The Color Red

0. "It's the color of blood, which keeps us alive. It's the color of roses, lips, and so much more."a. Red is the color of blood, blood keeps us alive. However, if the red blood is seen, then usually someone is loosing blood. More blood, more red, less life. Generally, you want to stop the red. http://www.blscprtraining.com... b. Yes it is the color of most roses, and roses are socially beautiful and romantic. However, roses have thorns, and roses with thorns are not very romantic without some form of protection. The red color of roses is a sign to stay away because they are dangerous. They are not only dangerous because of the thorns, but roses also have high levels of cyanide which is dangerous [1] http://www.ninaijere.com... c. Ehh, lips are not generally red... as seen below, they are all shades of pink. Even if they were red, the primary function of lips is suction (at birth for breast feeding), and to seal our mouths to keep food from falling out when we eat. Does not fit the love theme very well... http://thumbs.dreamstime.com... 1. Red in the natural world:a. Insects with red colors are generally toxic and the red stops predators from eating them [2]. Ladybugs, though beautiful, are a toxic meal. https://www.dosomething.org... b. Fire is orange and red. Fire can be beautiful, but is always hot and dangerous. Do not get too close to fire. http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net... c. Fall is a beautiful. Fall has a lot of red leaves. This red is a sign of death. When a leaf looses its green clorophyll, it is not getting enough light and CO2 and it is dying. Even in strawberries and tomatoes, red is the last color they show before they die. http://www.permies.com...2. Red in the human world: a. Stop signs, red lights, brake lights, fire trucks, Santa Clause, Target, CVS, and Coke-a-Cola. The former mean "stop" or "danger". They all get people's attention (see 4.). 3. Red in religion:a. Devil, hell. Generally not preferable. http://canitbesaturdaynow.com... b. The red chakra is the lowest of them all. It is the root or the base for all of the other chakras. If someone needs to work on their red chakra, they are generally insecure, aggressive, self-pitying, and fearful [4]. http://covingtonweekly.com... c. Red aura: "materialistic thoughts, thoughts about the physical body. Predominantly red Aura indicates materialistically oriented person" [5]. http://www.danielamouser.com... 4. Fear of red is instinctual to even humans:a. The sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions are the part of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for the body's automatic reactions. Normally the parasympathetic is in control, but when humans and other animals are faced with danger, the sympathetic (often called the fight or flight reaction because immediate attention is needed) kicks in. Red increases pulse/heartrate, blood pressure [6], reaction rate, and strength [7]. All of these physical reactions are indicators of a stimulated sympathetic nervous system. This could also be why red is often associated with courage, team colors in sports, and even desire, lust, and "love". Whatever is red automatically demands attention. http://blog.shadygrovefertility.com... 5. Current conclusion:a. Like a lady in a red dress, red may be beautiful and desirable, but in nature, society, and religion, it generally means danger/death, stop, and bad. Animals instinctively know red as a color to avoid. This experiment shows it in monkeys http://io9.com... this one shows it in birds http://www.nature.com...b. Ultimately, the color red should be used by the media to portray bad and violence because it is related to blood, and because it stimulates our "fight or flight" reactions making us more attentive. 6. Sources:[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk...;[2] http://insects.about.com...[3] http://www.color-wheel-pro.com...;[4] http://threeheartscompany.com...[5] http://www.thiaoouba.com...;[6] http://www.psychologistworld.com...;[7] http://www.huffingtonpost.com...;