10 on Green

by Jeremy Topping
  1. The color green has a wavelength of about 530 nanometers. At this wavelength, the human eye can distinguish more shades of green than of any other color—making green the perfect hue for night-vision goggles.
  2. Forbes Magazine’s list of the 100 richest fictional characters estimates Scrooge McDuck’s net worth to be $8.2 billion, though the comic itself lists the figure in “fantastickatrillions.” Scrooge’s vault holds 3 cubic acres—9 million cubic feet—of cash, mostly in the form of gold coins, in which the duck can swim.
  3. Bananas are picked while still hard and green, then turn yellow after spending three to seven days in ripening buildings. Banana harvesters call a single banana a “finger,” making a “hand” a bunch of 10.
  4. During the Civil War, when Spanish dollars backed U.S. currency, the backs of American dollars were printed in green in an attempt to hinder counterfeiters. Still combating counterfeiting 140 years later, the U.S. Treasury added other colors to our cash in 2003.
  5. The green room, where actors can chill between scenes, is believed to have roots in theatre’s early days when burning lime lit the stage. “Limelight” burns so brightly it can be seen 95 miles away, so it’s no wonder that stage actors used to see nothing but green spots.
  6. Greenpeace was founded in 1971, having evolved out of a Vancouver-based anti-nuclear activist committee called Don’t Make a Wave. Greenpeace International, now based in Amsterdam, has set up base in 41 countries and claims 2.8 million supporters worldwide.
  7. The breathable air on this planet is a gift given from the humblest of all life forms—the cyanobacteria. These bacteria, usually called blue-green algae, were the first to photosynthesize and have existed on Earth for over 3.5 billion years.
  8. The voice of the Jolly Green Giant, baritone Elmer “Len” Dresslar, Jr., died in October 2005 at the age of 80. Dresslar will always be remembered best for his booming “ho, ho, ho,” though he also gave voice to Snap of Rice Krispies’ Snap, Crackle, Pop; appeared regularly on TV; and recorded many albums.
  9. In Othello, Iago warns: “O! Beware my lord, of Jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” Shakespeare was referencing the ancient Greek belief that envy was caused by the overproduction of bile, which produces a pallid or green complexion.
  10. When M&M’s were introduced in 1941 they were all brown. It took nearly 20 years for red, yellow and green to join the mix. Almost instantly, green M&M’s gained a reputation as an aphrodisiac, a never-marketed phenomenon that may have helped the 1997 debut of Green, the first female M&M character.

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