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! Hey, if you learned something new today, then
give the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other cool videos I think
you'll enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
