Skip to main content

history of - Why is green considered a toxic color in movies?



In movies I often see green used to color dangerous and/or poisonous substances colored green, like green clouds of gas considered poisonous, and green acid considered dangerous. Can anyone explain this, or explain where this came from?



Answer



Because it was forever linked to poison by Radium and Green pigments in the 1800's. Paris Green and Scheeles Green in particular helped cement this association early on.


Radium Poisoning


enter image description here


It was clear from the beginning large doses of Radium was dangerous, the Curies made it clear early on, but it was commonly held that in small doses Radium was beneficial.


Those who painted radium watches suffered from drastic Radium poisoning, and would glow green. The radium girls destroyed the reputation of Radium, giving us the classic radioactive green glow association




What Made Green Pigments So Toxic?


Both were arsenic compounds that produced popular shades of green, known for their brilliance. They were excessively used



Paris green (copper(II) acetate triarsenite or copper(II) acetoarsenite) is an inorganic compound. It is a highly toxic emerald-green crystalline powder3 that has been used as a rodenticide and insecticide,[4] and also as a pigment, despite its toxicity.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_green


So much so that Paris Green was later used as an insecticide. It was used to kill mosquitos, and in the Paris sewers to kill rats.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_green#Insecticide


How Did They Respond in the 19th Century?


Green gained an ominous reputation, with tales of women in green dresses collapsing, newspaper printers being overcome by fumes, and children wasting away in bright green rooms



enter image description here


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheele%27s_Green#Toxicity


Famous Deaths


It's widely implied that these green pigments contributed to Napoleons death due to the lavish green suite he slept in.


There are also reports it caused health issues with famous artists who used the pigment, such as blinding Monet


Other Dangerous Colours


There are other colours with similar associations, I would recommend this Ted Ed video


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion