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The Rest Is Science
The Rest Is Science

Hack Dog Vision To Keep Your Bones Safe

July 22, 2026 • 45m

Summary

⏱️ 8 min read

Overview

Michael and Hannah explore the fascinating world of color vision across species, focusing on how different animals perceive colors differently. Michael showcases a clever shirt design that exploits dogs' dichromatic vision, while the conversation expands into discussions about tetrachromats, DNA data storage, free will, and the biological impossibility of fire-breathing dragons.

The Dog Safety Shirt and Color Vision Variations

Michael introduces an ingenious shirt that plays with the differences between human and dog color vision. Dogs only see blue and yellow (dichromatic vision), while humans see red and green as well (trichromatic). The shirt reads 'no bones in here' in white letters visible to both species, but has 'JK I'm full of bones actually' written in green on red fabric - invisible to dogs. This demonstrates how different species experience vastly different visual worlds, from dogs with limited color vision to mantis shrimp with up to 19 types of color receptors.

  • Dogs have dichromatic vision - they only see combinations of blue and yellow, and cannot distinguish red from green
  • The shirt uses green text on red fabric to hide a message from dogs while remaining visible to humans
  • Mantis shrimp have approximately 19 color receptors compared to humans' three, allowing them to see an entirely different visual spectrum
" Dog vision is just dichromatic. They only see two base colors, blue and yellow. All right. So they can see, you know, brightness and darkness, but they also can only see combos of blue and yellow. That's how the world is to them. "
" Some of our testers brought that up. They said, well, I wore the shirt and I walked around bragging about my skeleton. And sure enough, no dogs tried to steal my bones. But it might not be because of the shirt, Michael. It might be because dogs can't read. "

Tetrachromats: Humans Who See Extra Colors

The discussion reveals that some women may possess tetrachromatic vision - the ability to see a fourth color dimension beyond normal human trichromatic vision. This occurs due to variations in X chromosomes, and while only a small number have been scientifically confirmed, estimates suggest up to 20% of women might have this ability without knowing it. One confirmed tetrachromat described seeing a pebble beach as resembling a jeweler's shop window, full of sparkling colors where others only see gray.

  • Men are much more likely to be colorblind than women - about 12% of men versus 1 in 200 women - because color vision genes are on the X chromosome
  • Tetrachromats can potentially distinguish up to 100 million colors compared to the 1 million that typical trichromats can see
  • One confirmed tetrachromat described a gray pebble beach as looking like a jeweler's shop window full of sparkling, varied colors
" This is like being at a jeweler's shop window. that you can see this like sparkling array of like myriad colors just shining back at you. What is everyone talking about it's just really great. "
" It's such a good reminder that like we see such a small portion of the world. And there's so much more there that other species see that even other individuals, humans can see. It's like the universe through a keyhole, you know? "

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