Tell us, what's your favorite color?

Don't think about it too much..! Well?

Chances are you didn't say "red". According to some surveys, as few as 8% of people would cite their favorite color as red, while the usual outright winner is blue. So what's wrong with red, then? Well, it's not really the sort of color most people like. It has far too many emotional connotations. Red represents danger, excitement, it means STOP! Red is the color of blood, which we don't normally see until something bad happens. It's also an aggressive, dominant color.

All of these emotional cues have been studied scientifically and it's even been shown that because we associate the color red with mistakes (red ink in school, remember?), a mere flash of red before an exam can negatively impact our performance!

People with "red" hair are routinely discriminated against, though we are at a loss to really explain why and we will forever think of Communism whenever anyone mentions the "Reds".

Red in language

The color red also pops up all over the place in the English language - often in an ambivalent context at best. The phrase "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning!" is perhaps a good reflection of our unease regarding the color red. We also "see red" when we're angry and turn "red as a beetroot" when we are embarrassed. When we "follow a red herring," we have been deceived and a "red rag to a bull" has nothing but the worst effect on the animal!

Rehabilitating red

But let's try to see the positive side of the color red! Did you know, probably because of the aggressive nature of the color, that sports teams that wear the color red are statistically more likely to win games and to perform better in league tables? In fact, all other things being equal, your best bet is to bet on red!

Also, we know that there is only one color in which to be seen if you're buying a serious sports car! And forget about those myths that red cars get more speeding tickets, cost more to insure or are stolen more often - there isn't much evidence to back that up.

Don't forget the recent Join Red http://www.joinred.com/ campaign either, organized by Bono and friends, which has been particularly successful in raising money for projects in Africa by enlisting big business.

Get reddy

Ultimately it's not everyone who can wear red with confidence, decorate their house in red or buy that red notebook computer. But maybe it's time red shook off some of its bad image and took its rightful place as the first color in the spectrum!

So here is a vote of support for the much-maligned color red! Red is sexy, red is exciting, red is risky! Let's all have a little more red in our lives and the world will be a better place.

http://www.itsgottabered.com - the Internet home of the color red!
http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=2801
http://joehallock.com/edu/COM498/preferences.html