# Sinclair-green Brontosauri

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinclair-green-brontosauri/99802>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 24, 2002, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinclair-green-brontosauri/99802 "2002-03-24T03:46:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tommy\_jonq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f9ae1b/32.png) [@tommy\_jonq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tommy_jonq)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinclair-green-brontosauri/99802/1 "2002-03-24T03:46:55Z")

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Contrary to movies like “Giant,” crude oil is not black. Very often, it’s a pale green color. If exposed to air, various components like gasoline evaporate away, leaving a dark-brown sludge that can appear black.

Crude producers like Conoco and Sinclair often painted their tanks, trucks, and other equipment green so that they wouldn’t look so filthy from spilled crude oil. The green was then incorporated into their respective logos. In fact, their is (or was, anyway) a shade of paint called “Conoco Green.”

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinclair-green-brontosauri/99802/2 "2002-03-24T04:19:51Z")

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A link to the column is appreciated.

[What color were dinosaurs?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_010.html)

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinclair-green-brontosauri/99802/3 "2002-03-24T22:06:10Z")

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I dunno, “Green gold, Texas tea” doesn’t quite sound right…

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**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sinclair-green-brontosauri/99802/4 "2002-03-25T16:52:24Z")

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[“Crude oils vary in color, from clear to tar-black.”](http://www.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining1.htm) I don’t think they worried too much about how the spills looked.