# Why do things look darker when whet?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-things-look-darker-when-whet/189193>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 17, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-things-look-darker-when-whet/189193 "2003-07-17T17:33:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-things-look-darker-when-whet/189193/1 "2003-07-17T17:33:36Z")

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Why do many things look darker whent hey are wet? Some good examples that I can think of are any kind of cloth or fabric, carpet, concrete, and wood.

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**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 17, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-things-look-darker-when-whet/189193/2 "2003-07-17T17:46:27Z")

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[Here’s why.](http://www.geocities.com/thesciencefiles/waterstain/darkening.html)

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**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-things-look-darker-when-whet/189193/3 "2003-07-17T20:05:48Z")

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Correct me if I`m wrong, but I believe QED is the one in the wet shirt.

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-things-look-darker-when-whet/189193/4 "2003-07-17T21:59:23Z")

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“It’s always darkest just before the piano falls on you.” --Oliver Faltz

“It has to get worse before it gets worse.” --despair.com

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**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-things-look-darker-when-whet/189193/5 "2003-07-17T23:56:25Z")

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Although the answer supplied above is acceptable, there’s nothing like a Cecil answer to “whet” your appetite for knowledge.

[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_356a.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_356a.html)