# I never saw a purple bear... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691 "2003-07-20T03:19:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/1 "2003-07-20T03:19:45Z")
… till now; here’s a [photo](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030718/170/4q3bu.html) of one, but I can tell you, if you care, I’d rather see than love one. (So I’m not Gelett Burgess. Sue me. 🙂 ) What the heck is the drug they’re giving to it? Any relation to gentian violet, an old-time treatment for some skin conditions? And wasn’t there a poster named purplebear? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/2 "2003-07-20T03:28:56Z")
It’s been transrealimogrified from the Game Black and White. (Shut up. I am far too tired to make sense) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/3 "2003-07-20T03:33:00Z")
I want them to harness whatever it was that turned this bear purlple to make me a green cat. (brilliant light green. In fact - if possible - luminous green!) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/4 "2003-07-20T03:43:52Z")
It’s fake. Look at the bars in front of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/5 "2003-07-20T04:49:22Z")
Party Pooper!☹ ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/6 "2003-07-20T04:52:32Z")
Hmmm. It looks like that bear has been Graped by the…oh, nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/7 "2003-07-20T05:42:01Z")
That colour-bleeding became really obvious while I was making [this picture for b3ta…](http://www.b3ta.com/board/1624280) ---
**Author:** ![starman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@starman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starman)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/8 "2003-07-20T11:34:18Z")
Luminous green is no problem. Just introduce a glowing jellyfish gene and Voila! Glow in the dark felines. Plenty of glowy mice around already. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/9 "2003-07-20T12:50:49Z")
Hair is dead stuff. It wouldn’t be sucking up color from inside, the way you can change the color of a daisy or carnation by putting food coloring in the water. Even if it **could** suck up color from the bear, it would take more than a month for the un-tainted color to grow out. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/10 "2003-07-21T22:34:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*It’s fake. Look at the bars in front of it. \*\* It’s real. It has been shown on TV and you can see [other photos](http://www.cuyonoticias.com.ar/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=404). JPG bleeds. ---
**Author:** ![Br\_er\_Lapin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Br\_er\_Lapin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Br_er_Lapin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/11 "2003-07-21T22:46:46Z")
Sure, pieces of the bars in front of her look purple, but so do pieces of bars behind her. My (obvious) guess is they applied some kind of stuff to her coat that also acts as strong dye and it’ll fade within a month. I know there are medicines given to fish that dye the sealant on the tank blue, and then there’s iodine which is a pretty decent dye… it’s not hard to believe that there is a treatment for skin conditions which also happens to be bright purple. It looks really neat. And yeah, what ever became of **purplebear** anyhow? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/12 "2003-07-22T01:03:21Z")
**sailor** : muchas gracias, señor, for that link! The kludgy AltaVista translation of that page says (emphasis added): > [@](#): > > A polar bear teidos its hairs of violet is atraccin of the Zoolgico de Mendoza and wakes up in the visitors but varied expressions, specially in nios. The polar bear Pelusa has a micosis and as treatment to their seasonal disease the veterinarians place a blue red to him that tie the hair. > > \ > > The Dr Alberto Duarte, Head of Veteninarios of the mendocino zoolgico afirm that the treatment to last about ten days ms and that the hair of the animal est growing normally, and the lack of exposicin to possibly pave in winter in the cage where est installed next to their Arturo male is the cause of the micosis that is wanted to eradicate with **genciana violet**. My shot in the dark was a bullseye!!! YEE-HAW! ---
**Author:** ![purrplebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@purrplebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purrplebear)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/13 "2003-07-22T02:09:39Z")
Hello, one and all. I am still here, though more of a lurker these days. It’s nice to know some remember me, **rowrrbazzle** and **Bre’r Lappin**. 🙂 And I have already replied to the first thread about this I saw today, **RTFirefly** ’s thread. purrplebear, tickled to find more pics of this distant relative… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Great\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_One)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-saw-a-purple-bear/189691/14 "2003-07-22T03:29:19Z")
when i first read the title, i thought this was a spoof on this poem: I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one, But I can tell you anyhow, I’d rather see than be one. Okay, so it would be impossible to do a spoof on that, and it is an actual poem for all those doubting folks back in Greenland. (Wow, talk about hijacking a thread).