image via tonywarne.blogspot.com
Yesterday many displayed an extreme degree of temerity. Protocol for communications was unclear, especially as brands were uncertain whether they should be participating or not. AT&T, for instance, offered a hurried apology for having possibly offended some with their possible advertising. But was this an act we can attribute to our dear friend yellow?
Yellow: a promise of intellect, positivity, and… cowardice? Today’s trip down the yellow brick road will explore that dearly fretted color connection.
In “Back to the Future”, young Marty McFly’s Achilles Heel was being referred to as “chicken.” In the third installment, where Marty is sent to the old west, the word was changed to “yellow.” But how are the two related?
It is without question that everyone is familiar with yellow and its relation to the literal chicken. Let’s pause that thought and enter into a bit of a similar but different realm for a moment: coops and coups. The place to house chickens is called a coop. The same sounding word, spelled “coup” however, has a completely different meaning when applied in a political environment.
Coup (or a coup d’etat) is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.”
Are you beginning to see the connection now? Yellow is to chickens as chickens are to coop as coup is to… treason and cowardice.
Ok ok so you might be thinking that while this knowledge is all great and dandy and all, this is probably a bit heavy for your lunchtime reading. Let’s turn then to the more comical side of our beloved yellow.
Comedians love to play on the ridiculousness with the color yellow. From slips on banana peels to rubber chickens. Did you know that the history of the rubber chicken might actually be as old as yellow’s more heavy counterpart meaning?
Wisegeek.com had this to say about the mystery of the history of the infamous rubber chicken:
“Theory traces the history of the rubber chicken to a pioneer in the slapstick and prop comedy genres who performed during the 1800s. Joseph Grimaldi was a British white-face mime who routinely mocked the excesses of the upper class in his act. Since one of the hallmarks of the upper class lifestyle was gluttony, Grimaldi would stuff his costume with rubber food props, including a rubber chicken produced for comic effect.”
Lastly were you aware that there are more chickens than people in the world? Check out this great infographic done by Visual.ly exploring that and more chicken related facts.
For whatever the reason, Preval understands just how to keep these ridiculous colors the ease of handling which they deserve. You don’t have to be afraid anymore McFly.