Color me intrigued

Before the pantone: 10 color shades with old names

Colors come in a multitude of shades, most of them with a very specific name. Some of these names are a reference to a common object of that color —for example, ruby, maize, or lavender— while others, much more modern, are just a product of marketing, popular use, or just imagination —such as razzle dazzle rose, school bus yellow, or French blue. But some specific shade names have a story that goes back centuries, across different cultures and traditions. Here are ten color shades and the history behind their name.

This vibrant red-orange shade takes its name from an ancient pigment, highly toxic, made from cinnabar, a form of mercury. Its name comes from the Old French vermeillon, derived from vermiculus, a diminutive of the Latin vermis (‘worm’). What did this toxic pigment have to do with worms? An insect called Kermes vermilio was used to make a natural dye in a similar shade, but much more common than cinnabar, so its name became popular and was used for all similar red-orange shades.

Described as a shade that goes from light-brown to brownish-orange, tawny is associated with tanned leather, not only in color but in the origin of its name. Celts used tannum or crushed oak bark to treat animal hides and produce leather. Though Latin, this word made its way into Old French as tauné, ‘tan leather colored’, and then into English.

With a name that alludes to the sea, the origin of this deep blue shade seems to be quite straightforward, except it isn’t. Ultramarine blue takes its name from the Ultramarine pigment, made from grinding lapis lazuli stone. This pigment, as costly as gold, was imported from Afghanistan by Venetian merchants, who called it (azzurro) oltramarino or ‘(blue) from beyond the sea’.

Now described as cream or grayish yellow, ecru was initially used to describe the color of unbleached linen. Before bleached into a creamy white color, linen would retain the color of the dried flax fibers used to weave it. The French word écru, meaning ‘raw’ or ‘unbleached’, initially served as a mere descriptor of the fabric's state, but was eventually associated with its color.

To no one’s surprise, the name of this blueish-green shade comes from French. But although its French equivalent, vert-de-gris, means ‘green of gray’, there is no gray in its origin. There are two possible origins for this name: the first one is vert d'aigre or ‘green made with vinegar’, because a pigment of this name was made using copper and vinegar. The second one ties this shade to art objects imported from Greece, which gave way to the name vert-de-Grèce, ‘green of Greece’.

Indigo is used to describe a variety of blue shades, from the dark blue in the rainbow to various blue hues that can be achieved using indigo dye. Originally, the term indigo, from the Latin indicum (‘Indian’), was specifically used for a pigment made from the Indigofera plant and exported from India. Later on, the term became synonymous with the various blue shades resulting from that dye.

Nowadays, we automatically associate the color sepia with old photographs, but did you know its name and hue come from a fish? In ancient Greece and Rome, the ink of the sepia cuttlefish was used for writing, and it remained a commonly used drawing ink up until the early 19th century, when it started being used for watercolors and oil paints.

This one is tricky. As a color, auburn is a shade of brown, though it is often used to describe a specific type of red hair that has a mixture of red and brown tones. The term auburn, however, has nothing to do with red nor with brown. It comes from the French alborne, derived from the Latin alburnus or ‘off-white’, and it was used for blond people. How did it come to mean reddish-brown? Auburn and brown sounded similar.

Technically, there is no color named purpura in modern English, but there used to be. Made from crushed sea snails, the purpura dye was extremely expensive, and it became associated with royalty. Originally called porphura by the Greeks, the word was latinized as purpura, and was later adopted into English as purpul, from where we get the modern ‘purple’. So, while purpura is the original purple, it is nowadays called Tyrian or royal purple to avoid confusion.

This reddish-orange shade gets its name from the jasper, a semiprecious quartz known for having a pattern. The name ‘jasper’ comes from the Greek iaspis, meaning ‘spotted or speckled stone’. While there are multiple colors of jasper stones, the most common one is red, so the name of the stone became synonymous with that shade.

10 weird historical events that no one has been able to explain (yet)

Image: Walters Art Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Who doesn't like a good mystery? And if the mystery isn’t a work of fiction but the result of a true story, even better! The great unsolved enigmas of history are absolutely fascinating. Some have been solved over time, but there are still many old secrets for which neither scientists nor historians have found an explanation—yet. Time-travel with us as we uncover 10 of the biggest historical mysteries that will probably never be cracked!

Image: Tanner, Henry S., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bermeja Island is mentioned in navigation texts written by European travelers and appears in cartography from the 16th to 19th centuries. Old maps place it off the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula; however, multiple searches over the years have yielded no concrete evidence of its existence.

So, what happened to Isla Bermeja? Was it a cartographic error? Did it sink due to a tidal wave? Because of its geopolitical significance, some have even suggested that it was blown up by the CIA! A 2009 study by the Autonomous University of Mexico concluded that Isla Bermeja does not exist today, nor were any traces found at its supposed coordinates. Yet, it will forever remain a mystery that will surely keep many entertained.

Image: Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, detected a signal now known as the Wow! signal. While reviewing the data, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman noticed a sequence represented as "6EQUJ5." Baffled by the anomaly, he circled it and wrote "Wow!" in the margins.

The signal lasted 72 seconds and, unfortunately, has never been repeated. To this day, no one can fully explain the phenomenon, although some suggest it may have come from a man-made source. Still, the Wow! signal remains one of the strongest candidates for potential extraterrestrial contact ever detected.

Image: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How is it possible for an entire village to vanish without a trace? Believe it or not, this is said to have happened nearly a century ago. According to lore, a small Inuit village in Canada was well known among fur trappers who visited regularly to trade. But in 1930, something very strange supposedly occurred.

A hunter named Joe Labelle claimed he visited the village one day and couldn’t find a single person. Reports said there were guns and food left behind, and even claims that the graves in the cemetery were empty. A thorough investigation, however, found no conclusive evidence of what happened to the villagers. Some witnesses from nearby towns even reported seeing a huge green light. Theories ranged from mass migration to extraterrestrial abductions. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has since dismissed the case as an urban legend. Some still believe the story to be true.

Image: bbb

We know thousands of shipwreck stories, but this one is quite unique. The MV Joyita, designed to be nearly unsinkable, was found adrift in the South Pacific, practically unharmed, but the crew had disappeared completely.

In October 1955, the American merchant vessel left the port of Apia in Samoa with 16 crew members and 9 passengers bound for the Tokelau Islands. After days without news, a rescue mission was launched. Five weeks later, the Joyita was spotted more than 600 miles west of its intended route. The vessel was partially submerged, and there was no sign of the passengers or crew. Four tons of cargo and all three life rafts were missing. They were never seen again.

Image: Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you know where one of the best-preserved mummies was found? Hint: not in Egypt. Xin Zhui, the Marquise of Dai during the Western Han Dynasty in China, was discovered in her tomb at Mawangdui 2,000 years after her death, along with hundreds of valuable documents and artifacts.

What makes this mummy so extraordinary is how well-preserved her body is. Her organs and veins remain intact, and she still has hair and even eyelashes. Scientists analyzed the fluid present in the coffin and discovered it was acidic and contained salt and magnesium. They believe this mysterious liquid may have been responsible for preserving Xin Zhui so well. What they don’t know is whether it was intentionally poured into the coffin or came from the body itself.

Image: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The United States has its fair share of presidents who died while in office, but none of our 45 presidents have ever disappeared without a trace. Did you know that this actually happened in The Land Down Under?

Harold Edward Holt was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He loved the ocean and spearfishing. During a weekend trip with friends, Holt visited the remote Cheviot Beach to take a swim. Rough sea conditions that day caused him to be swept away by the waves, and he never reappeared. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found, which has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. Ironically, Australians built the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre in Melbourne in his honor.

Image: FBI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Many famous criminals have managed to remain unidentified for decades, but the D.B. Cooper case is something else entirely. In 1971, Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle. Shortly after takeoff, he showed a flight attendant a device he claimed was a bomb and demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in cash.

The crew landed to meet Cooper’s demands in exchange for the passengers and then took off again. As the plane flew over southwestern Washington, Cooper jumped into the cold, rainy night carrying his haul. His whereabouts and true identity were never discovered, although it is likely he didn’t survive the jump. In 1980, some of the ransom money was found near the Columbia River. Although the FBI officially closed the case in 2016, amateur sleuths continue to try to crack it.

Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you imagine an epidemic where the main symptom is uncontrollable dancing? Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? Yet this really happened during the Middle Ages. In 1518, a dancing plague struck Strasbourg, Alsace, in what is now France. This strange condition affected up to 400 people, making them dance frantically for weeks. It is said that some even died of heart attacks, exhaustion, or strokes.

Doctors and authorities tried all kinds of measures to stop the spread. They even banned music for a while! To this day, scientists are not certain what caused this bizarre condition: it may have been food poisoning from toxins in the ergot fungus, or perhaps a case of stress-induced mass hysteria.

Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Voynich manuscript is a codex written roughly 500 years ago in an unknown language and writing system by an anonymous author. Known as Voynichese, the manuscript was named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish bibliophile and antiquarian who purchased it in 1912.

Radiocarbon testing has shown that it dates to the early 15th century. Many cryptographers and codebreakers have attempted to decipher its roughly 240 pages without success. The manuscript contains diagrams and illustrations of unknown plants and astrological symbols. Some believe it may be a made-up language, a secret code, a work of fiction, or even a hoax. If you think you can solve this mystery, the Voynich manuscript is available for viewing at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Image: Bernhard

Similar to the Voynich manuscript, the Phaistos Disc is a fired clay disc believed to have been created during the Bronze Age. It was discovered by an Italian archaeologist in the basement of a palace in Crete, Greece, in 1908.

What makes this disc fascinating is that it contains a mysterious message. Stamped into the clay is a set of signs, forming a text that many scientists have tried to decipher—without success. It is considered an early attempt at printing, a technological innovation that would not become widespread for several centuries. While enthusiasts still hope the enigma can be solved, this is unlikely unless other documents are discovered to provide context.