The "Roses Are Red...But So Are Barns" Story

The Red Barn...An Ionic Color!

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a few online stories when I came across one called, "The Reason Barns are Painted Red Goes all the way Back to the Cosmos."  Caught my eye immediately, especially since it was illustrated by quite a few photographs of red barns from all over the United States.  So, do you know why barns are painted red?  Someone actually did a study on the question and finally came up with an answer in 2013.  He wrote a story for Google and explained how a red barn was far more than just a building with a paint color on it.  The whole deal is actually a gateway to the workings of the cosmos.  Engineer Yonatan Zunger began his quest for an answer as a result of an episode of a long-forgotten sitcom titles "Head of the Class."  The TV show dates back to the late 1980s.  From the big hair to the clunky IBM terminals in the classroom, there's not doubt that the show was close to 40 years ago.  The show was about gifted students and during one particular show, it was asked why red barns are a commonplace sight.  The show says that red paint was cheaper.  And Mr. Zunger found that to be absolutely true.  But, is that the only reason why barns were painted red?  To make red paint, manufacturers need rust, or the iron-oxide compound red ochre.  

Red is good for anytime of the year.

They get it from the ground where a star had collapsed at one time or another.  The story I was reading said that dying stars become bogged down with heavy elements which cause them to die.  Stars are created when dust and gas clouds mix together in a galactic cocktail which is propelled by gravity.  Fusion happens which balances inward and outward pressure, holding the end result in the skies as a ball of light which we call a star.  When the star gets weighted down by iron, it can no longer take it, dies and explodes.  The material falls to earth and embeds itself at ground level.  A payload of red ochre means big bucks for paint producers who are profiting from dead stars.  And that's why red paint is cheap for barns.  But, what happens when the iron strikes buildings or heaven forbid, people?  In my search for more information, I came across a story in the Smithsonian Magazine that asked the same question...why are barns red.  They too said it had to do with the chemistry of dying stars.  They also told of the study that Mr. Zunger had done and that the simple compound known as red ochre - Fe2O3 - the compound of iron and oxygen that absorbs yellow, green and blue light and appears as red.  It's what makes red paint red and is cheap since it is plentiful.  So, if you are in need of a new color for your house, consider red since it evidently is much cheaper than most other colors. Now, I still need to find out why people aren't struck by these falling parts of a star.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.