The Color Orange

Unlike red, green or even blue, orange doesn’t jump to mind when you think of certain emotions and yet orange is a color that really stands out visually and always catches your eye even from afar. Here we’re going to look at 25 facts about this underappreciated color.

1. The word orange derives from the Sanskrit naranga and the Persian Narang.
2. The blood used on the set of Sweeney Todd had to be orange to render properly on the de-saturated color film.
3. Orange was a symbol of glory and fruits of the earth in the early Christian church and was also known as the wisdom ray.
4. In Feng Shui orange represents fire. Colors are very significant in the ancient concept.
5. The nobility were the only ones during the Elizabethan Era who could wear orange.
6. Orange is often biblically associated with saints and represents strength and courage.
7. The first operator in Europe to commit to pushing NFC across its territories was the mobile network giant Orange. Orange’s well-known slogan was “the futures bright, the futures orange”.
8. An orange vehicle apparently says you are a fun loving and trendy person.
9. Frank Sinatra had a love for the color orange, once saying “Orange is the happiest of colors.”
10. The color of the United States Army Signal Corps is orange.
11. Orange is a very popular color in the world of sport with American football teams including Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, and baseball teams including the San Francisco Giants having their primary color as orange.
12. The fruits’ orange appearance isn’t a common occurrence in other parts of the world. Vietnamese oranges and Thai tangerines are orange on the inside and yet bright green on the outside.
13. The Netherlands soccer team, or ‘Oranje’, play in orange kits.
14. An orange’s skin turns orange as the weather cools but in hotter areas, the chlorophyll stays and the fruit remains green.
15. The canary’s orange color isn’t a natural thing, initially the birds were a green-brown but crossbreeding made them yellow, combine this with a diet of red peppers and they become orange.
16. Originally carrots weren’t orange; the most common color was purple. The orange variety came about by the 17^th Century when Dutch growers seemingly crossbred white rooted, mutated yellow and wild carrots.
17. Every 25^th day of the month is known as “Orange Day” by the UN’s campaign called UNiTE to End Violence against Women. The day is to raise awareness and act to stop violence against women.
18. Consumer research has proven that an orange lawnmower is easier to find in long grass than a blue one, this was why in 1977 Flymo changed from blue to orange.
19. Orange is the Dutch Royal Family’s color. Descendants of William of Orange, the color became the symbol of the Netherlands.
20. Vincent van Gogh once said that “There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”
21. Antonio Stradivari’s prized violins reach over $2 million at auction. Some say that the reason behind their amazing sound is the orange varnish that covers them.
22. Astronaut’s space suits worn inside the spacecraft are orange but they must be changed before going outside to the iconic thick white alternatives.
23. The Golden Gate Bridge is coated in a color known as ‘international orange’, it’s also used in the aerospace industry as a way of highlighting objects.
24. Theravada Buddhists wear orange robes as this was one of the more common dyes available. These Buddhists aren’t to be confused with their Tibetan counterparts who wear maroon.
25. Orange ribbons are worn to support and raise awareness for many conditions and causes including self-harm, ADHD, Multiple Sclerosis and Animal Cruelty.

I don’t know about you, but I never knew orange had such significance in the world, in some cases even being held highly amongst royalty! Colors are one of those things that over time become so highly intertwined with certain beings and concepts that we all just take them for granted and never really question the reasoning behind them. Why is an orange called an orange for one! One thing is for sure though, whether orange is one of the most popular colors, it does have a remarkable tale to tell throughout the ages.