Ten things your didn't know about blue
Today is “Blue Monday”, the third Monday in January which is supposedly the most depressing day of the year.
Ten things you didn't know about the colour blue
1. Ancient languages did not have a word for the colour blue.
2. The colour blue has been associated with depression since the 15th century but the earliest known reference to blues music was in 1912.
Blue is associated with sadness
3. The psychologist Charles Spence has shown that food tastes saltier if served in blue dishes.
4. Studies have shown that weightlifters can lift heavier weights in gyms with blue walls.
5. Many ancient languages did not have a word for the colour blue. The Himba people of Namibia still have no word for “blue” in their language.
Blue Monday - The Facts
6. The only Shakespeare play that contains the word “blue-bottle” is Henry IV, Part 2.
7. The only national flags without red, white or blue in them are those of Jamaica and Mauritania.
Himba people have no word for blue
Eight per cent of people have blue eyes
8. “The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil.” (Proverbs Ch.20, King James Bible).
9. Around eight per cent of the world’s population have blue eyes, though a study last year reported that in the UK the figure is 48 per cent.
10. The idea of “Blue Monday” originated with an advertising campaign in 2005. It was based on a very unconvincing formula to calculate happiness.