# You Should Now Be Afraid of the Colour Yellow **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 24, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151 "2014-02-24T21:21:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/21 "2014-02-25T12:13:27Z")
So Robert W. Chambers was right all along? ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_King\_in\_Yellow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_in_Yellow)) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/22 "2014-02-25T12:31:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > A news story like your post would have been informative and educational, rather than just telling us that everything coloured yellow might be killing us (or our babies) now. It really is an okay article, though. It talks about where PCBs come from, why they’re bad, what the scientists have found, etc. Perhaps I’m biased because I know a little about this topic already. But the article is not supposed to be an exhaustive literature review. It’s supposed to get you interested so you’ll do your own follow-up. I know junk reporting when I see it, and I’m not seeing it here. There’s a lot of shit out there that seems harmless (like yellow dye) but it’s not. Manufacturers are banking on folks rolling their eyes at stories like this because it gets them off the hook. Meanwhile, everyone’s got an ADHD/Aspergic/Tourette’s kid. Or they’ve got fibromylagia or infertility. And we act like it’s a huge mystery why, when really the science has been pointing to the answer for years. And we’ve chosen to joke around instead of actually listen to it. It makes my job harder, you know? Sorry to be all serious. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/23 "2014-02-25T12:53:14Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > What the shit? “[A]ccording to a new unpublished study,” how do I get national (well, Canada) coverage for something that hasn’t even been completed? I have something that I’ve been sitting on for awhile, can someone give me press coverage so I don’t have to peer review it? Talk to your university’s PR department. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/24 "2014-02-25T13:05:25Z")
Start your own website. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/25 "2014-02-25T13:46:44Z")
Yellow wallpaper makes me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/26 "2014-02-25T14:12:56Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > … > There’s a lot of shit out there that seems harmless (like yellow dye) but it’s not. Manufacturers are banking on folks rolling their eyes at stories like this because it gets them off the hook. Meanwhile, everyone’s got an ADHD/Aspergic/Tourette’s kid. Or they’ve got fibromylagia or infertility. And we act like it’s a huge mystery why, when really the science has been pointing to the answer for years. … > Sorry to be all serious. Wait, that article says everyone is practically bathed in the stuff and you’re saying that science has pointed to this as the reason for ADHD/Aspergic/Tourette’s, fibromylagia and infertility. I find that to be an amazing claim. Sorry to be all skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/27 "2014-02-25T14:31:51Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > OK, can you explain to me why this is junk science? > > One of my colleagues is the state’s PCBs expert. For years he has been working to raise awareness about PCB-11 in our office supply products. He only works with laboratories that are careful in their use of recycled paper since the yellow dye shows up everywhere. Just a little can contaminate his legal samples. Since the concentration threshold for PCBs that we use to determine if a waterbody is polluted is so low (think a drop in a swimming pool), contamination is a serious issue. > > PCBs are nothing to play around with. They are linked to everything from neurological deficits to immunological effects. > > I know every day we hear about yet another everyday thing that’s killing us, and we start thinking that it’s all a buncha shit. But there is no “harmless” amount of PCBs. There are some congeners that are more toxic than others, but all of it is pretty bad. These substances can also degrade into more toxic by-products. And they take forever to go away. > > [http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/about.htm](http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/about.htm) > > In my great state of Virginia, PCBs are responsible for the majority of our fish consumption advisories. And I’m guessing this holds for pretty much everywhere else. > > TLDR: Neither the article or the science is junk. I worked on a PCB/Dioxin study on the Ohio River, and yes, the entire river has a fish consumption advisory because of PCB’s and Dioxins. It’s truly amazing how little of these compounds can cause problems. We figured that for the 981 miles of the Ohio River the allowable load was equal to 1 paperclip in weight. Our methods had detection limits in the femtogram range (10x -15). Also of interest is that congener 11 had a big spike at Cincinnati. Plenty of dye manufacturing there. Kelevra ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/28 "2014-02-25T14:43:00Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Wait, that article says everyone is practically bathed in the stuff and you’re saying that science has pointed to this as the reason for ADHD/Aspergic/Tourette’s, fibromylagia and infertility. > > I find that to be an amazing claim. > > Sorry to be all skeptical. [PCBs exposure in early life may increase autism risk in children](http://www.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/news/2012/04_24_12_feature.html) I don’t understand your skepticism. PCBs are all around us, but so is cancer and a ton of other diseases and conditions. Like [obesity](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18560532). It is true that our exposure is really low, but PCBs are toxic enough that you don’t really need a whole lot to see an effect. Please consult your state’s fish consumption advisories to see if you are at risk. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/29 "2014-02-25T15:19:09Z")
Roy G. Biv is going to take this news really hard. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/30 "2014-02-25T17:19:16Z")
And remember - red to yellow, [kill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_snake) a fellow, red to black, poison [lack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampropeltis_elapsoides)! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/31 "2014-02-25T19:18:41Z")
Curious George’s friend may be in trouble. He’s The Man in the Yellow Hat, in case you didn’t know that. His suit’s yellow, too. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/32 "2014-02-25T19:21:52Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It really is an okay article, though. It talks about where PCBs come from, why they’re bad, what the scientists have found, etc. Perhaps I’m biased because I know a little about this topic already. But the article is not supposed to be an exhaustive literature review. It’s supposed to get you interested so you’ll do your own follow-up. It would be great if people did that, but they don’t, and news people know that. They’ll see a story like that and get all scared and throw everything yellow out of their house. Alerting us to a real danger is great - what yellow is safe, and what yellow is not safe? Should I throw everything yellow out? How much yellow dye exposure is safe? Is it okay to be exposed to it as an adult, but not for kids? They told us enough to scare us, but not enough to give us any real direction. Maybe I should have said I hate scare jouralism. > [@](#): > > \ > Sorry to be all serious. Go for it! It makes for a better discussion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/33 "2014-02-26T00:33:26Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Maybe I should have said I hate scare jouralism. Don’t you mean [yellow journalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism)? I’m too lazy to work out a yellow peril joke. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/34 "2014-02-26T00:51:50Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > It would be great if people did that, but they don’t, and news people know that. They’ll see a story like that and get all scared and throw everything yellow out of their house… I really don’t think most people do this, though. Most people react the same way posters in this thread have. They either ignore the information or they call it a joke. Hell, I’ve been knowing about PCB-11 for years. I know how awful PCBs are. And guess what? I’ve still got post-it notes on my desk. I also use a yellow legal pad. My coworker always clucks his tongue at me, and I just laugh it off. Gotta die of something, right? There may have been a time when the news caused us to panic over stuff like this. But nowadays, all I seem to hear is, “We all gotta die of something!” Or, “These stupid scientists! They just make shit up!” These reactions are much more common than hysteria, in my experience. I almost WISH people would panic. Maybe then there would be pressure to do something. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/35 "2014-02-26T01:22:11Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I really don’t think most people do this, though. Most people react the same way posters in this thread have. They either ignore the information or they call it a joke. > > Hell, I’ve been knowing about PCB-11 for years. I know how awful PCBs are. And guess what? I’ve still got post-it notes on my desk. I also use a yellow legal pad. My coworker always clucks his tongue at me, and I just laugh it off. Gotta die of something, right? > > There may have been a time when the news caused us to panic over stuff like this. But nowadays, all I seem to hear is, “We all gotta die of something!” Or, “These stupid scientists! They just make shit up!” These reactions are much more common than hysteria, in my experience. > > I almost WISH people would panic. Maybe then there would be pressure to do something. Dopers aren’t typical people - I have a sister who has probably removed all the yellow from her house by now (she’s a big fan of Dr. Oz to tell you how discerning she is). I wish people would understand that a two minute blurb on the noon news isn’t enough to change your life over - it is enough to send you off googling, but they seem to think that you’re getting all you need to know from the news. You’re right about all the scare journalism crying wolf, too - if the yellow dyes are indeed a real concern, there no doubt will be a whole lot of people (me included) who think it’s just the scare du jour and nothing real to be concerned about. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/36 "2014-02-26T06:43:29Z")
I’ve already stopped eating all of my yellow office supplies. ---
**Author:** ![gmas4321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/439d5e/32.png) [@gmas4321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gmas4321)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/37 "2014-02-26T08:12:51Z")
If its not one thing its another. Now what? People are going to start dying of yellow paper disease, that’s what. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/38 "2014-02-27T23:50:00Z")
Aha. Now I finally understand what Green Lantern’s problem with the color Yellow was all about. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/39 "2014-02-28T19:29:23Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Aha. Now I finally understand what Green Lantern’s problem with the color Yellow was all about. I suspect you didn’t read post #5. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151/40 "2014-02-28T19:47:37Z")
But… but… yellow is my favourite colour! Why are you all looking at me like that? Wait! Nooooo… :: flees :: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-should-now-be-afraid-of-the-colour-yellow/682151.md?page=3)