# Why that revolting putrid color? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160 "2002-04-01T03:17:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MagicalSilverKey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@MagicalSilverKey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicalSilverKey)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/1 "2002-04-01T03:17:28Z")
Why are hospitals, prisons, mental institutions, and police stations, government offices, etc always painted that godawful “Exorcist Vomit Green®,” halfway up the walls? It seems to predominantly appear in hallways. Granted, I see this color scheme mainly on television and in movies, but there must be a **fairly** high probability that the above applies to real places, in real life. it’s just too widely used to be “coincidence.” Since I don’t regularly visit any of the types of places this color scheme usually appears, I can’t say whether or not it is “factual.” FWIW: I have seen this color scheme in real photographs of real places. You can see a fair number of them at [www.darkpassage.com](http://www.darkpassage.com) Which reminds me, I have also seen the color in a good number of episodes of MTV’s “Fear” which is shot on real locations. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/2 "2002-04-01T03:28:18Z")
Our jail has pink walls with teddy bears. Yes it’s the truth! Of course Fuhrer Hege is the craziest Sherrif in the country. Prisoners wear those comic white and black striped costumes too. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/3 "2002-04-01T03:43:51Z")
Most places that are painted in two tone are done that way so that scuffs, dirt etc don’t show up so much and at eye level it is still white. As for the color, maybe it hasn’t been painted in many years (it’s gotta be expensive to repaint all the hallways in such large buildings). ---
**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/4 "2002-04-01T13:20:54Z")
If you have damp walls, it _is_ easier to re-do the wallpaper for only half of the room. ☹ I chose a striped color scheme for my tall room to make it look wider. It adds an imitated horizon. And if you accept a guess from someone with other rooms in smurf blue, mint green, and a shade of turquoise that defies description… The painter uses whatever color comes out from mixing the remaining paint of previous paint jobs. It’s cheaper, but unfortunately it’s most likely one of the above mentioned shades. Trust me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/5 "2002-04-01T13:52:13Z")
I’m sure there’s probably some chromatic psychology involved. According to [this](http://psychology.about.com/library/bl/blcolor_grn1.htm) site (pop-ups ahoy!), olive green is the color of peace, which may explain it’s use in prisons. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/6 "2002-04-01T20:36:12Z")
I’d once heard that the off-green caused blood splatters to show as black, rather than red, and so was less stressful on the people working in hospitals and such. Anyone know if this is true? ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/7 "2002-04-01T22:11:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tranquilis \* > \*\*I’d once heard that the off-green caused blood splatters to show as black, rather than red, and so was less stressful on the people working in hospitals and such. > > Anyone know if this is true? \*\* I posted on that exact thing a few months ago for me mum. Yes, when blood hits that, it looks like harmless brown. Patients and staff alike don’t get freaked. That’s also the reason for blue and green scrubs. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/8 "2002-04-01T22:18:12Z")
Cool! Thanx. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/9 "2002-04-01T22:33:26Z")
I understood that that ugly green color was actually soothing. IIRC, people sitting in red, yellow, or orange rooms had their anxiety levels rise (don’t know what other colors did). ---
**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-that-revolting-putrid-color/101160/10 "2002-04-02T14:01:34Z")
**red\_dragon60** , here it is: [Surgical scrubs and green coloring; complimentary color effects?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=67982) > [@](#): > > Blood Red looks like Not Absolutely Revolting Brown when splattered all over that color green Something about hospitals in there, too. Another related thread: [Why is hospital jello invariably green (lime)?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=55989) > [@](#): > > In case of vomiting, they want to know that red means blood, not jello. > […] A bloody red gelatinus dessert after my skin graft? Why not! Surgeons wear colors that look nicer with blood. Guess butchers wear white aprons just to show off as tough guys. That may explain the wall color of hospitals. (Couldn’t a camouflage pattern additionaly take care of ‘technicolor-yawns’? :p) Blood in police stations - OK. But do they expect _that_ many shootings in government offices? Who _plans_ those buildings? Do they know the difference between ‘soothing’ and ‘knocking out’? We have so far:[ul][li]revolting putrid color[/li][li]Exorcist Vomit Green®[/li][li]atrocious shade[/li][li]ugly (shade of) green[/li][li]off-green[/li][li]yucky green[/li][li]dismal green[/ul][/li]Did I miss one?