Introduction
To the layman, color is a simple phenomenon, but colors hold a world of fascinating facts to the trained eye. We do not know much about colors, their production, their perceptions, and their effects on an observer.
Well, allow me to enlighten you with little knowledge I have gathered through extensive research and experimentation. When we observe light with our eyes, we see whatever portions (colors) reflect. We can see color because light contains a spectrum of colors; these different parts can only manifest if they reflect off a surface or an object. So really, color comes from light, yeah, light.
Furthermore, the colors we can see come in different shades and wavelengths. The latter is responsible for the speed or ease with which we can see specific colors quicker than others.
Speaking of exciting facts about colors, did you know that specific colors are responsible for the feeling of hunger, comfort, and even that of love? And that’s only a bit of the whole package. Colors can affect how people receive you and how you receive them, so you need to adorn yourself or your living space with colors that exude warmth and safety.
Men And Women See Colors Differently
You ever wondered why your man could not seem to tell avocado from olive? No, it is not because he is lazy to distinguish them. Of course, it can come across like that, but the truth is far more interesting.
Thousands of years ago, when humanity operated on the “hunter-gatherer” system, there was a much more dire need to tell colors apart. The hunter, the man, had to develop more neural power dedicated to telling quick changes in different hues from a distance.
This trait was beneficial as prey and predator moved amongst vegetation to camouflage themselves. While the gatherer, woman, would spend the day out picking essential herbs and fruits. Because of this, evolution focused women’s s sense of discernment on shades of the same color since it is crucial to tell the poisonous fruits or herbs from the safe ones.
Blue Is The Most Popular Colour In The World
Did you know that you’re not the only one whose favorite color is blue? that chances are, it is not that much of a unique preference to you either. Curious? Well, I can explain.
A survey from Dulux paints shows that around 42% of men and 30% of women have blue as their favorite colors. That’s a lot; two-thirds of the world’s population love the color blue. And with such a large number, there must be something about the color that makes it unique, so I did more research, and here’s what I found.
These are some of the reasons blue appeals to more people worldwide than other colors.
- Blue gives off a sincere aura
- Blue can be and is a calming color as well
- Blue can be intense, arousing solid emotional responses
- Blue is capable of inspiration as well
- Some people have a phobia of color.
Phobias are irrational fears linked to a particular thing or situation. It is a kind of anxiety that expresses itself as a constant and overwhelming fear. It is often an exaggerated fear, but it feels genuine.
Phobias range from the fear of animals to being outside and even the fear of colors. Yes, colors; some people have an aversion for colors, known as chromophobia. There is also fear of specific colors, ranging from red— erythrophobia to the fear of black— melanophobia.
While this is quite rare, a fear of color is an actual clinical condition, where specific colors can elicit an individual’s strong emotional and psychological response. People living in this relatively rare condition will find great difficulty, for example, enjoying a beautiful sunset or a lovely cloudy sky, which is quite a sad situation.
Yellow And Red Together Make You Hungry
Ever noticed a common theme in fast-food restaurants and diners? The color of the table cloth, the waitress aprons, and even the condiments placed on the tables where you eat. They all have two colors boldly and brightly represented— yellow and red. You felt your mind scroll through diners you have been to, and you see the pattern too.
Did you? Great, now there are a lot of theories as to why fast-food places do this intentionally. It is called the “ketchup and mustard theory,” which speaks on the potency of the combination of the colors “yellow” and “red” to incite the desire to eat.
And it does check out; yellow can cause the feeling of comfort while red makes you feel impulsive and hungry. This reason is why you see a lot of fast-food places utilize that combination of yellow and red.
Artists Were Limited in Their Colour Options Until Recently
Art used to be quite limited in the past, not for lack of inspiration or shortage in muses, but because of the colors available. Today, we see paintings that utilize at least five different shades and hues, creating a bright and lush visual experience.
This richness in color was not a common theme in older artworks, and I am here to tell you why that is. Art and painting are not novel to the human race; as far back as 100,000 years ago, humanity had begun to paint even before he knew how to talk. Humans at that time utilized a lot of odd substances to paint, like urine, blood, and crushed berries. And even as the world evolved, the sources for color were either too expensive or poisonous.
This reality meant that artists were limited to specific color choices; some even experimented with cows, feeding them mangos and collecting their “yellow-stained” urine.
The Eye and The First Colors
This phenomenon is yet another exciting fact about colors, and it has to do with us, well, us as babies. The first color a baby sees is red, and no, it is not because the inside of the womb is red— nope, it is not black, as we all probably guessed.
Why red? Is it because of blood? Since babies often come covered in the stuff? Well, fortunately, no. The real reason is much more interesting than you might think. The human eye perceives light and its various parts because of their wavelengths: the longer, the quicker to be perceived.
A baby’s eyes are still developing and cannot perceive any visual stimulus farther than 8-12 inches from their eyes. Red has the longest wavelength, 700nm, which means it remains visible even with the baby’s limited perception of color or perfected binocular vision.
Pink Is a Relaxing Colour
You see the color pink, and where does your mind go? Flowers, love, and perfume. You think of cotton candy clouds, and feelings of calm fill your mind, ever wondered why? Well, let me give you the scoop then.
As we have discussed earlier, colors have a potent emotional and psychological effect on the human mind, and each one has a unique and colorful response. Pink has a range of triggers and responses; romance, femininity, love, kindness, and nurture.
Because of these specific responses, pink is considered a relaxing color. When you see objects with the color, be it a stuffed animal or dress, your brain floods your mind with calming thoughts, you feel happy and safe. So if you need to surround yourself with calming stimuli, try adding more pink to your décor.
Chickens Are Very Sensitive to Light Colour
I am sure we probably heard of the term “third eye” in pop culture, and if you did not know, it is the metaphor for enlightenment. To have your third eye open is to see beyond the natural. But that is if you believe in that, in science, the third eye is the pineal gland.
The pineal gland is responsible for “perceiving” the sun’s light to coordinate the sleep cycle properly. But we are not alone with this third eye; chickens are also capable of enlightenment.
Well, not sure chickens care about religion, but what I do know is the pineal gland works the same for them, ordering their sleep cycle and, most importantly, their reproductive pattern.
Chickens are susceptible to light; if they do not get enough light, sunlight, or artificial, they will not produce eggs.
White Is the Safest Colour
What does white mean to you? You probably said peace, and to be fair, you would not be wrong. White is the universal symbol of peace or purity.
But what about safety? does white represent that to you? According to a ton of research, white is considered the safest color. It will make sense if you recall it means peaceful or pure, but that is not even why it is ‘safe.’ It’s another interesting fact about color, or at least how they interact with light this time.
Light is, in essence, colorless; it needs to reflect off surfaces or objects that absorb some or all of the constituent colors. When we see a color, it reflects it and absorbs the rest. White is the easiest color to spot and offers excellent visibility.
You are less likely to stumble into a white obstacle or drive into a white car, either.
Blue Is America’s Favorite Colour
America has two major political parties— The Democratic and The Republican parties. The “democrats” chose blue, while the republicans chose red as their official color. However, the general populace has not based their color of choice on their political parties.
After countless studies, we see that at least 42% of the population, democrat and republican alike, had blue as their favorite color. The standard answer was that it filled them with pride, blue-represented country, and allegiance.
The blue in the nation’s flag contains 50 stars, each one for the 50 states of the United States. In that context alone, the country is united under a “blue sky,” so they feel a strong sense of belonging when Americans see blue, which explains why many of them— 42% of them, can resonate with it.
Colour Is Easier to Remember Than Black and White
The human brain is a powerful piece of machinery, able to process information at lightning speed, and sometimes if we blink, we can miss the fine details. One of these fascinating functions is memory.
We can perceive objects with our eyes, and the brain stores the image for future reference, but does the light the thing reflects affect how much we can remember it? Studies have said that there is more to this than we know.
It turns out that when we see things in black and white, for example, printed text, we are less likely to remember in full detail, unlike if it was in colored print.
The brain reacts much differently when we perceive colors, registering them longer as if they got burnt into memory. This reaction happens because the stimulus from colored text or images is more affluent and leaves a lasting impression.
Colour Has A Significant Impact On A First Impression
We have thoroughly discussed in previous sub-headings that human perception heavily depends on the color. Some colors stir pride, others calmness, and some even romance.
Armed with this knowledge, it makes absolute sense that we can elicit these feelings from others if we adorn ourselves in the right shade of color. First impressions are significant in human interactions; it goes a long way to determine whether there will be another meeting or not.
It is advisable then to pick bright, calming, or warm colors so that you leave a positive impression on who you’re meeting for the first and hopefully not the last time. It could be an interview, a date, or you are meeting the in-laws for the first time; leaving a good first impression will do wonders for you.
Wearing Black Can Improve Your Esteem
Here’s another interesting fact about color, we have talked about red, blue and even white but how could we forget a classic, black? Black is quite popular in mass media, actually for many reasons.
But why does it improve your look? Research has shown that wearing black does a lot of good for you. It makes you appear slimmer and sexy, but more so, it makes you seem powerful.
But this does not mean you get dark magic or the ability to fly and take on the machines, Mr. Anderson. Black is guaranteed to make you feel more confident because you appear slimmer, you feel fit and well-toned, which helps boost your esteem and make you feel like you can do anything.
Men Are More Attracted to Women in Red Clothing
According to the mustard and ketchup theory, the color red finds association with impulse and desire, so it makes sense for men to see women in red dresses as more attractive.
When men see the color red, the response is impulsive, making the object they observe much more desirable. With dresses and women, it is very accurate; your date will appear to look extra fine if she came in a red dress and bonus points if she wore red lipstick as well.
Colors Can Affect Or Influence Taste
As said earlier, the brain is a powerful machine, capable of doing wonders we are yet to understand fully. one of the amazing things it can do is associate a taste with a color.
This occurrence often happens without our knowledge, and it’s for good measure as well. It is a form of memory creation, remembering the taste when we see the colors linked. This feature makes eating meals much more enjoyable as well.
Conclusion
We live in a very colorful world, one awash with various shades and hues, without which, life would be bland. There is more to just observing the colors; we must also be aware of how it affects us and use them to our advantage.
Colors beautify and add a brighter atmosphere; if done right, they can turn your whole décor and atmosphere around for good.
Surround yourself with bright and vibrant colors and wear more warm and welcoming color shades; this way, you radiate positivity and confidence. Throw in a little more color to your life today.
