Oxygen transport Memes

Your hemoglobin has one job: carry oxygen. But throw carbon monoxide into the mix, and suddenly it's like watching your lab partner ditch their assigned task to chase after the free pizza in the break room. The binding affinity for CO is about 200 times stronger than for O₂, which is basically the molecular equivalent of "new phone, who dis?" to oxygen. This is why we don't run experiments in poorly ventilated rooms with gas burners anymore. Well, not twice anyway.