What Color Were Dinosaurs? (And Other Frequently Asked Questions)

Humans are naturally curious. I don't know anyone over the age of 15 who hasn't seen or heard a little kid ask why the sky is blue. (The short answer is that it isn't. The color of something depends on which wavelengths of light it absorbs and which wavelengths it reflects, and to what extent it reflects and absorbs each particular wavelength. You see the sky as blue because that's the color that is reflected by gas molecules in our atmosphere. It's also important to note that color is incredibly subjective. You may look up and see a blue sky, a couple of green trees in the background, and some people milling around just over there on that hill, but a person with colorblindness, your family pet, the bird that just crossed into your line of sight, and the various insects buzzing around will see all see that same scene colored far differently. If you'd like to see how a colorblind person sees, click here. And if you want to see the world through your dog's eyes, click here. Spoiler: To them, you're a rather unappealing shade of green, but they love you anyway.)  

So, back to today's resource.

This Youtube channel offers answers to some of life's more unusual questions, like what color dinosaurs used to be. If you're anything like me, you might have hoped to answer to be 'rainbow-colored, sparkly, and florescent.' However, the experts at Scientific American offer a bit more plausible explanation. 

You can also find the answers to such burning questions as 'why do onions make us cry,' 'what does the universe sound like,' 'why does toothpaste makes orange juice taste bad,' and 'why can't humans regrow limbs like awesome little starfish?'