Color: The Secret Influence – what does this title mean? It means that even though you may not be aware of it color is influencing you every day. We take color for granted. It surrounds us. It penetrates our bodies as light waves. We eat it in fruits, vegetables and artificial food colorings. Our lives depend on color. We rely on colored traffic light to warn us of danger, on color coding to separate beneficial medicines from poisons. We buy products because advertising appeals to us on a subliminal level. While color is a major part of our lives, most of us have only a vague awareness of what color is and how it affects us, so its influence is "secret" but still very real. Used with permission of Exploratorium, www.exploratorium.edu Below are a few facts about color that may surprise you. Did you know...... •Color and Light are inextricably linked. You cannot have color without light. •Color is a small part of the vast electromagnetic spectrum that includes radio frequencies, microwaves, and light. •Color/light can penetrate your body – it has even been detected in the brain of a living sheep. •Your skin is your largest photoreceptor, absorbing more color/light than your eyes. •Pink can cause muscle weakness within 2.7 seconds after exposure. It is believed to affect the endocrine system almost immediately. •Color/light can affect the immune system. •Color/light therapy is used for treating jaundice in premature babies. •Light-based therapies are used for treating disorders such as psoriasis. •Experiments have shown that red light can kill the HIV virus in blood. •Researchers are studying a new generation of drugs that work by interacting with light to target specific areas of the body. •Red light has been used as a wound healer and has been shown to stimulate production of cell tissue and promote the regeneration of skin and blood tissue.