# Why couldn't black and white television show zebras like Mr. Ed or referee uniforms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458 "2003-06-12T22:23:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/1 "2003-06-12T22:23:22Z")
Per this Snopes link that indicates Mr. Ed was in fact a Zebra, and that he (female zebra actually) appeared to be a whitish mono-colored horse on 60’s B&W television because of the limitations of technology. Why couldn’t television resolve closely integrated black and white images. Zebra and referee stripes are pretty distinct. What was it about them that gave older B&W broadcast television fits? [Mister Ed was a zebra](http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp?version=bw#toggle) > [@](#): > > [sub]The show’s premise, of course, called for a talking horse, not a zebra. The producers felt the concept was already absurd enough without stretching credulity by having to explain why someone would have left a zebra (let alone a talking one) at a country house, so they chose not to explain it at all. They stuck with the original premise instead: Mister Ed was always referred to as a “horse,” and since the series was filmed in black and white, the viewing audience couldn’t tell the difference. > > (The difficulty in resolving closely integrated black and white images on non-color television receivers was one of the primary reasons NFL games were not regularly televised until the mid-1960s, when sales of color TV sets started to outstrip those of black-and-white models. When black-and-white television predominated in the nation’s living rooms, football games were too often disrupted when players ran into the referees, whose black-and-white striped uniform tops made them nearly invisible to onlookers. Likewise, Johnny Cash’s famous televised live concert performance at California’s Folsom Prison in January 1968 proved disastrous when several inmates wearing the traditional black and white prisoner’s garb slipped unnoticed past guards, who had been provided only black and white monitors with which to view the proceedings.) [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/2 "2003-06-12T22:29:22Z")
[Ahem](http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm). > [@](#): > > If any or all of the stories in this section caused your internal clue phone to ring, we hope you didn’t let the answering machine take the call. That niggling little voice of common sense whispering to you in the background was right – there was something wrong with what you read. > > You’ve just had an enounter with False Authority Syndrome. > > Everything in this section is a spoof. Mister Ed was no more a zebra than the origin of the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence had anything to do with pirates on a recruiting drive. ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/3 "2003-06-12T22:29:51Z")
Yeah, that’s actually from their page of “Lost Legends,” which are considered too dubious to be believed. I’ve always thought it was a stupid and irresponsible part of their site, though. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/4 "2003-06-12T22:34:54Z")
I saw an episode of _Mr. Ed_ with a zebra. It was that classic sitcom bit where they get three or four bilingual people to translate a conversation down a chain, back and forth. Wilbur needed to talk with some kind of African monkey, I believe, and since the Zebra was both African and horse, it was the link between Ed and the monkey. They had to break into the zoo to do it. I think that was the only episode I ever saw. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/5 "2003-06-12T22:37:17Z")
In reality, Mr. Ed was a palomino named Bamboo Harvester. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/6 "2003-06-12T22:45:33Z")
Mr Ed was made in the 50’s, when American race relations were not all that great. It was unheard of to show mixed marriages, interracial relationships, etc. By showing a zebra, it would be like television was condoning sex between a black horse and a white horse. I believe _Sheena_, in the 80’s, was the first to lend legitamacy to such unions. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/7 "2003-06-12T22:49:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Darwin’s Finch \* > \*\*[Ahem](http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm). \*\* Oh… :o . I thought it seemed well…odd which is why I asked the question. I was just bopping around Snopes and treating it all like gospel and not reading the category header line by line. Wished they’d made it a little more upfront. Oh well. [Emily Latella Voice] Never mind![/Emily Latella Voice] ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/8 "2003-06-12T23:01:35Z")
> [@](#): > > When black-and-white television predominated in the nation’s living rooms, football games were too often disrupted when players ran into the referees, whose black-and-white striped uniform tops made them nearly invisible to onlookers. This didn’t jump out at you? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/9 "2003-06-12T23:14:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by donkeyoatey \* > \*\*This didn’t jump out at you? \*\* Well I thought it was odd which is what prompted the question. I have never seen a televised football game in black and white. I was raised overseas and didn’t really get back to the US full time until 1968 so lies about the technological limitations or idiosyncrasies of B&W broadcast television have in me a bottomless well of credulity to plumb. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/10 "2003-06-12T23:54:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*Well I thought it was odd which is what prompted the question. > > I have never seen a televised football game in black and white. I was raised overseas and didn’t really get back to the US full time until 1968 so lies about the technological limitations or idiosyncrasies of B&W broadcast television have in me a bottomless well of credulity to plumb. \*\* You still don’t get it. Why would a football game’s being _broadcast_ in b/w cause the players, _who are there_ to run into striped officials because they were hard to see? Hmmm…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/11 "2003-06-13T00:07:20Z")
For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/12 "2003-06-13T00:14:26Z")
In the early days of the AFL (1960s) the officials wore red and white striped uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/13 "2003-06-13T00:21:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Drum God \* > \*\*You still don’t get it. > > Why would a football game’s being _broadcast_ in b/w cause the players, _who are there_ to run into striped officials because they were hard to see? > > Hmmm…:smack: \*\* In all honesty I was just speed cruising the Snopes reference site and per the cited Mr. Ed example didn’t really read much beyond the “zebra” part of the story which prompted the question about B&W TV cameras. I didn’t read the referee section word for word. I really couldn’t understand logically how B&W cameras could _not_ resolve closely spaced black and white stripes. It just didn’t make logical sense to me which is why I asked the question. If I had had paid more attention to the details the absurdity of the claim may well have become evident but I was trusting that the Snopes example was valid because I was taking Snopes from granted as authoritative. Snopes warning about trusting authority (even themselves) even when the facts seem off the beam is quite correct. ---
**Author:** ![Dancing\_Fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Dancing\_Fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancing_Fool)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/14 "2003-06-13T00:31:40Z")
If you reverse this though, I have been told that one of the reasons snooker (pool/billiards whatever) was originally put onto television was the BBC was looking for a sport that only made sense on a colour TV set to help boost the switch from B&W. DancingFool ---
**Author:** ![Eegba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Eegba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eegba)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/15 "2003-06-13T00:42:10Z")
…and in my favorite story from Snopes ever, a real live urban legends TV show pulled one of the stories from the “Lost Legends” page and ran it as [true](http://www.snopes.com/humor/mediagoofs/sixpence.asp). So you’re not alone… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/16 "2003-06-13T00:53:49Z")
What most people don’t realize is that due to the lighting techniques on a set, a real horse would have looked nothing like a horse. So to get Mr. Ed to look like a horse, they actually had to tie a bunch of dogs together. What I don’t understand is how they handled traffic back then. Before color was invented, how did people know when to go at a stoplight? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/17 "2003-06-13T01:08:06Z")
Seriously, though, there is a phenomenon called “strobing” in which closely spaced stripes (not necessarily black and white) are poorly resolved, and appear to flicker disconcertingly. Of course, this makes them more conspicious, not less. ---
**Author:** ![chairface56](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chairface56](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chairface56)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/18 "2003-06-13T01:20:10Z")
On TV you can get a good example of this by watching pro golf, actually. A lot of the golfers wear shirts that, due to the resolution of TV broadcasts, flicker and do other bizarre image-things for those of us viewing at home. Craig Stadler supposedly does it on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/19 "2003-06-13T03:18:55Z")
Irene Ryan appeared on an episode of “Mr. Ed” as “Granny.” ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458/20 "2003-06-13T04:04:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chairface56 \* > \*\*Craig Stadler supposedly does it on purpose. \*\* I think Kaufman did something like that as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-couldnt-black-and-white-television-show-zebras-like-mr-ed-or-referee-uniforms/181458.md?page=2)