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A potpourri of memorable dance scenes and endearing jokes, Singin’ in the Rain is the type of film beloved by both cinema buffs and casual fans who become ensnared while channel-surfing on a Saturday night. Although perhaps underappreciated (more on that below) when it was released in the spring of 1952, the film has endured as one of the all-time greats thanks to the inspired work of star/choreographer/co-director Gene Kelly, and the efforts of supporting stars Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, and Jean Hagen. Read on to learn more about what went into the production of this classic Hollywood gem.

The Soundtrack Mostly Consisted of Well-Known Songs

Co-written by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, Singin’ in the Rain was essentially a vehicle for recycling a catalog of old songs created by the film’s producer, Arthur Freed, and his longtime composing partner, Nacio Brown. Although it’s now closely associated with Kelly’s iconic dance number, the film’s title track was written in the late 1920s and appeared in at least seven MGM films overall. Other tracks, like “All I Do Is Dream of You” and “You Were Meant for Me,” were also featured in previous pictures and recorded by multiple artists. According to Singin’ in the Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece, the only new pieces written for the film were “Moses Supposes” — with the lyrics partly lifted from 19th-century English nonsense verse — and “Make ‘Em Laugh” — which bore a strong resemblance to the Kelly-performed “Be a Clown” from 1948’s The Pirate.

Debbie Reynolds Endured Harsh Training From Gene Kelly

A 19-year-old with limited screen and dance experience when she was cast for the role of Kathy Selden, Debbie Reynolds learned the hard way what it was like to work with a top-notch pro like Kelly. The film’s nimble-footed lead was relentless when it came to training his romantic co-star, who at one point was found sobbing beneath a rehearsal studio piano by Fred Astaire. The day-long shooting for the “Good Morning” dance scene reportedly left her with bloody feet, a grueling experience rendered unnecessary when Kelly wound up using the first take. Although she later gave Kelly credit for whipping her into shape, Reynolds also compared the making of the movie to childbirth, saying they were the “two hardest things” she’d ever done.

Gene Kelly Battled a Fever While Shooting the “Singin’ in the Rain” Sequence

Although he seems happy as a clam during his title-track song-and-dance scene, Kelly was feeling less than glorious while gritting through his moves in a wool suit with a 103-degree fever. Of course, he didn’t have the luxury of taking much time off to recover, so, according to his wife, he relaxed in the sunlight between takes to “just kind of bake this fever out of him.” Another problem affecting the scene was the amount of water needed to simulate a rainstorm. Although a network of pipes normally ensured that Kelly was sufficiently drenched, filming had to pause when local residents watered their lawns in the late afternoon and caused the set’s flow to dim to a trickle.

Reynolds’ Voice Was Dubbed for Two Songs and One Speaking Scene

Naturally, in a movie that spotlights Hollywood’s use of uncredited singers supplying voice work for its headlining talents, there’s an uncredited singer supplying voice work for a headlining talent. As described in The Making of an American Masterpiece, Reynolds’ solo performance for “Would You?” and her duet with Kelly on “You Are My Lucky Star” were both dubbed by actress Betty Noyes. Furthermore, in the scene where Reynolds’ Kathy Selden is recording the spoken lines to be used by Hagen’s screechy Lina Lamont, that’s actually Hagen’s real voice being used.

“Make ‘Em Laugh” Was Strung Together From Donald O’Connor’s Bag of Tricks

A standout number in a film bursting with standout numbers, “Make ‘Em Laugh” differed from the other Kelly-choreographed sequences in that it was pieced together with bits from O’Connor’s days as a vaudeville star. Per An American Masterpiece, this included stunts such as the backflip off the wall — performed in two of his previous movies — and the running-in-circles-on-the-floor gag, borrowed from Jerry “Curly” Howard of the Three Stooges. Several sources, including O’Connor, have claimed that he was bedridden with exhaustion after shooting the scene, and then had to shoot it again because the original footage was ruined, although O’Connor contradicted himself when he told Roger Ebert in 2003 that those travails were fabricated.

The Film Was Initially Overshadowed by Another Kelly Feature

Although it was generally well reviewed and turned a profit at the box office, Singin’ in the Rain was hardly considered an instant classic. That’s partly because it was overshadowed by Kelly’s previous musical, An American in Paris (1951), which claimed a whopping eight Oscars at the March 1952 Academy Awards. (Singin’ in the Rain won zero Oscars the following year.)

Within a few decades, however, Singin’ had surpassed An American in Paris as the defining musical of its time. Among the accolades that burnished its legacy, Singin’ was among the 25 motion pictures selected for the brand-new National Film Registry in 1989, and it ranked No. 5 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years … 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list in 2008.

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Though Charles III has been king of England for only a short time, his achievements extend back decades. From his work as an artist and architect to his unusual interactions with former U.S. Presidents, Charles has lived a long and storied life. Learn more about the life and times of England’s reigning monarch with these nine majestic facts.

Charles III Is the Oldest Person to Ascend to the British Throne

Given that his mother and predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II, was the longest-reigning monarch in British history — ruling for over 70 years — it makes sense that Charles III holds the distinction of being both the longest-serving British heir-apparent and the oldest individual to assume the British throne. Having ascended to the role at 73 years, 9 months, and 23 days old, Charles was almost a decade older than the previous record-holder, King William IV, who was 64 years, 10 months, and 3 days old upon becoming the king of England in 1830. On the flip side, Henry VI holds the record of being the youngest individual to assume the British throne — he became king in 1422 at just 8 months and 25 days old.

Charles III Is the First British Monarch to Hold a University Degree

While Charles was born into a life of luxury with every resource at his fingertips, he decided to forgo the traditional at-home tutoring for royals and seek out higher education. In 1970, Charles received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College at Cambridge University, becoming the first heir to the British crown to earn a degree of higher education. At school, Charles studied anthropology, archaeology, and history, an impressive range of topics to balance alongside his royal duties as Prince of Wales — a role he officially took on at an investiture ceremony in 1969 at age 20.

After graduating, Charles enlisted in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, a decision he made to follow in the footsteps of his father. While serving in the armed forces from 1971 until 1976, Charles also earned a Master of Arts degree from Cambridge in 1975.

Charles III Is an Accomplished and Bestselling Watercolorist

Charles has painted as a lifelong hobby. He was inspired by an art teacher, Robert Waddell, while at the Gordonstoun School (an independent boarding school in Scotland), and was later taught by British artists Edward Seago and John Napper, among others. His works — done primarily with watercolor — have made him one of England’s bestselling living artists, raking in over £2 million in earnings between 1997 and 2016.

And even though he’s now king, Charles isn’t done offering his works for public purchase. His most recent sale was a print he created of Balmoral Castle, which was auctioned off in October 2022 for nearly $6,500 U.S. dollars and is considered possibly the first piece of artwork by a living monarch offered at auction.

The Scottish family home of Castle Mey was a favorite subject of Charles’ in his early years as a landscape painter, though he has since branched out to paint locations from all around the globe. In 1986, Charles painted the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, and during a 1989 diplomatic visit with his then-wife, Princess Diana, he painted Double Haven Bay in Hong Kong. One of his watercolors was even turned into a ski pass: His depiction of Klosters — Charles’ favorite ski resort, located in Switzerland — was used as the design for that resort’s pass during the 1997 season.

Richard Nixon Attempted to Set Charles Up With His Daughter

In a 2021 interview, Charles revealed an unusual encounter he had with former U.S. President Richard Nixon. When Charles was on a diplomatic visit to the U.S. in 1970 as a 21-year-old, Nixon attempted to set the young prince up with his daughter, Tricia. While the romance ultimately went nowhere, Charles and Nixon’s daughter were seen galavanting about D.C., where Charles escorted Tricia to a White House dinner. The pair even attended a baseball game between the Washington Senators and Milwaukee Brewers at RFK Stadium. Tricia went on to marry a law student by the name of Edward F. Cox, whereas Charles famously married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

He’s the First English Monarch to Be Named Charles Since the 17th Century

Upon taking the regnal title of Charles III, England’s king became the first “Charles” to hold the position since 1685. Both of his predecessors reigned in the 17th century, beginning with Charles I, king of England from 1625 until his execution in 1649 during England’s Civil Wars. Much like Charles III, Charles I was a strong proponent of the arts, spending significant amounts on paintings by Raphael and Titian, and even instituting the official post of Master of the King’s Music (which survives to this day). Charles II reigned from 1660 until 1685, having spent the previous nine years in exile in France. While there’s no telling what the future holds, the current heir to the throne — Charles III’s son Prince William — could become the first “William” to hold the title of king of England since William IV died in 1837, should he choose to keep that name.

Charles III Is an Architecture Buff and Urban Planner

Charles III has long been passionate about English architecture, going so far as to write a 1989 book titled “A Vision of Britain,” in which he opined that Britain’s past architectural decisions should form the nation’s future. That same year, Charles helped develop and launch an experimental and sustainable community in the city of Dorchester called Poundbury, which is set to be completed in 2025 after decades of work. Despite its work-in-progress status, Poundbury is currently home to more than 4,600 residents, and was built in a New Urbanist style that promotes walkability. Charles has long believed in sustainable architecture and urban planning that lowers society’s carbon footprint; one of his main design goals is to “not depend so completely upon the car.”

Charles’ Aston Martin Runs on Wine and Cheese Byproducts

Speaking of cars, Charles’ Aston Martin DB6 — which he has owned since 1970 — uses an untraditional fuel source, in keeping with his efforts to lower his own personal carbon footprint. Instead of gasoline, Charles’ favorite vehicle uses repurposed surplus English white wine and whey made from the cheesemaking process, which is converted into bioethanol fuel. The unique fuel is created by a company called Green Fuels in Gloucestershire, who worked with Aston Martin specialists to produce the unusual energy source.

Charles III Is Related to Vlad the Impaler, the Inspiration for Dracula

It may or may not be a connection that Charles is proud of, but England’s king is indeed related to the brutal Romanian ruler known as Vlad the Impaler, who formed part of the Irish writer Bram Stoker’s inspiration for the character of Dracula. Genealogical evidence shows that Vlad is Charles’ great-grandfather 16 times removed through Queen Mary of Teck, his great-grandmother. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any other overlap between the two men — although Charles does own a house in Transylvania.

Charles III Has a Frog Named After Him

King Charles III has long been involved with climate change activism and efforts to preserve the rainforest. In 2012, scientists honored his activism by naming a tree frog from the cloud forests of Ecuador Hyloscirtus princecharlesi. The frog — less formally known as the Prince Charles stream tree frog — is endangered, threatened by both climate change and habitat loss. For his rainforest advocacy efforts, Charles has sometimes been called the “Frog Prince.”

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Red shorts, oversized yellow shoes, white gloves, and big ears: We all know this cartoon mouse. The most recognized rodent in the world, Mickey Mouse is the mascot of Disney and appears on everything from coffee cups and T-shirts to purses and watches. Though he started out on the silver screen, Mickey’s also active in cyberspace — his Instagram account has more than 3 million followers. Here are eight great facts you might not know about the world’s favorite mouse.

Walt Disney Didn’t Draw the Original Mickey Mouse

Walt Disney is the person most closely associated with Mickey, but it was Disney’s creative partner, Ub Iwerks, who first sketched out the cute cartoon mouse. Disney and Iwerks met while working in Kansas City and dreamed up Mickey when they lost the rights to their first popular character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. (Oswald eventually came home to Disney in 2006.) Iwerks made a number of important technological contributions to filmography, and was honored with two Academy Awards.

Mickey Is Almost 100 Years Old

When Mickey burst on the scene in 1928, Herbert Hoover was President, and “talkies” (movies with sound) were just taking off. In fact, Mickey’s first two appearances were in silent cartoons (Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho), although these failed to find a distributor.

Mickey’s third effort — and first public appearance — was Steamboat Willie, which debuted on November 18, 1928, at the Colony Theater in New York. The short film was an immediate hit, and Mickey’s first two shorts were then released publicly, with music and sound effects added.

The Mouse Never Rests

Since his 1928 debut, Mickey Mouse has appeared in more than 120 theatrical releases. He’s also the mascot of the Disney theme parks (in Florida, Shanghai, Paris, California, and Hong Kong). If that weren’t enough, the anthropomorphic mouse keeps guests company on Disney cruises, and laces up his skates to perform in Disney on Ice, which has entertained more than 320 million guests in 68 countries since 1981.

He’s a One-Mouse Man (Um, Mouse)

While they’ve never been married on-screen, Walt Disney himself said, “In private life, Mickey is married to Minnie.” The couple have been together since the beginning, although Minerva (Minnie’s real name) did date Mickey’s archnemesis, Mortimer Mouse, for a time. Minnie’s a career woman, too. In 1988, she starred in her own TV special, Totally Minnie, along with Suzanne Somers, Elton John, and Robert Carradine.

Walt Disney Voiced Mickey and Minnie

Not liking the voice actors he interviewed, Walt Disney voiced Mickey from 1929 to 1946. But before Walt took over, Mickey’s first words were spoken by composer Carl Stalling in The Karnival Kid. Those words? “Hot dog!”

Here’s some real romance: Later actors who voiced Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor, got married in real life. Since 2009, Mickey has been voiced by Bret Iwan.

He’s No Stranger to the Red Carpet …

Mickey has rubbed elbows with celebrities at the Academy Awards over the years.  In 1988 and again in 2003, he presented the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. His cartoons have been nominated for that same award 10 times, and one, Lend a Paw, came home with the golden statue in 1941. Meanwhile, Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award in 1932 for creating the cartoon mouse.

… Or the Hollywood Walk of Fame

If Academy Awards weren’t enough, in 1978, Mickey Mouse was the first cartoon character to get his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in honor of his 50th anniversary. (Minnie has one, too.) And in 2005, Mickey Mouse was the first cartoon character selected to be the grand marshal of Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses Parade.

Lots of Stars Have Mickey to Thank for Their First Major Appearance

The first Mickey Mouse Club variety show aired in 1955, with 39 child actors singing, dancing, and acting in skits. The show ran for three seasons, and a number of “Mouseketeers,” such as Annette Funicello and Johnny Crawford, went on to big Hollywood careers. The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, which launched in 1989, gave us Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling.

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He became one of the biggest names in Hollywood by way of the tough-as-nails persona displayed in films such as Hang ’Em High (1968) and Dirty Harry (1971), and then garnered even more prestige as the director of Academy Award-winning films such as Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). But Clint Eastwood didn’t simply roll out of bed one day and become a movie star, nor has he focused exclusively on filmmaking over the course of a rich life that began during the Great Depression. Read on to learn more about this American icon… if you feel lucky, punk.

An Army Stint Ignited His Interest in Acting

Like many young adults, Eastwood bounced around a bit before finding his true calling. His early resume included time spent as a hay baler, truck driver, gas pumper, and lumberjack. However, it was his turn as an Army swim instructor that ultimately pointed the tall, athletic Californian toward Hollywood. While he took the cushy job to avoid deployment to the Korean War, the gig also brought him into contact with drafted actors such as Richard Long, Martin Milner, and David Janssen. Noting the post-Army screen successes of these friends, Eastwood ultimately elected to take acting classes at Los Angeles City College following his discharge.

A Low Asking Price Led to Eastwood’s First Big-Screen Starring Role

In hindsight, it seems logical that Eastwood made the winning leap from cattle driver Rowdy Yates on Rawhide to the (mostly) nameless gunslinger of A Fistful of Dollars (1964), but success was no sure thing at the time. For starters, Eastwood received the opportunity largely because he was cheaper than other prominent American actors — not always a great sign for the overall viability of a project. There was also the matter of communication issues, as Italian director Sergio Leone spoke little English. And then there was the lawsuit filed by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, who accused Leone of copying his samurai movie Yojimbo (1961). Despite the production troubles, Fistful and its sequels For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) became overseas hits before finally reaching American shores in 1967, paving the way for Eastwood’s big-screen career to take off.

Eastwood Became Dirty Harry After Other Stars Passed on the Part

Other than his Man with No Name antihero from the Dollars Trilogy, Eastwood is perhaps best known for portraying “Dirty Harry” Callahan across five films. But that famous role also nearly went to someone else, as Robert Mitchum and Steve McQueen were reportedly among the big-name stars who rejected the offer. According to Eastwood, it was Paul Newman who first tipped off a studio executive that the erstwhile spaghetti Western star would be a good fit for the part. After Frank Sinatra pulled out of the movie, Dirty Harry finally moved ahead with the man who would become its iconic, magnum-toting lead.

He Served One Term as Mayor of a California Town

Following in the footsteps of actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan, Eastwood in 1986 launched a bid for the mayorship of Carmel-by-the-Sea, the tiny mid-California coastal town he’d called home for several years. After winning in a landslide, Mayor Eastwood overturned some of the town’s archaic ordinances, including one that made it illegal to eat ice cream on the street. He also expanded the local library. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, of course, as residents grumbled about the influx of tourists who showed up to get a glimpse of the movie star running the show. Rather than leverage what had been a mostly successful tenure into a heftier political profile, Eastwood announced he was stepping down after one term to spend more time with his children.

Eastwood Recorded a Chart-Topping Country Music Hit

A music enthusiast, Eastwood has delivered several simple but resonant scores for his movies, though his track record as a singer is decidedly more mixed. His album Rawhide’s Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites (1963) failed to make an impact on the charts, and the sight of his stoic frontiersman crooning “I Talk to the Trees” in Paint Your Wagon (1969) remains somewhat jarring. To his credit, Eastwood shrugged off the critics and continued recording songs when inspired, even scoring a No. 1 country hit alongside Merle Haggard in 1980 with the catchy sing-along “Bar Room Buddies.”

The Big-Screen Tough Guy Has a Soft Spot for Animals

It may not come as a surprise to anyone who watched Eastwood pal around with Clyde the Orangutan in Every Which Way but Loose (1978), but the man behind Dirty Harry and other Tinseltown tough guys is a big softie when it comes to animals. In a 2009 interview with GQ, the actor described a homestead filled with pigs, chickens, birds, and a “crazy rabbit,” and disclosed that the last time he’d cried was when a pet cockatoo died. Similarly, his daughter Alison recalled a houseful of pets while growing up, including the baby deer taken in after its mother was hit by a car. However, Alison also revealed that her father isn’t so welcoming to all animals — he’s apparently allergic to cats and some dogs.

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You must remember this: If a kiss is just a kiss, and a sigh is just a sigh, when is a film not just a film? Certainly when it’s a phenomenon like Casablanca, a hit movie that enjoyed a profitable box-office run and claimed three Academy Awards, then went on to become something even greater — a symbol of old Hollywood operating at the peak of its powers. At the risk of breaking the timeless spell woven by the iconic Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, here’s a rundown of six facts behind the making of this legendary feature.

“Casablanca” Originated as a Stage Play

Horrified by the antisemitic environment he witnessed on a trip to Vienna in 1938, English teacher Murray Burnett teamed with writing partner Joan Alison to pen a play about refugees seeking safe passage from war-torn Europe, titled Everybody Comes to Rick’s. Sold to Warner Bros. in 1941 for the then-impressive sum of $20,000 after being unable to find a Broadway producer, Everybody Comes to Rick’s underwent a series of changes before emerging as Casablanca, although the main character of Rick Blaine and the general premise remained largely the same. After decades of seeking more recognition for his part in creating one of Hollywood’s most famous films, Burnett finally saw his original play produced for the first time — under the title of Rick’s Bar Casablanca — in London in 1991.

The Cast Was Filled With Foreign-Born Actors

It’s fitting that a film about refugees was made with a predominantly immigrant cast. According to Noah Isenberg’s We’ll Always Have Casablanca, more than 30 countries were represented among the approximately 75 actors in the film; of the 14 actors to earn a screen credit, only three were born in the United States. Many had actually fled the Nazi regime, adding an extra layer of emotional heft to the movie that occasionally bubbled to the surface. Dan Seymour, who played the doorman Abdul, later noted that there were real tears flowing during the powerful scene where the resistance supporters drown out the singing Nazis by belting out “La Marseillaise.”

The Film’s Producer Wanted Sam To Be a Woman

Play it, Samantha? As described by Isenberg, producer Hal B. Wallis toyed with the idea of making the pianist at Rick’s Cafe Americain a woman, with Lena Horne and Hazel Scott among those up for consideration. The role ultimately went to Dooley Wilson, a drummer who went through the motions of piano playing while Elliot Carpenter handled the instrument nearby, off-screen. Wallis was reportedly unimpressed with Dooley’s singing and also wanted the songs redubbed, although in the end it is Dooley’s voice we hear throughout the film on compositions such as “It Had to Be You,” “Knock on Wood,” and, of course, “As Time Goes By.”

The Film’s Composer Disliked “As Time Goes By”

Written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931 for the Broadway musical “Everybody’s Welcome,” “As Time Goes By” featured prominently in the script for Everybody Comes to Rick’s, and was still embedded in Casablanca by the time composer Max Steiner was assigned the score. Per Isenberg, Steiner was not a fan of what he described as the “lousiest tune,” and his efforts to have it eradicated from the film were allegedly halted only because it would have entailed numerous reshoots. Steiner did, however, ultimately find a way to build his soundtrack around the wistful strains of “As Time Goes By” — a move that clearly pleased generations of audiences, considering it was named the No. 2 song in Hollywood movie history by the American Film Institute in 2010.

The Screenwriters Devised an Ending To Conform to Ethics Codes

With the script still unfinished by the time shooting began in May 1942, primary screenwriters Julius and Philip Epstein rushed to finish off a story that would conform to the strict guidelines of the Production Code Administration. One of the biggest problems was coming up with a satisfying ending, knowing full well that the PCA would never permit Rick to ride off with the married Ilsa. According to legend, the Epstein brothers were driving along a stretch of Sunset Boulevard when they simultaneously looked at one another and declared, “Round up the usual suspects!” The bolt of inspiration put the final pieces of the puzzle in place: Captain Renault covers for the murder of Major Strasser with one of his signature lines, setting the stage for Rick’s need to escape and his noble but bittersweet farewell to Ilsa.

“Casablanca” Was Extensively Edited for Its Initial Release in Germany

Casablanca was nowhere to be found in Germany following its widespread release in 1943, and by the time the film arrived in German theaters in 1952, it looked markedly different from the version Americans had grown to love. Gone were any references to the Nazis, which meant auf wiedersehen to the above-mentioned “La Marseillaise” singing scene. Some of the characters also emerged in different forms, with resistance leader Victor Laszlo now an Interpol-wanted Norwegian physicist named Victor Larsen. Altogether, the German-appeasing efforts shortened about 25 minutes from the film, which eventually surfaced in original form in the country in 1975.

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The color purple is many things — a quirk of human biology, a spectral anomaly, and a symbol of power and prestige that stretches back into time immemorial. These six facts explore the amazingly rich, scientifically complicated history of that intriguing mix of blue and red we call purple.

The Word “Purple” Is Related to the Greek Name for a Specific Mollusk

The origins of the word “purple” lie in the ancient Greek porphura, which also means “purple.” However, the word is also a reference to a particular mollusk — a sea snail, to be precise. Known as the purpura mollusk (Stramonita haemastoma), this sea snail and another known as the dye murex (Bolinus brandaris) were the primary means by which the ancient Phoenicians of the Levant developed a purple dye known as Tyrian purple (named after the city of Tyre, where it was manufactured). Starting possibly as far back as the 16th century BCE, Phoenicians (whose name derives from a Greek word for “purple”) derived the dye from dehydrated mucus glands behind the creature’s rectum. Each mollusk yielded extremely limited amounts of dye, requiring a staggering 12,000 mollusks to produce just one gram of the stuff.

The Color Purple Technically Doesn’t Exist

Our eyes perceive color in the visible spectrum due to particular wavelengths: Red is the longest wavelength, at 700 nanometers, whereas violet is the shortest, at 380 nanometers. This is why the invisible wavelengths just below this threshold are known as ultraviolet, or UV rays (and why wavelengths directly above 700 nanometers are known as “infrared”).

The color purple, however, is what physicists call a “nonspectral color,” meaning it isn’t represented by a particular wavelength of light, but is instead a mixture of them as perceived by our brain. While some people use violet and purple interchangeably, the two colors are distinct; violet (which is part of the visible spectrum) has a more bluish hue, whereas purple is more red. The cones in our eyes receive inputs, and our brain uses ratios of these inputs to represent subtleties of color. Purple is therefore a complete construction of our brain, as no wavelength represents the color naturally. But purple isn’t alone — the same can be said for other colors such as black and white, as well as particular hues mixed with grayscale, such as pink and brown.

Only One National Flag in the World Contains Purple

Expert vexillologists (people who study flags) have noticed a strange color conundrum: Only one national flag in the world contains the color purple, and that flag belongs to the small Caribbean island nation of Dominica. The flag, adopted on November 3, 1978, after the country gained independence from Great Britain, features a green field representing the island’s forests, accompanied by yellow, white, and black crosses. At its center is a red disk with 10 stars (for the 10 parishes on the island) — all encircling the purple plumage of the sisserou parrot (Amazona imperialis), the country’s national bird. Although Nicaragua and El Salvador do feature rainbows on their flags, purple technically isn’t found in a spectral rainbow (see above), so the flag of Dominica stands alone in its purple splendor.

Carrots Used To Be Purple

Your average supermarket orange carrot originally evolved thanks to the Dutch during the 16th century. But when the cultivated carrot first appeared some 5,000 years ago in Central Asia, it’s thought that they were often a bright purple rather than the orange we know today. An unsupported myth suggests that the Dutch purposefully cultivated orange carrots to honor their national hero William of Orange, but the more likely reason is that the orange-hued varieties tasted better, stained less, and were overall well adapted to the country’s mild, wet climate. Although you’ll likely have to hunt farther afield than your local Piggly Wiggly, some varieties of carrots today still retain the original purple hue.

In Elizabethan England, It Could Be Illegal To Wear Purple

From ancient times until as recently as the 19th century, the color purple was closely associated with royalty — often because they were the only class that could afford such luxury, which was extremely expensive to produce in the days when the color was still made from sea snails. Persian kings and Egyptian rulers wore the illustrious hue, and Julius Caesar similarly donned a purple toga, setting a 1,500-year-long trend for subsequent emperors in Rome and Byzantium.

The color was so intimately tied with the ruling class that the children of kings, queens, and emperors were said to be “born to the purple.” By the 16th century, however, things slowly began to change, as a wealthy merchant class began snatching purple-dyed garments of their own. In 1577, fearing that such lavish spending on “unnecessary foreign wares” could bankrupt the kingdom, Queen Elizabeth I passed sumptuary laws that essentially outlined a strict dress code based on class. Of course, the color purple (and crimson) was reserved for her majesty and her extended royal family, “upon payne to forfett the seid apparel.”

The First Synthetic Dye Was Purple

Royals and the super-wealthy might have retained their grip on the color purple if not for an 18-year-old British chemist named William Henry Perkin. In 1856, Perkin failed to create a synthetic form of quinine, a compound used to treat malaria. When cleaning out the brown sludge in his beaker with alcohol, he noticed the mixture from the failed experiment turned a brilliant purple — a color he eventually called “mauveine.” This happy accident was the world’s first synthetic dye, and Perkin quickly discovered that his serendipitous creation was immensely cheaper to produce, and lasted longer, than the naturally occurring alternative. The exclusionary tyranny of royal purple was over, and even Queen Victoria herself soon began wearing garments dyed in the brilliant synthetic purple.