- This is my Dodge Viper.
My grandma gave it to me when I was maybe five years old.
Ever since then, it's been my definition
of what a sports car is.
I was writing the Up to Speed on the Viper
when something occurred to me.
Why red?
I asked my boss for some writing advice,
and he said, "You're a funny writer, Nolan.
"Go forth and write about it.
"You do well, and we'll make your funny video."
To me, red means fast.
It's the quintessential color of a sports car.
It's the national racing color of Italy.
You know, like the most passionate people there are.
But every country has a color for their race cars.
You got British racing green, Germany is silver,
America is white and blue.
So why didn't Prince write about
a little white and blue Corvette?
♪ Little Red Corvette. ♪
Apparently we got to go back to 1907.
I guess there was this newspaper in Paris,
they wanna make some news,
and they challenged the whole world to a big race.
There.
- We ask this question of car manufacturers
in France and abroad.
Is there anyone who will undertake to travel
this summer from Peking to Paris by automobile?
Whoever he is, he will certainly deserve to have
his name spoken as a byword in the four quarters
of the Earth.
(laughing)
- Five cars showed up, which is not surprising,
because it's 1907, and there's probably
five cars in the world.
Also racing cars is a pretty new concept.
The Italian entry was an Itala Mod,
which made a massive 45 horsepower.
Actually for 1907 that's kind of a lot.
The Itala Mod also sported a brand new coat
of scarlet red paint.
Red's actually a really practical choice
for a long-distance race because one,
people can spot you if you fall off a cliff;
and two, it was the cheapest.
The reason it's so cheap is 'cause the pigment
we use to make it is literally in the dirt.
It's dirt cheap. (laughs)
Anyway, it was like 9,000 miles to Paris.
They had a full tank of gas, half pack of cigarettes,
it's dark, and they're wearing sunglasses.
- Hit it.
(screaching tires)
- And hit it they did.
Didn't even matter if there were no roads
and that no car had ever made the journey before.
It sounds impossible, but the scrappy Italians
made it to Paris.
They completed the trek in 61 days
and beat the second-place team by one hour.
Over 9,000 miles.
Over two months.
The margin of victory was decided by 60 minutes.
That's incredible.
I thought this was even more impressive
when I learned that the Italians actually went to
Moscow for a little bit, hung out with some Czars,
then came back down.
"It's been a great time over here, Vlad.
"Thanks for the vodka and Rasputin;
and I'll see you later, dude."
♪ Rah rah Rasputin lover of the Russian queen. ♪
The team returned home as heroes,
and in recognition of their monumental achievement,
Italy adopted Rossa Corsa Red
as their national Motorsport color,
the same color as their Itala Mod race car.
It's the same color as Ferraris, Maserattis,
and Alfa Romeos.
All the Italian cars they use this color.
But red doesn't just mean Italian to me.
My Viper's red; it's not Italian.
Pumphrey's face is red, and he's not Italian.
So what's the deal?
The fact is red brings many emotions with it.
That's not just conjecture; that's science.
Countless studies have found that red
has a measurable effect on the human brain.
One study found that if a team or competitor
is wearing red, they stand a better chance of winning.
That's not just limited to people either.
In many species of primates, red facial markings
are a sign of dominance and key to finding a mate.
What's up lady apes?
Researchers asked men to rate a woman's attractiveness
on a scale, and women wearing red
were perceived as more attractive.
If fact, the women didn't even have to be wearing red.
Her picture could be in a red picture frame,
and that was enough.
Look at the frame on that one.
Studies have also shown that red is
intrinsically threatening and pretty much means danger.
Researchers found that small monkeys
were far less likely to eat food given to them
by people wearing red as opposed to green or blue.
Which makes sense, because in the wild,
red plants are poisonous, red bugs try to sting you,
and if there's a lot of red coming out of you,
you're probably gonna die
Red also has great historical significance.
There's this cave in France where 2,500 years ago
cavemen were making paintings of
deer, horses, and wooly mammoths with red clay paint.
In ancient Egypt, red was a symbol of life
and health and victory.
They used to paint themselves red for festivals
and wear red jewelry.
So why is red the ultimate color for a sports car?
I think it's 'cause everything we see in red
we can also see in a sports car.
Like a sports car can be dangerous.
It can be threatening.
But can have a romantic quality to it as well.
A sports car can be sexy.
We use words like attractive and elegant
and go so far to say that a car has a personality.
You also feel genuine passion
when you're behind the wheel.
There's such a wide spectrum of what red can mean,
and depending on the context, red works for
almost any emotion.
A sports car evokes more feeling than any other car.
Red heightens whatever features are already in the car
thanks to psychology baked into our subconscious
and a collective memory of our past.
It's the ultimate color for the ultimate car.
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Hope you guys like the show.
We're gonna be doing it every week.
This show answers the questions you never thought to ask.
Whatever happened to Pontiac?
Where'd racing stripes come from?
What are some questions I can't even think of?
What makes you go, "Hmmm"?
That's kind of weird.
We'll figure it out together.