Purple Trivia
Here are a few fun bits of purple history and trivia. For more, also see our
purple facts page!
- Because purple dye was so difficult to obtain and expensive to produce, purple became the royal color in many parts of the world and is traditionally associated with royalty, power, and wealth.
- The name of the ancient city Phoenicia, or Canaan, means "Land of the Purple" and was the hub of the ancient purple dye industry. The Minoans, an ancient civilization on the now Greek island of Crete, are believed to be the first to produce purple dye.
- If you're born "in the purple" you are born of high or noble birth.
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A purple pedestrian bridge joining Ohio and Kentucky can be rented out for weddings, parties, and more. Called the "Purple People Bridge," the former railroad bridge spans 2,670 feet across the Ohio River near Cincinnati.
- Samuel "Sammie Purple" Cohen formed Detroit's "Purple Gang," a local gang of Jewish thugs and bootleggers in the 20's and 30's. This may be the only time we ever write the phrase "Jewish thugs" and mean it.
- Hastings Elementary School in Westborough, MA has an annual "Purple Day." The children ask everyone to wear purple to show that individuals can change behavior as a model for how to make environmental, earth-protecting changes. Wear your purple proudly (check our Purple Day page for the exact date each year, usually around May 17 or 18th) to show the kids at Hastings Elementary School that by acting locally, they can affect a lot more than just Westborough!
- China's famous "Forbidden City" in modern Beijing is technically called "The Purple Forbidden City," a reference to a secret purple area in heaven thought to be centered near the north star.
