Roy G. Biv, remember him? He typically spells his name and, in all caps, smashed together: ROYGBIV. He was the fellow you were likely introduced to in elementary school or through a kids TV show as a way to remember the seven colors of the rainbow (light spectrum) red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Not only is that a fun way for kids to remember the rainbow, it works for adults, too!

Since I’ve already hit on the topics of seven and fun and color, I’m going to keep things rolling today and share seven fun facts about color. The world could use more fun and color these days. 

7 Fun Color Facts 

1. Men and women see the color red differently. The ability to see red comes from the X chromosome, and women have 2 X chromosomes while men only have one. Therefore, women can perceive colors in the red spectrum easier than our male counterparts. This fact is especially interesting since men and women seem to see everything else exactly the same.

 2. Fear of color is a thing. This fear is known as chromophobia. For the people who suffer from it, certain colors can cause anxiety, increased heart rate, and even panic attacks. Blue! for some might be a substitute for Boo! 

3. Babies are born color blind. We all have a lot to learn when we’re born and add color to that list. We aren’t able to see color as a brand-new infant, then around two weeks of age we recognize red. Why? Red has the longest wave-length and therefore it’s easier for our eyes to perceive than other colors. Babies can see all colors at around five months of age. No wonder most babies are so happy then. 

4. Purple represents affluence for a reason. Long before iPhone and 164 color pencil sets, bringing colors to life was much more difficult. Hardest of all was purple dye, made from the slime of a specific type of snail (ewwww!). Besides being gross, that snail was endangered making purple dye very expensive and only affordable for the wealthy elite.

 5. Bulls don’t really hate red. What? Bulls don’t charge the matador because that red cape does not align with his aesthetic tastes. Shockingly, no. It’s the movement of the cape that gets the bull’s goat, not the color. 

6. Color can affect taste. There have been many studies that have pointed to a correlation between color and taste. In one particular study, researchers gave participants identical hot chocolate in mugs of varying colors.  Orange and cream-colored mugs ranked higher than the mugs that were red and white. Participants overwhelmingly reported much better taste in an orange and cream vessel. Something to keep in mind for hard-to-please guests, perhaps?

7. Color can help your memory.  There has been plenty of research over the years to back up this claim.  They tested individuals by giving them specific information, both in black and white and in color.  The study showed that when we are presented information, whether in a video, book, or slide presentation, we will retain the information better if it’s presented in color rather than just in black and white. 

Okay everyone that’s it for this “just for fun” blog. I hope you enjoyed it and learned something new.  We are fortunate to live in such a colorful world. You can count on many more colorful blogs in the future.

Now, what will you do next to love where you live? 

Please feel free to reach out to us at The Redesign Habit and ask questions or simply share a project that you are working on or have completed. 

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