Call me Mr Blue -- no, brown?
7Stunning news reported by the Weather channel:
https://weather.com/science/nature/video/blue-birds-arent-really-blue
Though they might be sad, they aren’t blue.
Another piece of my world was just a sham. Tooth fairies, Santa Clause, benevolent politicians, and now our feathered friends.
/youtube call me mr blue, the fleetwoods
/ youtube don’t it make my blue feathers brown, crystal gayle
/youtube don’t it make my brown eyes blue, crystal gayle
- 6 comments, 26 replies
- Comment
Brown.
@yakkoTDI You forgot to post this.
https://radiolab.org/episodes/211119-colors
The segment about mantis shrimp inspired this classic from The Oatmeal.
https://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp
@yakkoTDI
Utterly fascinating and amazing!!!
I’m not sure that “optical illusion” is quite the right term. I think “optical property” might be more accurate.
But whatever. Accuracy doesn’t sell; sensationalism does.
Load of bunk. Color is a perception, which is why different people can look at the same object and see different shades based on their receiving hardware (eyes). And structural color is still color because that is the information we get through our eyes, even if the material comprising the structure has a different adsorbance/reflectance profile and appears to be a different “color” according to some mechanical hardware.
I just watched that on TWC before coming here. I like watching the videos to see what’s going on and new.
Here’s another thing to shatter all your illusions: Polar bears’ fur isn’t white; the hairs are hollow and translucent, and the way the light refracts through them makes them look white. On top of that, their skin is black.
@lisagd
Never would have guessed their skin is black
@Star2236 I know! It seems so wrong. If they had taught us interesting things like that in biology class, I would have paid more attention.
Did you know that Dalmatian puppies are born totally white? Their skin, however, is pigmented from birth with the color, size, and shape the spots will be. The color of their fur in those areas changes to black during their first year of life. Dalmatians are prone to deafness, which may be related to the genetics of their breed having spots. They’re an interesting breed
@lisagd @Star2236 Interesting. My dog is an Australian Shepherd-mix. His fur is mostly white, with random black patches. I just checked, and his skin is uniformly pink under the fur. He also has blue eyes and is deaf.
@lisagd @Star2236 And it’s my understanding that Dalmatians are associated with firemen (at least moreso than other dog breeds) because of their deafness. They’re less troubled by the loud noises (sirens and bells) of the fire station.
@Star2236 @xobzoo Oh, that’s interesting, and it makes total sense.
We were never sure if our Dalmatians were at least partially deaf or just ignoring us.
@macromeh @Star2236 I’ve always liked the marl (is that the right word?) pattern on Australian Shepherds. Something about the black spots on a grey background is appealing and fascinating.
@lisagd
I did know that about Dalmatians. A friend if my that died a few years back had one and it was very cool dog.
@lisagd @Star2236 It’s called merle.
My previous dog (also an Aussie mix) was also merle, but her coat changed as she aged. Oddly, it went from mostly grey with dark patches to almost all black.
Here she is (at ~9mo.) the day we brought her home from rescue:
And this is her in later years (with her cat buddy):
@macromeh @Star2236 Wow, that’s a big difference! Does that happen often?
@lisagd @Star2236 100% for my sample of one.
@lisagd @macromeh @Star2236 How strange! The reverse of us humans - from gray to black!
@lisagd @Star2236 As an old fart (excuse me, a super senior citizen), I can relate. As I develop more black spots across my hands and other bodily areas, I seem to be going deaf to boot.
OTOH, I’ve long been equipped to tolerate riding on a firetruck. About my freshman year in high school, there was a fire in the apartments across the street that my bedroom window looked out upon. I woke up from my afternoon nap about the time the firetrucks were leaving.
That was about the same time I learned the answer to that notorious riddle: "What word starts with ‘F’ and ends with ‘U’, ‘C’, ‘K’ ? "
@Kyeh what about blue-eyed dogs and horses?
/image dog blue eyes
/image horse blue eyes
@f00l Or people? My father had ice-blue eyes. Probably the same. Those are gorgeous animals!
@Kyeh
My Dad has bright blue eyes, darker than sky blue, lighter than than a royal blue color.
Mine go from blue to grey, which I suppose is labeled “hazel”
@f00l Wow, your dad’s eyes sound pretty. I think hazel is greenish-brownish, though.
@Kyeh
Mom had the kind of hazel eyes you describe. But mine vary from grey ish-blue to grey.
Mom told me they were “hazel” because they appeared to vary somewhat, as hers did. So that’s what went on my drivers license.
I once looked up images of “hazel eyes” on google images and saw an incredible variety.
@f00l So maybe it’s just a catch-all for “neither blue nor brown.” I had a classmate once who had golden eyes, like a cat - quite striking.
@Kyeh
Refugee from Twilight?
/image Edward twilight
@f00l Huh, I see what you mean! I’m jealous, it’s neat to have color-changing eyes.
@f00l Ooo, maybe! (Twilight)
@f00l Also Google stuck this ad into the article - sort of apropos?
@f00l @Kyeh Mine are blue or grey, depending on the light or what I’m wearing. I took these pictures minutes apart. In natural light, my eyes were blue. In the warm LED lights in my bathroom, they were grey.
@f00l @Kyeh @lisagd Mine do the same thing (blueish, grayish, greenish and affected by what I am wearing and the light). I have no clue what color they really are. I have a huge gold/brown spot/flecks in one as well.