Human beings are hardwired to notice color, and of the seven million shades our eyes perceive, we pick favorites early on.

What's your favorite color is so common a question we often answer reflexively without having to think, just like my coworkers did when I recently took an informal poll.

My favorite color is green.

Anything bright, so like a turquoise would be beautiful. My favorite color is green. Anything bright.

So like a turquoise would be beautiful.

My favorite color is red.

Why?

It's always just been my favorite color since I was a kid.

I don't really have an explanation for it.

I like it.

I love blues, especially like a rich, deep royal blue.

And is that your favorite color in general? Oh yeah yeah, absolutely. If you're a knitter, a

quilter, a maker, you understand the siren song of color. Actually, scratch that. You don't

need to be a crafter at all. From that first box of crayons that you picked up as a child,

to paint swatches and fashion magazines and almost

any kind of store display, color calls to all of us. But occasionally, across the course of

human history, that irresistible siren song of color has dragged us toward the rocks with deadly

consequences.

So in today's episode of Fibernation, we're putting Roy G. Biv on trial, taking a sort of but not really scientific, extremely anecdotal look at a few notable dyes on the color wheel, trying to

settle the question, in the world of dyes, which color is the deadliest?

How far will humans go just to wear their favorite color? And not all is doom and gloom.

We'll also find out how some dyes have saved lives too. You're listening to Fibernation,

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