So I’m sitting in my car at this intersection, waiting for the light to change from red to
green when I think, “Hmm, why green?
Why not blue or purple?
Why are things colored the way they are—and how many ways can I answer that question before
this light changes?
Let’s start with that one!
1.
Traffic Lights Blink Green for “Go” because — In the 1800s, dangerous heavy machinery
had green lights that lit up and warned factory workers they were “on” or “going.”
After that, when traffic lights came onto the scene, any other color might cause confusion
or accidents.
So, Green meant Go!
2.
Traffic Lights Blink Red for “Stop” because — Red is associated with alarm!
Like when a bull sees red.
(Except they don’t.
Bulls are colorblind.
But anyway…)
Red is also the opposite of green on the color wheel.
And stop is the opposite of go.
3.
Green Money— Back when the US started printing paper bills, green ink cost less than other
colors, letting the treasury keep more of what they printed!
Plus, green ink was durable.
The color wouldn’t rub off on your hands if it got wet.
So even if your life savings went down the drain, at least the ink held fast.
4.
Black and White Crosswalks — Zebra crossings are the color of their namesake because those
contrasting bands stand out against the plain road, pedestrians, and anything on the road
like a manhole cover.
A few cities—like Ames, Iowa and Atlanta, Georgia—have gotten creative and painted
rainbow crosswalks!
Don’t worry, though!
As long as they use light and dark contrasting stripes, they’re safe too!
Safety is the reason behind a lot of colors on the road, like—
5.
Yellow School Buses!
— We transport kids in big vehicles of this color because it’s the one our eyes see
first, even in our peripherals.
So, it screams at every driver on the road, “Careful!
Kids on board!”
If you guessed that taxis are yellow for the same reason, you’d be using powerful deductive
skills!
You’d also be wrong…
6.
Yellow Taxis — Before 1905, taxis were red and green.
Then, Albert Rockwell introduced a model with a 15-horse-power engine that became the standard.
He painted it yellow because… his wife liked that color!
And maintaining marital bliss is a good reason for anything!
7.
Black Tires — Tires are actually made of white rubber.
Imagine trying to keep white tires clean!
Impossible!
But camouflaging dirt isn’t the reason manufacturers add the chemical compound “carbon black”
to their product.
“Carbon black” makes tires stronger!
8.
Green Screens — That weatherman standing in front of his moving storm diagram and the
princess dancing with her dragon have one thing in common: they’re usually not wearing
green.
This is because they’re performing in front of a green screen.
Using a technique called “chroma-keying,” technicians cut away the green behind them
and layer the princess or weatherman over the image of the dragon or storm just as you
might place a paper doll over a painting.
9.
Red Barns — They look beautiful against green rolling hills, but old-time farmers
weren’t expressing themselves artistically.
Besides, if cows are colorblind (yep, just like bulls), what’s the point?
It all has to do with—you guessed it—money!
Farmers painted their barns red because those barns were huge and paint was expensive.
But the least expensive color at that time was—red!
And, of course, those farmers wore…
10.
Blue Jeans — Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis originally made their pants in two colors:
indigo blue and brown.
Both options had re-enforcing rivets that made them stronger than competing pants, but
the blue jeans were everyone’s favorite because they were sturdy—and soft!
Unlike the stead-fast green dye of a dollar bill, dark-blue indigo dye washes away … bit
by bit … in each wash.
As it does, it softens the fabric, creating that special blue jean feel!
Dyes also explain why we award…
11.
Black Belts!
— Karate students receive progressively darker belts as they rise through the levels
of expertise, from beginner white all the way to the Black Belt of mastery.
In the old days, students simply dyed and then re-dyed, their belts.
Naturally, the colors had to get darker each time, or the new dye wouldn’t show.
Eventually, you dyed your belt the darkest color of them all - black!
But even newbie clarinetists play…
12.
Black Clarinets — That’s because clarinets are made from black woods, like ebony.
It’s pretty, so why change it?
13.
Black and White Soccer Balls — People played soccer for over 3,000 years without deciding
on a particularly colored ball.
That is, until the 1970s, when the World Cup was broadcast on television for the very first
time.
Back then, most TVs were black and white, so designers created a ball with contrasting
pentagons, kind of like the stripes in the crosswalk, that viewers could spot in motion
across black and white screens around the globe!
Same story for those zebra-striped football referees?
Eh…
14.
Black and White Referee Uniforms — Up until 1920, referees wore white shirts and bow ties.
Fancy!
But they were sometimes mistaken for players on the field!
After being passed the ball one too many times, football referee Lloyd Olds developed the
now universal black and white striped look.
Since we’re on the topic of sports…
15.
Orange Basketballs — The first basketballs were brown leather.
Yeah, brown as in, the same color as the wooden court!
In the 1950s, they switched to orange because it was easier to see.
16.
White Toilet Paper — Maybe you’ve seen beige or brown toilet paper in the health
food store?
It’s beige because, while the cellulose fibers that make up toilet paper are naturally
white, the glue holding them together is generally beige.
Some producers feel it’s more natural, economic, and maybe even healthful to leave it that
way.
Mainstream manufacturers bleach their toilet paper to make it sparkly white because white
is associated with cleanliness.
(Your tub and toilet are pristine white too!)
You can find rainbow toilet paper, but—careful!—some people have an allergic reaction to the dyes.
17.
White Wedding gowns — Believe it or not, white dresses were for mourning until Queen
Victoria—one of history’s first style influencers— wore a white dress at her wedding
and changed tradition forever!
18.
White Flags of Surrender — As far back as the year 25 CE, people have waved the white
flag to surrender.
There were several reasons for that.
White material is usually readily available: you can use your sail or your buddy’s shirt,
or your underpants.
Like yellow, white is easy to see against a natural backdrop of ground, trees, or even
water.
And white makes “surrender flags” easy to distinguish from their opposite—battle
flags—which are usually colorful.
19.
Green Chalkboards — These classroom staples used to be called “blackboards” because
they were made of black slate.
But the harsh contrast of black slate and white chalk strained children’s eyes, so
schools switched to the gentler green board with yellow chalk.
(Remember, yellow is the easiest color to see.)
But now we’ve got whiteboards and different colored markers to make everybody’s life
easier!
20.
Blue Ribbon for First Place — This first-place award is the descendant of the similarly named
“Blue Riband” from the 1860s.
The Blue Riband was a pennant awarded to the fastest passenger ship crossing the Atlantic.
Over the years, Riband got changed to Ribbon, but the blue part stuck.
21.
Santa’s Red Suit — Originally, artists depicted Santa wearing tan or green as often
as red.
A lot of people credit a famous Coca Cola Advertisement for making red “the” color
for Santa’s wardrobe.
But Harpers Weekly featured Santa wearing his now-familiar red 40 years before the soda
campaign.
People loved the Harpers pictures so much that Santa never wore green again.
22.
Red Fire Trucks — Red means emergency, so it’s a natural choice for fire engines.
But today, more and more fire trucks are being painted … lime green and yellow!
Wavelengths make those colors easiest to see (remember the thing about yellow school buses?),
and when a fire truck is whizzing through traffic, visibility makes everyone safer.
23.
Pink Bubble Gum — When Walter Diemer created his best bubble gum recipe—less sticky,
more bubbles!—he made it pink because, well, that was the color he had!
And people kept making it that way because it was the best gum they’d ever had!
Why fix what isn’t broken (or in the case of bubble gum, popped?)
Don’t honk, just thank me!
Oh!
The light’s green?
I better go!
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