The pointy ears were the first indication thatStar TrekVulcan Mr. Spock was not of this Earth . As conceived byTrekcreator Gene Roddenberry , Spock was the deliberate voice of reason on theEnterprise , equilibrate the actions of an impassioned , drop - kicking Captain James T. Kirk . But the ear and conduct were n’t the only giveaway . Occasionally , TV audience of the original 1966 - 69 television serial publication caught visual modality of Spock ’s unusual consistence chemistry . His blood was greenish .
The intellect for that is , as Spock would say , fascinating .
In a recentvideouploaded by the Mütter Museum of aesculapian curio in Philadelphia , museum director Robert Hicks discusses how Roddenberry pass inspiration from Thai twins Chang and Eng Bunker when developing the fictitious character of Spock . turn out in 1811 in Siam ( now Thailand ) , the brothersdevelopedan outside repute as sideshow performer and get 21 children . A close to 4 - inch band of flesh connected them at the torso .
According to Hicks , Roddenberry ’s longtime pursuit in pathology once led him to examine the autopsy report of the Bunkers . The 1875 text file made billet of the Gemini suffer green blood , a curious fact that he adopted for Spock .
The Mütter Museum retains a number of specimens related to the twins , including their conjoined liver . In examining the aggregation , Hicks discovered a lineage sample bottle that was dried out but still held a green tincture . Though rarified , the presence of sulfur in hemoglobin ( call sulfhemoglobinemia ) can cause roue to appear green . A 2007 report in theLancetmedical journal detail acaseof a man who had the strange hue because of the migraine medication he was taking .
It ’s not known why the Bunkers had immature blood . Their health had been compromise , and a multifariousness of factors could have affected a bit of their bodily functions . As an achievable particular result , Roddenberry receive it to be an excellent way to further characterize Spock as something only half - man .
Hicks says that was n’t the only way Roddenberry was inspired by Chang and Eng . In the autopsy , which refer detail of their net moments , Chang was the first to die due to a origin coagulum . Eng soon follow . Addressing one of their 21 children , his last words were read to be , “ Live long and prosper , my devout son . ”
[ h / tMutter Museum ]
