# Could early man only see three colors?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors/569521>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [January 30, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors/569521 "2011-01-30T16:52:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fowardpass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@Fowardpass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fowardpass)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors/569521/1 "2011-01-30T16:52:41Z")

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This is from Calvin and Hobbes, the comic strip. It explains a lot.

Calvin: Dad, how come old photographs are always black and white? Didn’t they have color film back then?  
Dad: Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs are in color. It’s just the world was black and white then.  
Calvin: Really?  
Dad: Yep. The world didn’t turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.  
Calvin: That’s really weird.  
Dad: Well, truth is stranger than fiction.  
Calvin: But then why are old paintings in color?! If their world was black and white, wouldn’t artists have painted it that way?  
Dad: Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.  
Calvin: But… but how could they have painted in color anyway? Wouldn’t their paints have been shades of gray back then?  
Dad: Of course, but they turned colors like everything else did in the '30s.  
Calvin: So why didn’t old black and white photos turn color too?  
Dad: Because they were color pictures of black and white, remember?

Calvin: The world is a complicated place, Hobbes.  
Hobbes: Whenever it seem that way, I take a nap in a tree and wait for dinner.

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors/569521/2 "2011-01-30T17:26:20Z")

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Welsome to SDMB, Fowardpass. Since most of us cannot see inside your mind, it’s always a good idea to indicate the column that triggered your post so we don’t have to guess or swear at you.

[Perhaps this is the one.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/449/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors)

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**Author:** ![Fowardpass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@Fowardpass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fowardpass)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors/569521/3 "2011-02-03T18:04:32Z")

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I thought that was covered under the heading, thanks.

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors/569521/4 "2011-02-04T01:02:21Z")

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That Calvin and Dad exchange was one of the funniest strips that ever ran.

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-early-man-only-see-three-colors/569521/5 "2011-02-04T02:40:01Z")

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> [@Fowardpass](#):
>
> I thought that was covered under the heading, thanks.

Until vB allows a link in a heading, we are forced to do it the manual way.

I miss Calvin & Hobbes, too.