Mean Green

March 17, Saint Patrick’s Day, conjures up images of mischievous leprechauns, four-leafed clovers, luck of the Irish, and, of course, green. Why green?

A little history: Between 1177 and 1640, royal blue was Ireland’s national color. Well, the Irish—most Irish—are very religious. So in 1641, when the Irish Catholic Confederation created a green harp flag, Ireland’s national color changed to green.

Green is a killer color—literally. In 1775 Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, created a shocking new paint color—deep emerald green. Full of himself, he named it “Scheele’s Green.” It gained popularity and profitability almost overnight.

Children’s bedrooms, carpets, toys, candles, and chic clothing sported Scheele’s Green. The problem was most people who came in contact with it were cursed with at least an oozing rash. Many died. Historians  suspect even Napoleon’s death can, in part, be attributed to the fleur-de-lis Scheele’s Green wallpaper hung in his newly-redecorated bedroom. Then there was Claire Boothe Luce—she died rather mysteriously shortly after her bedroom ceiling was decorated with Scheele’s Green wallpaper. 

Why, you might ask, was Scheele’s Green deadly?  Simple. Arsenic. And the thing is, from the very beginning, Scheele knew his paint contained the deadly poison.

No worries, though. Scheele’s Green paint is no longer a chromatic necessity. It was replaced with the pigments green #7 and #36. Both are manufactured with chlorine and bromine atoms—far friendlier choices on the periodic table of chemical elements.   

My Daddy’s Lawnmower

Judith Kolva, Artist