17 Facts About The Color Yellow That Will Instantly Brighten Your Day

The word yellow is derived from the geolu, an Old English word.

A combination of the primary colours red and green at an equal intensity produces yellow. In the spectrum, it is placed between orange and green.

Yellow ochre was the first pigment that was used in cave paintings in prehistoric times. The yellow pigment was easily available. The famous yellow taxis in the US also have a story behind them.

John D. Hertz decided to paint all the taxis yellow based on research conducted at the University of Chicago. Researchers stated that yellow was an easily seen colour. Yellow school buses and bright yellow traffic signals immediately grab our attention.

The wavelength of visible light will have a reaction from different cones present in eyes. The ability to see colour is based on these cones.

There are two cones in the human eye, the red cones and the green cones. The colour yellow greatly excites both these cones. This is why we see yellow quickly.

We have curated a bunch of amusing facts about the yellow colour. Do not miss out on them. Once you have finished reading this article, you can also check out our other articles on what colours make gold and what colour does purple and yellow make.

Symbolism And Meaning Of Yellow

For some reason, people from all over the world relate yellow to the sun and the gleefulness of a sunny day. This connection has to do with ancient cultures. In Ancient Egypt, gods were mostly associated with the yellow colour, making it the noblest of all colours.

Yellow is a highly positive colour that is associated with warmth and happiness. The colour yellow is also known to increase the intelligence and memory of a person. Let's take a look at how yellow was viewed in different cultures.

Gold jewellery that Brazilians wore was thought to be closely related to yellow. So Brazilians believed that yellow is the colour of fortune and prosperity. They also wore yellow jewels on special occasions to attract money. In China, the colour yellow is associated with fortune.

Indian traders also believed the same. A pigment produced when cows chew on mango leaves, often called the Indian yellow, was used by ancient artists to mark outsiders.

People from Japan saw yellow as a colour of hope and courage. Every warrior who participated in the War of Dynasties wore a chrysanthemum, a yellow flowering plant, as a sign of courage.

Despite being perceived as a pleasant hue, yellow has a few negative connotations. Yellow was regarded to be a terrible colour in Greece and Mexico, implying bad luck, death, and grief. There are several terms in English, like the yellow bellied that refers to cowardice.

Yellow Birthstone Colors

Some birthstones come in a variety of colours, including yellow.

Citrine: citrine is the contemporary November birthstone, as well as the Virgo Planetary stone. Citrine is a crystal that comes in yellow, yellow brown, orange, dark orange brown, and reddish brown hues.

Citrine is connected with cheerfulness and happiness. It is frequently utilised to aid in the manifestation of financial prosperity and opportunity.

It may also be used to activate the solar plexus chakra, which aids in the development of self assurance and mental fortitude. Citrine, being a potent cleanser and regenerator, is said to be beneficial in spiritual healing as well.

Beryl: beryl is a substitute birthstone for November. It comes in a variety of colours including gold colours ranging from pale yellow to yellow ochre.

The stone is said to have several healing properties. It is used to treat mental illness bladder issues, kidney stones and boost the central nervous system. Folklore also states that the stone is used to keep evil spirits at bay.

Yellow as a Signature Color

Your signature colour says a lot about you.

Yellow is a joyful, vibrant, and bright colour. It also is traditional and conventional in nature.

The colour yellow is linked to confidence. Spiritually, experts suggest that if you are disturbed by the colour yellow, it could be related to emotional imbalances in your life. Surrounding yourself with too many yellow based things can also have negative impacts if you're not in the right state of mind.

Companies & Brands Identified by Yellow

Several companies and brands use yellow colours as an identification. Companies usually go above and beyond for their logos to be seen. They put in a lot of effort.

Lays is a popular snack item among kids and even adults. The yellow packaging of a particular flavour of lays has had an impact on customers all over the world. Next in line, we have McDonalds.

The juicy burgers are one thing that makes people revisit the place quite often. However, in the initial days when McDonalds was not popular, the yellow logo captivated people.

Following McDonalds, we have others like Subway and Burger King who have used a good amount of yellow in their logos. Snapchat, one of the leading social networking sites, also has a yellow logo. The National Geographic channel, known for its amazing wildlife content, uses a yellow logo that represents the sun.

Yellow in Literature

Yellow has a lot of different interpretations in literature. Yellow has been used by writers to depict intense emotions. Though a few daring authors who loved yellow used the hue to portray pleasant things, most writers refrained from using it in their writings since it connoted instability and dishonesty.

J. D. Salinger, in 'Catcher in the Rye', uses the colour yellow to indicate cowardice. Holder, the main character, calls himself a yellow guy since he appears to be strong yet is afraid of violence.

Richard Le Gallienne in his essay, 'The Boom in Yellow', beautifully writes about the yellow colour in one of his sentences, 'one hardly realizes how many important and pleasant things in life are yellow.'

Did you know? One of the leading journals in the 1890s in Britain was called the Yellow book

Yellowtails is a term that is used to refer to different species of fish that have a yellow body.

Yellow, blue and red is called primary colours as you can get all other colours by mixing these three colours.

The phrase yellow journalism was widely used in the United States. It was used to refer to the works and publications that had little to no reliable content. Such articles mainly focused on striking headlines in order to boost profits.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about the colour yellow then why not take a look at what colours make maroon, or what colour is vermilion?