Imagine a world that’s only black and white…can Kuya Kim convince you to make it worth your while?

They’re the colors made famous by mimes, clown faces, 19th century prisoners’ uniforms and the photography style of the 1900s. But did you know that black and white aren’t actual colors but the absence and presence of all colors?

Black, which comes from the ancient word Blaeg that means burnt, is said to be the absence of all colors. However, when you combine the primary colors of red, yellow and blue, you will get a result that’s near the shade of black.

The rainbow during a drizzle on a sunny afternoon best illustrates the idea of white being the combination of all colors. When white light passes through water and gets reflected and refracted, the ROYGBIV or Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet colors come out.

But what are the thoughts behind black and white? Join Kuya Kim and his black and white animal friends including Black Kingsnakes, Leucistic Ball Pythons, White Knee Tarantulas and Kenyan Sand Boas discover the secrets of a black and white world.

1: Battle between Good and Evil

Admit it. Even you associate black with being bad and white with being good. That’s why angels are depicted that way and black cats are thought to be unlucky, except for Great Britain and Ireland where black cats are thought of the other way around. There is even something called the Big Black Dog Syndrome in some pounds and pet adoption shelters because keepers noticed that dogs that were dark and huge were generally left behind when compared to their smaller and lighter furred counterparts.

White is also connected to purity and innocence, which is why Queen Elizabeth I, also known as the Virgin Queen, chose to include white in the roster of colors decreed by the sumptuary laws to be worn by those who are either really rich or pure of heart. Why do you think wedding gowns are pristine white?

 Black on the other hand is more connected to sadness and mourning, hence the popular color for funerals.

2: Brings out my eyes, my face and my moves!

If you really want to bring out the expressions on your face, plain make-up is not going to cut it. Just ask the clown from your local circus or the mime around the block. They use stark white make-up and plain black lines to paint their faces so that their audiences will focus on them. The mime Marcel Marceu was the one who discovered that wearing stripes in black and white also made mimes more prominent, and so the tradition was born.

So is the reason why prisoners in old films were depicted as men wearing black and white stripes was for the police to easily see them? Not really, but it could be. The main reason, however, was because the black and white stripes maintained the theme of the prison cell bars.

3: Albino vs leucistic

It’s a mistake anyone can make since animals that are albino or leucistic both appear white at first glance. However, closer inspection would show that albino animals have pinkish or reddish eyes unlike their leucistic counterparts. So what makes these creatures so white and pale? Albino animals have no melanin or dark pigments in their skin. Leucistic animals, on the other hand, simply don’t have any other color except for white!

4. The heat is on

When it comes to clothes, black may be slimming. It is used more often than white to look sexy and hot…perhaps even too literally since black traps more heat than white! To prove this, Kuya Kim had two cups wrapped in black and white paper and laid them out under the sun. After a few minutes, he measured the temperature of the water inside each cup and results showed that the water inside the “black cup” was indeed higher.

5. Seeing in black and white

We’re used to seeing the world in color, but what if it suddenly turns into monochrome? For animals such as Dalmatians, this isn’t something new. Animals that see in black and white are called monochromats while those that have difficulty in distinguishing colors are color blind.

But can you really imagine seeing only shades of black, white and gray? Before November 1966, everything on television in Asia was in black and white until ABS-CBN made its mark with the first colored broadcast!

Problems would arise from a black and white world. For one thing, things that need to be noticed, like important red street signs would be in danger of being ignored.

Color grabs attention so the moment it’s stripped away, it would likely blend in with the other signs. Color also boosts memory and helps distinguish one thing from another. Can you imagine differentiating blackberries from blueberries from cranberries without color?

Color also stimulates the appetite and it also helps the brain distinguish which foods taste good because they are ripe and which foods aren’t. Yellow and red makes you hungry while green is associated with icky…no wonder a lot of kids don’t like vegetables upon sight!

Then there’s the problem of food production since pollination would be more difficult when things are black and white. Insects like bees are attracted to colorful flowers and without this attraction, how would plants be stimulated to create the fruit that becomes our food?

So thank your lucky stars that you live in a world full of color, because black and white may be good but having the shades of ROYGBIV and more is even better!

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February 19, 2012