Man’s eye can discriminate between very subtle differences in color, and the number of colors we can see range as high as 10 million!

Of course, every person’s eyes perceive color a bit differently, and every culture has its own names for colors so coming up with an exact number may not be possible. There are lots of description, what colors mean, but it’s just common information, as it depends on many factors. We react to colors and associate them to memories, objects, people, and places.

(image credits: jurek d.)

For example many Nordic people find yellow as a color of sun and warmth, whereas Egyptians and others, who live in a similar places find it as a color of desert and death. No one could deny, that colors have an effect on our mind and even body. Here are some interesting examples for you..

Magic pink

One of the most interesting examples of color effects is Baker-Miller Pink – a color that is close to the bubble gum pink . Also known as : “drunk tank pink" (R255 G145 B175) this color is used to calm violent prisoners in jails. Dr. Alexander Schauss, Ph.D., director of the American Institute for Biosocial Research in Tacoma Washington, was the first to report the suppression of angry, antagonistic, and anxiety ridden behavior among prisoners: "Even if a person tries to be angry or aggressive in the presence of pink, he can’t. The heart muscles can’t race fast enough. It’s a tranquilizing color that saps your energy. Even the color-blind are tranquilized by pink rooms." In spite of these powerful effects, there is substantial evidence that these reactions are short term. Once the body returns to a state of equilibrium, a prisoner may regress to an even more agitated state.

Treating body

In some ancient cultures colors were used for treatment:

- Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.
- Yellow was thought to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.
- Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.
- Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat pain.
- Indigo shades were thought to alleviate skin problems.

Tasty colors

Color and the appeal of various foods is also closely related too. Just the sight of food fires neurons in the hypothalamus. Subjects presented food to eat in the dark reported a critically missing element for enjoying any cuisine: the appearance of food. For the sighted, the eyes are the first place that must be convinced before a food is even tried. Colors are significant and almost universally it is difficult to get a consumer to try a blue-colored food (because naturally there are only few blue colored fruits or vegetables and people instinctively don’t accept it as a tasty one) Greens, browns, reds, and several other colors are more generally acceptable, though they can vary by culture. Many restaurants use those colors in their interior.

Some more facts

1. Children see brighter colors (especially blue and purple) than elder. That’s why our memories of our childhood are so bright!

2. People who always are surrounded by one color (for example those who are exploring Antarctica) can have psychological problems.

3. Yellow is most optimistic color and most annoying one at the same time. It is noticed, that children cry more often in the yellow room.

And the best one for the end :

There is a company that markets red contact lenses for chickens. Medical studies showed that chickens wearing red-tinted contact lenses behave differently from birds that don’t. They eat less, produce more eggs and don’t fight as much. This decreases aggressive tendencies and birds are less likely to peck at each other causing injury. A spokesman said the lenses will improve world egg-laying productivity by $600 million a year. Perhaps the chickens are happier because they’re viewing the world through rose colored glasses.

Probably related posts:
Animal Psychology