Violet… Or Is It Purple… Or Is It… -

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So That’s What a Violet Rose Sounds Like

Another serendipity happened as I researched the color violet in that I discovered the stunning pyro-technics of Tiago Della Vega, guitarist-extraordinaire from Brazil. If you skipped the video clip in your hurry to get to my incredible content (and who could blame you?) do yourself a great big favor, stop reading, go back to the top and play the clip (you’ll thank me later).

You’re welcome!

Tiago demonstrated what a violet rose sounds like. He also leaves no doubt as to who is the guitarist with the fastest chops in the world. Heck, he’s even got the Certificate from the Guiness Book of World Records to prove it.

With those two questions settled and out of the way, we can return to the original question of this post, “Violet… or is it purple… or is it lavender…?”

You’ll recall from yesterday’s discussion, there was a whole lot of controversy about whether indigo should be included in the color spectrum as a member of the group of seven. I found myself ducking as technical terms such as ‘spectral color’, ‘light intensity’, ‘chromaticity diagram’, ‘RGB’, ‘HSV’ and ‘Hex triplet’ were sent flying around like wooden chairs in a Western barroom brawl scene.

I must have got hit in the head once or twice in that encounter because my head still hurts although I remember nothing about the recitation. Suffice it to say, when I saw they were going to do the same thing to violet… or is it purple… or is it… WHATEVER, I simply decided to take my curiosity elsewhere.

So much smoke on the water. Hey, seems like a good place to break for this classic from ‘Deep Purple’. (Did you get that clever color connection? And how about that nifty three-C alliteration?) OK, OK – just watch the video:

When Purple was King

As good as it was (and still is) I’m not talking about the band Deep Purple. And I’m not even going near the performer of “Purple Rain”, the wannabe king formerly known as Prince. Nope, we’re going back to some of the earliest times in recorded history when man first learned how to dye cloth.

(Don’t try to get the connection here. I’m now using the ‘butterfly’ technique mastered by my wife and two step-daughters as they disjointedly jump from topic to topic, often leaving me in a ‘purple haze’ as to how we ever got on that subject.)

In case I lost you on that last little tangent, let me help steer you back on track. We’re going to talk about the history of purple clothing now. Are you with me? Good, let’s continue.

The story goes that purple was the color of the rich and royalty as they were the only ones who could afford the extremely rare and costly fabric dyed with Tyrian purple, a pigment made from the shells of the concholepas mollusk harvested, processed and exported by the Phonecians in the city of Tyre.

Fast forward to medieval times (no, not the place here in downtown Toronto where they put on a little dinner theatre, knight-in-shining-armor jostling show) we’re talking the actual dates from the 11th century. Purple was still reserved for the extremely wealthy, mostly made up of the noble class. The process of obtaining purple pigment remained the same, coming from mollusk shells, which is why clothing dyed in this color was so expensive.

Finally in 1856 a synthetic method was invented to produce the color purple making it available to the common masses for the first time in history. However, it wasn’t until the 1960′s that the color purple was accepted as an in-fashion, ‘groovy’ color.

Today, it’s hard to imagine a time when clothing wasn’t available in every color imaginable.

Giving the Gift of Purple

If you are experiencing love at first sight, a bouquet of purple roses might be just the right thing to express your heart-felt message. Traditionally, purple is the color of wealth and prestige, however it can also signify spiritual fulfillment and good judgment. Look for lisianthus, orchids, violets and liatris when shopping for that special floral arrangement.

In jewelry, purple is the color of choice for those who strive for greater spirituality. Since purple is supposed to be the perfect balance between blue and red (cool and warm) it instills both strength and dignity. Gemstones to wear include amethyst, lavender quartz, and violet jasper.

Balance in color is important as with all things in life. Too much purple leads one to be irritable, impatient and arrogant, while too little purple may result in a person feeling powerless and indecisive.

Like Eating Purple Grapes

Science points to some pretty strong evidence that grapes are good for a healthy heart. It seems that people who consume red wine (made from purple grapes) on a regular basis have fewer heart attacks than their tea-toting counterparts. At one time, it was thought that the alcohol content was responsible for the favorable statistics. However, it is now generally more agreed that it’s the nutrition content of the purple grape itself that provides the benefits.

Here are some tasty purple ‘grapes’ that are sure to boost your next conversation:

Leonardo da Vinci believed that the power of meditation increases ten times when done in a purple light, as in the purple light of stained glass.

In 1999, former Moral Majority spokesman Reverend Jerry Falwell came out publicly against the children’s show Teletubbies. He believed that its character “Tinky-Winky” was gay, stating that he was purple – the color of gay pride – and that his antennae was a triangle – the symbol of gay pride.

Purple is the color of the highest denomination poker chip = $5,000

Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, has one row of purple seats, designating an altitude of 5,280 feet – “A Mile High”.

Purple Heart: a medal awarded to a U.S. soldier wounded in battle

The message you send by driving a Purple vehicle: Creative, individualistic, original.

Concord grapes are native to North America and are of the slip-skin category, whereas most grapes are of the European varieties whose skin is attached to the meat. This allows the latter varieties to be stored in cold rooms, shipped to fresh markets, and eaten as table grapes.

“Grape” was the original scent of the purple colored Magic Scents Crayons from Binney & Smith Inc., introduced in 1994 with mostly food scents. However, there were numerous reports that children were eating the food-scented crayons, so the food scents were retired and replaced with non-food scents. The scent for the color purple became “lilac.”

A Surprising Twist to the End of Our Story

Like all good stories, this segment on violet… or is it purple… or is it lavender… WHATEVER, must come to an end. Well, since we mentioned lavender, let’s finish with a most interesting rendition of this ageless children’s tune: