Who Smarted? - Episode Summary: "How Many Colors Are There?"
Release Date: April 21, 2025

Introduction to Colors

In this episode of "Who Smarted?", hosts Smarty Pants and Rhea Light embark on an enlightening journey to explore the fascinating world of colors. The episode begins with Smarty Pants engaging listeners with a playful riddle:

Smarty Pants [00:01]: "What's something you probably have at least one favorite of? It comes in many different shades and could be red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple."

After a humorous detour about a "rainbow meat cake," the conversation shifts to the fundamental concept of colors, emphasizing their omnipresence in our daily lives—from the walls of our rooms to the clothes we wear and the toys we play with.

The Role of Light in Color Perception

Rhea Light, personifying light, joins the discussion to illuminate the subject further:

Rhea Light [00:55]: "I'm super fast. I'm a particle and a wave, and I can really brighten up your day."

She clarifies her identity as light, specifically the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye, also known as white light. Smarty Pants acknowledges the importance of light in color perception:

Smarty Pants [01:57]: "Thanks to light, I see color."

Newton's Prism Experiment

The duo delves into the historical discovery of colors through Sir Isaac Newton's groundbreaking experiment:

Rhea Light [04:50]: "In 1666, Newton observed that white light sent through a prism divided into a range of colors we call the visible spectrum."

Smarty Pants elaborates on the nature of prisms and their role in analyzing light:

Smarty Pants [05:10]: "A prism is a piece of glass or other transparent object that's been cut to have very precise angles and flat areas. It's used to analyze and reflect light."

The Visible Spectrum and Seven Colors

Newton identified seven distinct colors in the visible spectrum, which Smarty Pants helps listeners to memorize through relatable examples:

Smarty Pants [05:46]: "Red, like a rose. Orange, like your orange juice. Yellow, like a banana peel. Green like boogers, Blue, like the ocean. Indigo, like the indigo bunting bird. And violet, like violet from Willy Wonka."

Rhea Light confirms the scientific basis behind these colors:

Rhea Light [06:30]: "Each color corresponds to a specific range of light wavelengths."

Additive vs. Subtractive Color Mixing

The conversation transitions to the concepts of additive and subtractive color mixing, highlighting the differences in how colors are created and perceived:

Smarty Pants [08:26]: "When it comes to the colors the human eye can perceive, some estimate there are 10 million."

Rhea Light [08:12]: "Yep. And every single one of those millions of colors can be derived through addition or subtraction, or as they're known in color theory, additive or subtractive mixture."

Primary Colors in Different Models

Rhea Light clarifies the distinction between primary colors in additive and subtractive models:

Smarty Pants [09:12]: "Did you say red, yellow, and blue? Amazing."

Rhea Light [09:15]: "For a subtractive mixture, the primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. But for additive mixture, the primary colors are red, green, and blue."

She explains how combining these primary colors results in different outcomes, such as white light in the additive model:

Rhea Light [09:36]: "When you combine red, green and blue light, you get white light, which transmits all colors on the visible spectrum."

The Diversity of Colors

Smarty Pants addresses the vast array of colors available beyond the basic seven, emphasizing the human eye's incredible capacity to perceive millions of colors:

Smarty Pants [07:38]: "To get those colors, you gotta add or subtract colors from Newton's basic 7."

Rhea Light [08:06]: "When it comes to the colors the human eye can perceive, some estimate there are 10 million."

The Origin of Color Names

After the advertisement break, the episode resumes with an exploration of how basic color names originated in the English language:

Rhea Light [15:01]: "English has 11 basic color words. There's red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black, gray, and brown."

Smarty Pants delves into the etymology of these color names, revealing that some did not originally denote colors:

Smarty Pants [15:32]: "Black comes from a word meaning burnt, and white comes from a word meaning shining."

He further discusses the historical context of color words, highlighting that "red" is one of the oldest color terms:

Smarty Pants [16:08]: "Red derives from the Sanskrit radhaira, meaning bloody in Old English."

Conclusion and Fun Facts

The episode wraps up with engaging facts about how objects reflect colors and the perception of black:

Rhea Light [18:01]: "When you look at an object that's your favorite color, guess what? That object contains every single color but your favorite color."

Smarty Pants [18:07]: "Color me amazed."

The hosts encourage listeners to appreciate the complexity and beauty of colors, leaving them with intriguing insights that blend science with everyday experiences.

Production Credits:
This episode was written by Daniel Gold and voiced by Melissa Magenta Del Toro Schaffner, Adam Teal Davis, and Jerry Colber. Technical direction and sound design were handled by Josh Hazel Hahn, recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Associate producer Max Chartreuse Kamasky contributed to the production. The theme song was created by Brian Bluesteel Suarez with lyrics by Adam Tex Davis. "Who Smarted?" is produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert under Atomic Entertainment.

This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the "How Many Colors Are There?" episode, providing listeners with a thorough understanding of the topics discussed, including the science of colors, historical discoveries, and the linguistic origins of color names. Notable quotes and precise timestamps enhance the summary's depth, making it valuable for both new and returning listeners.