The Color Blue


First, blue is the least common color in nature. Sometimes the sky and ocean look blue, depending on how light scatters, but there are very few flowers, animals, and foods that are blue.

Second, there’s no mention of blue in ancient texts. Two different researchers, William Gladstone, and Lazarus Geiger, have looked through Greek, Hebrew, Icelandic, Korean, and Chinese texts, and found all colors except for blue, were mentioned. Blue finally appears relatively recently in Egyptian texts-- and Egyptians were the one of the first to use Lapis Lazuli, and make blue pigment out of it.

Third, and weirdest, is the idea that people literally couldn’t see blue until we had a name for it. This is based on research by Jules Davidoff, who traveled to Namibia to meet the Himba tribe, who has no word for blue in their language. In tests where he showed them colored squares, he found they couldn’t differentiate blue from green. This test has since been questioned as valid (see Today’s Link in bio!), but it is fun to think about what we can perceive, or not, without language.

Anyway, I’m glad we have blue now, and in so many shades, because this is one of the prettiest kitchens I’ve ever seen!

Cover Photo:
Design by @bannerdayinteriors
Photo by @christopherstark

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