True Blue

I’d say that blue is my favourite colour – because I find it so calming, and because some of the best things in the world look blue: the sky, the ocean , and Marge Simpson’s hair. I was reading the newspaper yesterday when I came across this wonderful bit of trivia about my favourite colour:

At the "cool" end of the spectrum, blue can induce such physiological effects as lowering blood pressure, slowing breathing and releasing muscular tension, said consumer psychologist Donna Dawson. It is one of the reasons, she added, why airline cabin crew often wear blue, to calm the nerves of passengers who don't like to fly. But blue's popularity plummets when it comes to foods. This is a message from our "ancient minds," from a prehistoric time when blue signalled rotting -- and therefore poisonous -- meat.

Now that I think of it, I’ve never seen a blood pressure cuff that was not blue! What a scandal … all of those blue cuff manufacturers are inducing lower BP in patients!