11. The red planet, Mars, gets its color from iron oxide
Have you ever wondered why the surface of Mars is red? The planet owes its crimson hue to iron oxide, the same component that makes human blood red and rust, well, a rusty color. The color is created when the top layer of the iron-rich soil of Mars combines with oxygen atoms and becomes oxidized, turning from a dark gray to a rusty red.
12. The color pink is the most soothing color
Research in psychology has shown that the color pink is capable of suppressing anger and anxiety. By staying in a pink environment, angry and aggressive individuals typically become calmer, involuntarily. That’s exactly why many institutions working with angry people, such as psychiatric facilities and jails, often paint their walls pink – to take advantage of the tranquilizing abilities of the color.
13. Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue
The color blue is the most popular color worldwide, with most people favoring exactly this color. Unfortunately, dark blue is also the color mosquitoes are the most attracted to, and the color they most easily distinguish in a crowd. They are also more attracted to dark than light colors in general. So, the next time you’re at a picnic or decide to take a stroll in the park, just wear white or any light color, and you’ll have much better chances of not being “chosen” by these blue-loving pests.
14. Right before retiring, Crayola’s senior crayon maker Emerson Moser announced he was actually color blind
Crayola is one of the most famous drawing and painting tool manufacturers in the world, creating crayons, markers, and other art equipment since 1903. One would think that to make all this colorful stationery, one would be required to see the entire color spectrum. Alas, a man who had worked for the company for 37 years, Emerson Moser, revealed to the world that he had been colorblind the entire time he was working for Crayola.
15. The first color infants can recognize is red
By the age of just two weeks, newborns start to distinguish colors, or just one color, to be precise – red. By the age of just 5 months, an infant will be typically able to see all major colors, but it won’t be until much later, approximately a full year from that time that the child will learn to name all those colors. Still, these findings show how important color vision is to humans, as it turns out that it develops even earlier than speech or the ability to walk!
