Posts tagged ‘color’
Magenta Isn’t a Real Color
We’re all familiar with magenta—it’s a kind of purplish-red that exists between blue and red on color wheels.
It’s one of four base colors used in printers to make other colors—along with black, cyan, and yellow. Interestingly, though, magenta isn’t a real color—our brain just makes it seem like it is. (more…)
Blue Eyes Are Not Actually Blue
By Chad Upton | Editor
The most common eye color is brown and the least common is green. Eye color is determined by a number of genes, the actual number of which is unknown. Using six known genes, scientists can predict eye color from brown to blue with 90% accuracy.
The darkness of brown eyes is determined by the amount of melanin (pigment) in them. Blue eyes have little or no melanin, making them translucent; they only appear blue because of an optical illusion known as the Tyndall effect.
The color we perceive something to be is usually due to their pigment, but somethings appear colored for other reasons. Structural colors are one classification of colors that occur not because of their pigment but because of the way light interacts with the matter.
Without getting too technical, different colors of light have different wavelengths. When those waves pass through matter, they can be filtered or scattered in different ways. The Tyndall effect occurs when a light scattering particulate is suspended in a light transmitting medium and the size of the individual particulate is slightly below or near that of the visible spectrum of light.
Some things that appear to be colored due to optical effects are: blue jay and peacock feathers, mother of pearl, butterfly wings, beetle shells, bubbles, oil slicks and one we see every day: the sky.
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Photo: Jennifer Durfey (cc)
Sources: Wikipedia (Eye Color, Tyndall Effect, Color)
Bakery Twist Tie Colors Indicate Freshness
By Kaye Nemec
You may not have noticed before, but if you look closely at the loaves of bread on your grocery store shelves you’ll see that they are sealed with twist ties in a variety of colors. The colors vary not only by brand, but also within the same brand of bread.
Most bread companies use varying colors of twist ties to track the freshness of bread. For example, bread that was baked on Monday may be sealed with a blue tie; Tuesday may be green, Wednesday orange… etc. The color coding makes it much easier for employees to remove stale loaves and replace them with fresh ones. It is faster to look at the color of the twist tie than it is to read the date code on each bag.
As a consumer you can use this information to get the freshest loaf. However, the color coding system is not consistent between brands, but some people claim the most common system is the following:
Monday: Blue twisty- Tuesday: Green twisty
- Wednesday: (No bread delivered)
- Thursday: Red twisty
- Friday: White twisty
- Saturday: Yellow twisty
- Sunday: (No bread delivered)
Without positively knowing which colors represent which days, you’ll have no way of knowing which loaf to pick. You’ll have to pay attention to the color system used by your bread maker. Try calling the customer service number and asking them what their color coding system is. Chances are good they’ll share this info.
Most bread companies deliver fresh loaves to grocery stores several times per week. If you happen to be in the store, pay attention when the deliveries are made and even ask the delivery man.
With each delivery old loaves should be replaced with fresh, new loaves. Because of the frequent deliveries, odds are that you wouldn’t see more than two to three colors for any one brand on the shelf at one time. If you do happen upon a plethora of colors you’ll know the inside scoop and may want to steer clear of that brand unless you know their specific codes.
Some brands also use tab clips that have the date on them, these should help you learn the system fairly quickly.
This secret was also suggested by Heather, thanks for the tip. I should also mention that Shannon suggested hanging on to bread tabs for scraping food off dirty plates.
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Sources: Snopes, Thriftyfun.com
The Purpose of Color and Registration Marks on Packaging
I first noticed these marks on cereal boxes as a kid. After pouring a bowl of cereal, I’d read the front panel, then the back and eventually I’d be reading the subscript on the top panels.
The folding panels of many cardboard packages contain colored boxes and cross-hair markings. I always wondered what they were for.
The cross-hairs are called “registration marks” and they may be used for different purposes during the printing and package making process.
In the initial stages of the printing process, they are used to ensure the printing plates are properly aligned in multiple color processes. Technicians use these marks to perform the initial setup and make adjustments during the print run. Advanced printing presses also have sensors to check for alignment and make automatic adjustments.
The registration marks may also be used to align materials in other machines that do cutting, folding and gluing.
The color boxes are used by printing technicians to verify the proper quantity of ink is being laid on the printed material. This allows them to match color samples to ensure consistency from start to finish of the printing run and even across printing facilities that print the same materials around the world.
Thanks to Todd M for suggesting this secret.
Broken Secrets | By: Chad Upton
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Sources: Computer Hope, Wikipedia (Registration), Sensors
Satellite Dishes are Gray Because…
They are primed for painting. That’s right, it’s not just any gray: it’s primer gray. That means your dish can blend in or compliment your house if you paint it.
As for the type of paint, many people report good results with rust-oleum and Krylon Fusion (or similar).
If your dish is not gray then you may want to prime it first.
Tips:
- do not paint over the LNB (plastic cap at the focal point of the dish – see picture)
- only use satin/flat paint (not glossy or metallic)
- do not move the dish while painting it (unless you plan to re-aim it)
- do not hurt yourself
BrokenSecrets.com
PS – Sorry to my readers in “grey” countries. :)
Sources: Helium, DSS Geeks, Satellite Guys
Photo: angelrravelor a3r (cc)
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