This week on Roz’s Random Ramblings: Language, History, and Other Adventures I answer 2 questions, both about shades of the color blue: How did cobalt blue get its name? and What makes Prussian blue special? Check out the clip below for a little teaser. Links to the podcast in the comments.
"It all began in some 16th century German silver mines where the miners were running into a particular problem. Goblins. Yes, you heard me right. Goblins were running amuck in German silver mines and the miners were none too happy about it. Often, when miners would find a vein of what they thought was silver, they would try to dig it out only to find it turned into powder in their hands. Then, when they tried to smelt the powder, figuring maybe they could at least get some silver out of it, something strange happened. The area took on a smell like hell. Sulfur fumes all around them and anyone standing nearby got violently ill. The German miners were convinced this was the work of goblins who were sneaking into the mines at night and maliciously marauding, destroying the very essence of the silver and their livelihoods in the process. Kobolt! The German miners cried, cursing the monsters. And there actually were monsters in the ore, of a sort."
💬 Discussion
This week on Roz’s Random Ramblings: Language, History, and Other Adventures I answer 2 questions, both about shades of the color blue: How did cobalt blue get its name? and What makes Prussian blue special? Check out the clip below for a little teaser. Links to the podcast in the comments.