The Invention Of Blue

2017-08-10

[public] 3.01M views, 112K likes, 2.18K dislikes audio only

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Now widely polled as the most popular color in the world, there was a time in which there was no blue -- at least not the way we see blue now. Sure, the sky and water haven’t changed colors, but without the ability to easily create blue dye or pigments, we had no use for the word “blue.”

And it turns out that we need words to identify, think, and talk about things for them to exist in our minds. Journey with Kevin as he tells the strange story of how humans discovered the color blue, which existed right in front of them the whole time.

The deeper the blue becomes, the more strongly it calls man towards the infinite, awakening in him a desire for the pure and, finally, for the supernatural... The brighter it becomes, the more it loses its sound, until it turns into silent stillness and becomes white.

-Wassily Kandinsky

Curiosity Box: https://www.curiositybox.com/

Written, Produced, Edited and Hosted by Kevin Lieber

Instagram: http://instagram.com/kevlieber

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinlieber

Website: http://kevinlieber.com

Contributing Researcher & Editor Matthew Tabor, Koala Fight Media

http://koala.fm/

VFX by Eric Langlay

https://www.youtube.com/c/ericlanglay

Select Music by Jake Chudnow

https://www.youtube.com/user/jakechudnow

Special Thanks Paula Lieber

https://twitter.com/pixichuu

Vsauce2 Links

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/VsauceTwo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VsauceTwo

Website: http://www.Vsauce.com

**** LINKS AND SOURCES ****

The Brilliant History of Color in Art by Victoria Finlay

https://www.amazon.com/Brilliant-History-Color-Art/dp/1606064290/

Blue: The History Of A Color by Michel Pastoureau

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-History-Color-Michel-Pastoureau/dp/0691090505/

Secret Language Of Color by Joann Eckstut and Arielle Eckstut

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Language-Color-Science-History/dp/1579129498/

SPECIAL THANKS

Virginia Postrel

https://vpostrel.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Substance-Style-Aesthetic-Remaking-Consciousness/dp/0060933852/

Victoria Finlay

https://victoriafinlay.com/

Joshua J. Mark

http://www.ancient.eu/user/JPryst/

Kidmograph

http://www.kidmograph.com/

Outro Song “I Came Back For You” by Trevor Something

https://trevorsomething.bandcamp.com/album/soulless-computer-boy-and-the-eternal-render

ARTICLES

Pigments Through The Ages

https://goo.gl/ytfGV3

https://goo.gl/D6nwMs

Color In Art

https://goo.gl/4Bu7pD

Harvard Color Vault

https://goo.gl/Q86ixm

https://goo.gl/Y43xCb

Little Snow White

https://goo.gl/Lsm8Xt

A Story Of Blue

https://goo.gl/4GsVFB

The Material History of the Color Blue

https://goo.gl/TT5vMS

True Blue Stands Out in an Earthy Crowd by Natalie Angier

https://goo.gl/wiFy7g

Why Is The Sky Blue?

https://goo.gl/KzoAcb

Blue Through The Centuries

https://goo.gl/Eh2og1

History Of Blue

https://goo.gl/pq5BDC

William Gladstone And The Odyssey

https://goo.gl/J8dDD5

No One Could See The Color Blue Until Modern Times by Kevin Loria

https://goo.gl/tUqph6

Why Is Blue The World’s Favorite Color?

https://goo.gl/GkoLyg

It’s Not Easy Being Blue (For Plants) by Eric Dillalogue

https://goo.gl/h763Hq

Color Wavelengths

https://goo.gl/3D67Lw

The Science Of Blue Flowers

https://goo.gl/N74ySm

First Blue-Eyed Human

https://goo.gl/B5gYsw

Humanity’s Favorite Color

https://goo.gl/Kzef6s

Color In Market Research

https://goo.gl/TsaMcs

What’s Your Favorite Color?

https://goo.gl/eEJW9K

Islamic Poetry

https://goo.gl/zAEYMm

Starry Night, Edvard Munch

https://goo.gl/HVsZ24

https://goo.gl/9Tyjpt

Newton And The Color Spectrum

https://goo.gl/Hg5omA

Blue And Green Language Distinctions

https://goo.gl/aCk9NQ

Rainbows In Art

https://goo.gl/AXwkCD

True Origin Of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

https://goo.gl/QrYZuB

STUDIES

Russian Blues Reveal Effects Of Language On Color Discrimination

https://goo.gl/CQHWHn

Ancient Color Categories

https://goo.gl/EQgLE4

Philip Cohen

https://goo.gl/f77dzZ

Scott Design Inc. Color Poll

https://goo.gl/dHGt6p

ASSETS

Namakura Gatana 1917 restoration by sumerias1

https://goo.gl/uBFKro

Egyptian Blue Eye at The J. Paul Getty Museum

https://goo.gl/KvC6N1

Indigo by Shisha-Tom

https://goo.gl/zmekJX

Archaemenid Bowl from David Aaron

https://goo.gl/9ZzXVX

Lapis Lazuli Eyes photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen

https://goo.gl/rTCJj8

Lapis Lazuli Buddha

https://goo.gl/uUYpfw

https://goo.gl/zopx9g

https://goo.gl/yxiYpo

CSIC

https://goo.gl/TX7P3r

Indus Valley Diorama by Biswarup Ganguly

https://goo.gl/GzS4U6

Rainbows

https://goo.gl/w8LFVk

https://goo.gl/mf5Dce

Denim by Nikodem Nijaki

https://goo.gl/jBqbsH

Blue Cat The British Museum

https://goo.gl/N8pwiW

Woad by H. Zell

https://goo.gl/mXuryL

Lazurite by Didier Descouens

https://goo.gl/RLQd3w

Cochineal by Dick Culbert

https://goo.gl/ejkzc3

Cochineal by H. Zell

https://goo.gl/Whkh8x

Portrait of Edvard Munch from National Library of Norway

https://goo.gl/DBUoz6

https://goo.gl/GQAJF8

Tekhelet by Mnavon

https://goo.gl/eY94C6

Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/