No one could see the color blue until modern times

[KamaAina]

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blue-and-how-do-we-see-color-2015-2

Until relatively recently in human history, "blue" didn't exist, not in the way we think of it.

As the delightful Radiolab episode "Colors" describes, ancient languages didn't have a word for blue — not Greek, not Chinese, not Japanese, not Hebrew. And without a word for the color, there is evidence that they may not have seen it at all...

The only ancient culture to develop a word for blue was the Egyptians — and as it happens, they were also the only culture that had a way to produce a blue dye.

If you think about it, blue doesn't appear much in nature — there are almost no blue animals, blue eyes are rare, and blue flowers are mostly human creations. There is, of course, the sky, but is that really blue? As we've seen from Geiger's work, even scriptures that contemplate the heavens continuously still do not necessarily see it as "blue."

[The Second Stone]

1. I'd suggest a view of The Last Judgment

by Michelangelo to dispel this nonsense. Or many other paintings and artifacts. The absolute preposterousness of this bullshit keeps getting repeated.

Here are scientific recreations: http://io9.gizmodo.com/5616498/ultraviolet-light-reveals-how-ancient-greek-statues-really-looked

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/Herculaneum/photo1040500.htm&h=631&w=791&tbnid=tMJg9B2npvtuaM:&docid=P5RQGgY-hZ_tLM&ei=gWDmVs2PHNO-jwO46Y7QCw&tbm=isch&ved=0ahUKEwiN1L2wzL_LAhVT32MKHbi0A7oQMwh3KDowOg


https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-41959090/stock-photo-ancient-roman-mosaic-in-cyprus-the-site-is-open-to-the-public-and-photography-is-permitted.html&h=1135&w=1500&tbnid=K_bANrmSjxHcQM:&docid=9jV3Ud0ejOXRnM&ei=m2DmVpyIOYGCjwOrpIDwCw&tbm=isch&ved=0ahUKEwjcwY29zL_LAhUBwWMKHSsSAL44ZBAzCAUoAjAC

business insider is kind of stupid.

[Coventina]

8. Going back to the very dawn of civilization, one of Afghanistan's exports was lapis lazuli.

Highly prized all over the ancient world for its blue color.

This Sumerian artifact uses lapis lazuli from Afghanistan circa 2600 BCE - so almost 5000 years ago!


The article is embarrassing!

[underahedgerow]

2. You mean other than Indigo?

Just sayin'.

And clarifying https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_dye

[denbot]

3. Native Peoples sought and cherished turquoise, as it represented the sky/heavens.

So, no, I don't buy that stories premise..

This is me on the right..

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Mining this..

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While this is not the Californian turquoise from the mine above, these are examples of my interpretation of my ancestral fascination with turquoise,

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While I was digging out my old turquoise photos I came across Alley and my wedding photos.
I am blessed beyond belief, and proof that even the unworthy, get lucky..

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[panader0]

6. Beautiful jewlery, beautiful wedding.

I live near Bisbee, Az., home of "Bisbee Blue" turquoise, some high quality stuff.
I'm a malachite fan

[denbot]

7. This was the biggest cabochon of old stock Bissbee Blue I'll ever probably get my hands on.

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But I do have some Bisbee in the rough, very good old stock, very high quality, uncut, and waiting till I can truly retire, and continue to learn how silver and turquoise love each other..

[TuxedoKat]

9. Wow

That is really unusually beautiful turquoise. Do you sell your jewelry somewhere? You and your wife are a lovely couple.

[Orrex]

4. They didn't need the word until the invention of the guitar

Last edited Mon Mar 14, 2016, 08:41 AM - Edit history (1)

[sarge43]

5. The ancient Greeks did have a word for blue

Sapphire - a combination word meaning blue and stone.

Because a language doesn't have a specific word for a concept or object doesn't mean the speakers aren't aware of it. Case in point: A DU favorite - schadenfreude

[hobbit709]

10. Cyan

Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek κυανός, transliterated kýanos, meaning "dark blue".

[My Good Babushka]

11. There are tons of blue flowers!

chicory, morning glory, hydrangea, forget-me-nots, hyacinths, columbine, blue leadwood, lobelia, bellflowers, bluebells...
Blue existed, and I'm sure people saw it. I rebuke this article as stupid.

[Mosby]

12. techelet is blue in hebrew

It's mentioned 49 times in the torah.

[cabineer]

13. The indigo bunting (bird) has no blue pigment on its feathers

it's just reflected light apparently. Kind of strange because I've seen indigo buntings.
Sure look dark blue to my eyes!

[Sanity Claws]

14. This doesn't sound right

Blue is in a rainbow. It is one of the colors shown in a prism.

There are blue birds, e.g. Blue jay, bluebird.
There are blue flowers.

Water is often seen as blue, depending on the light.

I'm skeptical about the very premise of this article.