Pink is a beautiful color that we associate with love, compassion, femininity, and playfulness. Yet, it’s more than just a fun, light-hearted color. The color pink has a fascinating history, including how it got its name and how it has been used throughout the years. It may also surprise you that pink doesn’t even technically exist in the way other colors do.
If you’re someone who adores the color pink, here are some interesting facts you might enjoy.
1. The Word Pink Started as a Verb
The word pink was first used back in the 14th century but as a verb rather than a color name. “To pink” meant “to decorate with a perforated pattern.” That’s why scissors with a zigzag pattern are known as “pinking shears” today.
Pink eventually became a color name in the 17th century because of a genus of flowers called Dianthus. These flowers have uniquely shaped edges that look like they were cut that way. Most of these flowers are bright pink, which inspired the color to be named after the flowers with perforated patterns.
2. Pink Was Labeled as a Type of Red Until the 17th Century
Before pink became a color name in the 17th century, it was simply described as a light red. Besides black and white, red is generally believed to be the first color named, making it an easy choice when describing other colors. Technically, pink is a very light version of red (it occurs when mixing white and red paint together). Yet, unlike tints of other colors, pink is its own color in the English language today, rather than being called “light red.”
Not all languages and cultures distinguish pink as a separate color from red, but many do because our brains perceive it differently than red. It looks very different and evokes unique feelings. While red symbolizes passion, energy, and strength, pink is typically seen as more delicate, relating to love, compassion, and playfulness.
3. Pink Is the Oldest Surviving Color Pigment
Even though the color pink was named much later than other colors, it’s surprisingly the oldest color pigment. Scientists found bright pink coloring after crushing 1.1 billion-year-old rocks. This is over 500 million years older than previously discovered pigments. It’s an unexpected hue to find in such old materials.
The pink pigments occurred because of the chlorophyll from fossilized cyanobacteria. Even though chlorophyll typically creates a dark green color, being fossilized for thousands of years caused it to transform into a class of molecules known as porphyrins. Porphyrins emit a purple-red color, which appears pink on the stones since so much time has passed.
4. Pink Used to Be a “Manly” Color
When babies are born, pink is commonly used for girls, and blue is used for boys. However, it wasn’t always this way. Those two colors were initially swapped, with pink being the “manly” color and blue being the “feminine” one. In the early 1900s, both colors could be used for either gender, but white was more common for all babies since it was the easiest color for bleaching stains. The colors were paired with genders when a magazine article about baby clothes announced that pink was for boys and blue for girls.
At the time, people viewed pink as the more masculine of the two colors. After all, it’s a tint of red, which is full of strength and power. Then, blue was perceived as delicate and dainty, so it was more common for young girls than boys. There was a shift in marketing for baby clothes after World War II, which ended up swapping the two colors to the associations we know today. While pink is commonly a feminine color now, both colors can be great for any gender.
5. Light Pink Was Used to Reduce Aggression in Prisons
In the 1970s, a light pink hue known as Baker-Miller Pink or Drunk-Tank Pink was common in holding cells and prisons. A researcher named Alexander Schauss found that pink could have positive effects on people, so he studied hundreds of pinks to determine the most effective one. He settled on the light pink color that we know as Baker-Miller Pink because it seemed to discourage violent and aggressive behaviors.
Painting the walls pink in prisons was meant to keep the prisoners calm and avoid unwanted behaviors. However, further research found that this pink hue only discouraged aggression for about a half hour, so it didn’t provide any long-term effects. Once it was clear that the color wasn’t positively affecting inmates for more than short periods, it stopped being used in prisons.
6. A Pink Locker Room Was Used as a Psychological Tactic
Prisons weren’t the only places that took advantage of pink’s calming properties. The visiting locker room at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium is completely pink for similar reasons. This includes the lockers, walls, floors, and even the urinals. The walls of the locker room were first painted pink in the 1980s, and the other pink aspects were added in 2005.
Former Hawkeyes coach Hayden Fry requested that the walls be painted pink to calm the opposing team before a game. Teams normally like to get fired up and excited before a game, but he believed that the pink walls would prevent them from doing so, which would hurt their performance. Even though many teams have complained about this, the locker room is still pink 40 years later.
7. There Are Several Pink Lakes Around the World
Nature’s colors don’t always appear as we expect them to. There are many gorgeous natural colors you wouldn’t believe, and pink lakes are one of them. It’s more than just a pink tint in blue water. Several lakes around the world have such a bright pink hue that they don’t look real. A few examples are Lake Hillier in Australia and Las Salinas in Puerto Rico.
The water in these lakes appears pink because certain microorganisms, such as halophilic bacteria and algae, produce pigments that give it this color. When these microorganisms interact with sunlight and high salt concentrations in the water, their pigments create a beautiful pink hue. As unusual as pink lakes seem, some of them are safe to swim in. However, the high salt content can sometimes cause skin irritation, and it’s best to avoid ingesting the salty water.
8. Flamingos Are Only Pink Because of Their Diets
Flamingos are one of the few pink animals. However, they are also one of several birds whose color is caused by their diet. These iconic birds are born with white or gray feathers, and they become pink over time because of the food they eat, which includes shrimp and algae. It can take young flamingos two to three years to get a pink tint to their feathers. So, if you see white flamingos, they’re probably young.
Flamingo colors can vary based on where they live. If their normal diet isn’t accessible, they may not turn as pink as expected. Some remain white throughout their life, while others appear more orange and red. It’s all because of what their regular diet consists of.
9. Some People Listen to “Pink Noise” Instead of “White Noise”
The term “white noise” is commonly used to describe a background noise, such as static or a humming fan. It’s often used by people who have trouble sleeping in noisy places. Some people prefer a type of background noise called “pink noise,” which emphasizes lower frequencies more than traditional white noise, giving it a deeper and more soothing sound.
Some examples of pink noise include rain hitting a tin roof, ocean waves crashing, and leaves rustling. Many people prefer this type of background noise because they find the deeper, lower frequencies more soothing than the higher ones. For those who want even deeper sounds, brown noise is a more extreme version of pink noise. Imagine low-frequency sounds like deep thunder.
10. There’s a Place Called “The Pink City” in India
In India, the city of Jaipur is nicknamed “The Pink City.” It gained that nickname in 1876 when the ruler Maharaja Ram Singh had most of the buildings painted pink. At the time, pink was viewed as the color of hospitality, and he believed it would give the city a good look for an upcoming visit from Britain’s Queen Victoria.
Today, Jaipur still has many gorgeous pink buildings with stunning architecture, including temples and bazaars. It signifies that the location is a place of generous hospitality.
11. Pastries Are Perceived as Tastier in Pink Boxes
Have you ever noticed that many pastry boxes are pink? It’s more than just a coincidence. It’s believed that this tradition started because leftover pink cardboard stock was cheaper than other options. However, pink soon became an iconic donut color, so the unique box color stuck.
Yet, colors can have a strong influence on our appetites. Pink is childlike and nostalgic while also reminding us of sugar. So, if we’re craving something sweet, pastries in a pink box might look more appealing than any other color. It’s a great tactic to make you more interested in sweet treats.
12. Pink Light Doesn’t Really Exist
While pink is a color we can clearly see, it’s one of several colors of light that doesn’t exist. The visible light spectrum includes a rainbow of colors from red to violet, with red having the longest wavelengths and violet having the shortest. However, there isn’t a specific wavelength for pink.
While pink doesn’t have its own wavelength, we perceive it by mixing other light colors and adjusting the context. Shades of pink, like magenta and fuchsia, are created by mixing red and blue light. By combining colors from opposite ends of the visible spectrum, we can see pink, even though it doesn’t exist as a single wavelength like other colors do.
