negative.
However, in very rare cases, there are people whose Rh type is neither positive nor negative; this is called the null type.
Because null-type blood has no antigens at all, it can be transfused broadly and is known as “golden blood.” Among these, O-type null blood is said to be compatible for transfusion to people of any blood type.
All western lowland gorillas have blood type B.
The western lowland gorilla lives mainly in Central Africa and is said to be the smallest among the gorilla subspecies.
Although it is the most numerous of the gorillas, it is currently endangered.
It’s said that western lowland gorillas are all type B.
However, not all gorillas are type B.
In contrast, mountain gorillas have no type B individuals and are only type A or O.
Because western lowland gorillas are more numerous than other subspecies, the mistaken belief that “all gorillas are type B” seems to have spread.