HughB

Ah, the perfect post for St. Patrick's Day... Blame the Swedes - or at least, a Swede. Green came to be viewed as an unlucky color due to the experiments of chemist, Carl Scheele, who in 1778 invented a vibrant new shade of green using a substance called arsenic. "Scheele's Green" spread like fire among European fashionistas, instantly replacing older, duller green dyes derived from copper carbonate. 28 years after Scheele's death (from renal failure from ingesting heavy metals ala arsenic), two German chemists, Russ and Saddler, "improved" on Scheele's formula to create "Emerald Green," and by 1814, the Wilhelm Dye and White Lead Company made a fortune marketing this newly-christened "Paris Green" in everything from clothing to wallpaper. However, Paris Green, while less toxic than Scheele's, still relied on arsenic! And when these green-tinted materials became damp, they released a poisonous gas which often resulted in ghastly illness and death. Although science identified arsenic as the killer ingredient by 1822, green dye - and specifically green fabric - had already acquired a black eye. Paris Green's toxicity was later put to use as the first insecticide, killing beetles, budworms, mosquitos and, as late as 1945, rats. So, green acquired its "unlucky" reputation by utilizing arsenic much like millinery acquired its "crazy" reputation ("Mad as a hatter!") by using mercury.