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Mon, 22 Jul 2002 18:48:21 Skip: Just to update you on my research-----> Scattering of light in the atmosphere causes the blue color of the sky. As for water, its color is a faint blue. Although water appears clear in small amounts, its blue color becomes more visible the more water we look through: thus lakes and oceans are bluer than a shallow stream. Blueberries are actually purple, not blue. Film is typically most sensitive to blue light. Bluescreens are most often blue because of the color's complementary relationship to flesh. The most common color in most filmed scenes is flesh tone, so the opposite color is the logical choice to avoid conflicts. Owls are believed to be the only animals that can see the color blue. During the medieval period in Europe, the most important blue dyes were Indian indigo and the somewhat less intense, cheaper, and locally available woad. As early as 55 BC, Romans found painted people or "picti" in Gaul, who dyed their skin blue with woad. Manufacture of woad dye involved fermenting woad leaves with human urine. The standard method for the dyers was to drink wine or other alcohol and then to use their enriched urine for the fermentation process. Pieces of fabric were immersed in the woad bath, typically on Sundays, for at least 12 hours. In Germany, the practice of dyers lying around the courtyard after hanging fabric on Mondays gave rise to colloquial expressions such as "Blauer Montag" (Blue Monday: stay away from work on Monday) and "Blau werden" (Get blue: Get drunk). Indian indigo prevailed slowly over woad based on its better dyeing properties and deeper color. The word Indigo is derived from the Greek Indikon and the Latin Indicum, meaning a substance from India. From 1600 onwards, the records of the East India Company document the production of indigo in India and its export. Indigo labor practices were notoriously exploitative. An Englishman in the Bengal Civil Service is said to have commented that "not a chest of indigo reached England without being stained with human blood." There were violent indigo riots in Bihar in 1868. In 1917 Ghandi launched an enquiry into the exploitation of indigo workers, which contributed, at least in part, to the growth of India's nationalization movement. The first book printed on blue paper was published in 1514 in Venice by Aldus Manutius. Throughout the 16th century, blue papers were popular in Venetian special editions. The blue in the American flag represents vigilance, perseverance and justice. Blue represented failure to the Cherokee. Cherokee warriors would pray for the enemy to become blue and walk in a blue path. The "elliptic salon," with the Yellow Oval Room above and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, the Blue Room is one the highlights of the White House tour, a room in which generations of American Presidents have greeted thousands of celebrities, world leaders, and captains of American industry to state dinners and receptions. The color blue was introduced during the administration of Martin Van Buren in 1837; he redecorated the oval salon and began the tradition of the "blue room." The sapphire blue fabric used for the draperies and furniture covering is similar in color to fabric used in the room in 1800's. The blue satin draperies were derived from an early 19th century French source. The walls were hung with a light gold paper adapted from an early 19th century American paper with borders adapted from two early 19th century French papers. The upper border is a blue drapery swag; the lower border along the chair rail blue and gold with rosettes.
Shades
of blue among the top ten colors as selected by thousands of Americans in the
2000 Crayola Crayon Census:
Kinds
of Blue in HTML: I thought I ought to share this information with you, please feel free to make use of it in any way that you see fit. Simon |
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