The color green is all around us because of grass, trees, and other plants. It symbolizes growth, health, and harmony. Green is often viewed as relaxing and refreshing, but it’s not a color many people regularly think much about because we are so used to seeing it.
However, there’s more to green than meets the eye. Sure, it can provide balance and hope, but there’s so much about this color that the average person doesn’t know. Keep reading to discover some fascinating facts about green that may surprise you.
1. The Human Eye Sees More Varieties of Green Than Other Colors
Most people probably don’t think about how well we see each color. If they do, they might assume we see all colors equally. However, green is the color our eyes perceive best because we can see more varieties of it than we can for other colors.
Humans have three color-sensing cones in their eyes: red, green, and blue. Seeing a combination of these colors results in an overlap of wavelengths that helps us perceive different colors. Blue is on one end of the spectrum, while red is on the other. Then, green takes up the area in between. As green is in the center of our vision range, it’s easier for humans to see. Since we can perceive green so well, we see more tints and shades of it than we do for colors like red and blue.
It all has to do with the way our eyes have evolved. Long ago, our ancestors were surrounded by nature, which consisted of a wide range of green plants. Thus, our eyes adapted over time to distinguish various green hues more easily. Doing so made it easier for humans to locate food among green scenery. While the color green isn’t as prominent today as before, we can still see green varieties more effectively than other colors.
2. Green Is the Most Effective Color for Night Vision Goggles
You might have noticed that night vision goggles are green, but why is that? The main reason is that green offers the most visibility in the dark. Not only do we see green best, but we’re also the most sensitive to it in low-light conditions. Colors like red and blue are harder for us to see in the dark, but green makes it easier to see our surroundings.
Green provides some contrast to an otherwise dark background, making it easier to spot items in low-light environments. It doesn’t cause as much strain on our eyes as other colors might, which is why people can use night vision goggles for long periods without hurting their eyes. The green light also doesn’t interfere with a human’s natural night vision as much.
Some newer versions of night vision goggles have explored other color options. However, green is still the most popular and effective color for night vision, providing maximum visibility and detail.
3. Green Eyes Aren’t Actually Green
Green is one of the rarest eye colors in the world. Yet, green eyes don’t actually contain any green pigment. Like blue eyes, green eyes are caused by a lack of melanin in the person’s iris. Without as much melanin, light scatters more from the eye, making it look green. So, while green eyes look unmistakably green to us, there’s no green coloring inside them.
Because of this process, green eyes sometimes seem to change color slightly. This isn’t just a figment of your imagination. Changes in lighting could result in a subtle change in eye color.
4. Green Was Once a Popular Wedding Dress Color
While many people associate wedding dresses with the color white today, it wasn’t always this way. Throughout history, wedding gowns have taken on a variety of colors and styles, some of which were green. A notable example is the seventh century during the reign of the Tang Dynasty. Rules around clothing colors became looser during that period, causing green to become a popular wedding dress color. It’s likely that people were drawn to green because it was a clothing color previously associated with spring.
In some cultures today, green is still a popular option for wedding attire. For example, Korean weddings sometimes include silk wedding robes that can have green and other colors like red and yellow. This tradition started in the fourteenth century and is still popular today.
5. Painting the Blackfriars Bridge in London Green Reduced Suicide Rates
Colors can have strong effects on how we feel, and green is one of the most powerful ones. Green can make people feel safe, secure, and healthy, which is why it’s a relaxing color to have around. A great example of green’s powerful effects is Blackfriars Bridge in London. The bridge was built of solid black iron but was later painted green.
Unfortunately, like many tall bridges, several suicides happened on Blackfriars Bridge. However, after the bridge was painted green, according to a study by the University of British Columbia, the suicide rate dropped by 30%. While this decrease could also be related to other factors, it’s a large percentage for it to be a random change. So, it’s likely that the feelings of safety and new beginnings associated with green had to do with fewer people jumping off it. Despite these results, the current bridge is now painted red instead.
6. Artists in History Struggled to Make Green Paint
Using green in art today is no issue. Green paint and pigments are easily accessible, so most artists don’t think twice about it. However, the same can’t be said about the past. Throughout history, green was a notoriously tricky pigment to achieve. Even when several cultures found ways to create green, other issues made the pigment less effective than other colors.
For example, Ancient Egyptians used to grind malachite, a copper mineral, to create green, but it would turn black over time. During the Renaissance, they used plants to create a green pigment, but the coloring faded quickly. Later, beautiful and long-lasting green pigments were made, but many turned out to be dangerous. It’s believed that “Paris Green” from the 19th century caused illnesses in some artists and led to Monet’s blindness.
7. A Green Wallpaper Was Deadly in the 19th Century
Amid the struggles to create the perfect green pigment, several striking but deadly colors appeared. In the Victorian period, Swedish chemist Carl Scheele created a green pigment called “Scheele’s Green.” It was made using copper arsenite, a compound including arsenic. People quickly fell in love with the bright green coloring and used it for wallpaper in their homes. The pigment was also used for a variety of other products, including food coloring and baby carriages.
When people started to mysteriously get sick, doctors studied the conditions of their homes. When the water supply and home’s cleanliness seemed fine, they questioned the green wallpaper on the walls. However, at the time, not everyone believed that the arsenic wallpaper was to blame because it hadn’t caused illness in every home.
Eventually, reports stated that arsenic was toxic even without being ingested, causing wallpaper companies to stop using it in their products. It’s even believed that Napoleon died because he was poisoned by his Scheele’s Green wallpaper.
8. The Statue of Liberty Wasn’t Always Green
Today, the Statue of Liberty in New York City is well-known for its unique blue-green color. It’s so famous that it’s hard to picture it looking any different. Yet, when the statue first arrived in the 1880s, because it was made of copper, it had a reddish-brown color (like a penny). But as you may know, copper turns green gradually as it oxidizes.
No one knows the exact date that it started turning green, but it’s documented that it was half brown and half green in 1910. Then, it was fully green by 1920. So, it has now been green much longer than it was brown, which is another reason why the green appearance is so iconic.
9. Green Screens Are Used Because Human Skin Tones Rarely Contain Green
When filming and photographing, people sometimes use bright green screens to create a background that’s not really there. In many cases, they work seamlessly, but why is that? The main reason green works the best is that it’s a color very different from human skin tones. Green screens are usually put behind people, so the color needed to be something that wouldn’t blend into a person, and skin tones rarely contain the color green.
In post-production, certain colors can be removed and replaced with something else. For example, the green background can be replaced with different footage without affecting the people standing in front of it. While this usually works well, issues can arise if the person is wearing a green outfit or has dyed their hair green. In instances where green will be present in the scenes, different colors can be used instead of a green screen, such as blue, white, gray, or black.
10. Chicago Dyes the River Green on Saint Patrick’s Day
Chicago famously dyes the Chicago River, which runs through the big city, bright green for Saint Patrick’s Day. Everyone in the area is familiar with this tradition, but it’s mesmerizing the first time you witness it. It has been going on for over 60 years now, and the method of dyeing has changed several times throughout the years.
Today, a couple of motorboats distribute an orange vegetable-based powder in a quarter-mile stretch of the river. That powder turns green when it interacts with water. However, the exact dye formula is kept a secret. While the dye is environmentally friendly, some environmental groups believe the river shouldn’t be altered, causing some controversy around this green tradition.
11. Money Is Green to Prevent Counterfeiting
U.S. dollars started being printed green in the 1860s. At the time, this type of money was called “greenbacks” because the back sides were printed using green ink. This ink was used in an attempt to prevent counterfeits because cameras could only take pictures in black and white at the time, so people couldn’t create photographic knockoffs.
Since green ink was plentiful and durable, bills continued to be printed green even after cameras started including colors. Plus, green is a color of trust and stability, making it a suitable hue for currency.
