1. Blue Was Once Seen as a Low-Class Colour
In Ancient Rome, royalty wore white, red and black. Those in lower society wore blue. Because the colour blue was associated with the working class and barbarians, it was not mainstream. Blue became more acceptable when it became the colour of the Virgin Mary’s cloak in the 12th century.
2. Queen Victoria Started the White Wedding Gown Tradition
In 1840, red was the popular colour of bridal gowns. Queen Victoria didn’t follow this tradition, wearing a white gown to her wedding instead. Within a few years, white wedding dresses were regarded as the best colour for brides.
3. Some Languages Describe Colours and Shades Differently
Tribal African tongues and other languages describe blue and green as different shades of the same colour. The Russian language specifies light and dark blue as different colours, not different shades of the same colour. Many ancient languages didn’t have a word for blue.
4. Purple Was the Colour of Royalty Because It Was Expensive to Obtain
Until 1856, the colour purple came from snail mucus. The snails used were almost extinct, and 20,000 were required to get one ounce of purple dye. Since purple was a rare and expensive colour, it was only worn by royalty. For commoners, wearing purple was a crime punishable by death.
5. Red Is the First Colour a Baby Sees
Infants start to recognize the colour red at two weeks old because red has the longest wavelength, which is easy to process. Babies can see the full spectrum of colours at five months.
6. Pink Is a Calming Colour
Pink suppresses anger and anxiety and makes people feel calm. For this reason, many prisons and hospitals paint their rooms pink.
7. Bulls Don’t Actually Hate Red
It’s a common misbelief that bulls hate the colour red, which is why they charge the matador and the muleta. In reality, bulls target any moving object, regardless of colour.
8. Green Used to Symbolize Unreliability
In the Middle Ages, green symbolized inconstancy and betrayal. Paintings with Judas often showed him wearing green clothing. This association may have come from the difficulties of making green dye. Green dye was made from plants, and it was unstable because the colour would fade over time.
9. Orange Used to Have Another Name
In the 13th century, “orange” was the name of the citrus fruit, and the colour was “geoluhread,” which means yellow-red. In the 16th century, Europeans started calling the fruit and the colour the same name.
10. Milk Used to Look Yellow
Up to the mid-18th century, producers added lead chromate to milk to hide its blueness — a sign of watered-down dairy. This additive made milk look yellow, and people refused to buy white milk because they thought it was coloured.**
