h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Out for a hike yesterday when a boxer-type dog ran towards us snapping and barking. "He's very friendly!" shouted the owner, who was walking towards us with his family. But as we passed them his little boy (maybe 4 years old) looked at me and said "He does bite sometimes!"

Do amtheysts throw any light on society's perception of the colour purple?

I'd say it isn't so easy to divide the two in this case. The stone is easily identifiable because it is purple, and it has the classical references of celibacy and abstinence. I'd be inclined to include it.

It's an attractive colour, if it's a clear piece.

Found this, page 266 sub para 7.12, and a couple of bits further down:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-fNJZ0xmTFIC&pg=RA1-PA267&lpg=RA1-PA267&dq=perception+of+amethysts+colour&source=bl&ots=rXnAzPe_NF&sig=Jc4MHhucKWrPqlZG6zJ-hx9PBzQ&hl=en&ei=3QsASpHOItLRjAfYvZjzBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#PRA1-PA266,M1

My school uniform was purple I seem unwittingly to remember, Yuk.

Ours was "maroon" which is more like the colour Gnomon's talking about. Tastefully set off with beige.

Mine was officially called "Wine" but was in fact a sort of maroon as well.

mine was navy blue with greenish lines near cuffs

What has maroon got to do with chestnuts?

In French, marron is the colour of chestnuts. I don't know how the purpley colour got the name in English.

I've put the Purple entry back into Peer Review:

F48874?thread=6572381

(another aside)
By accident, I now have purple windowsills and door surround.

How did that happen?

The colour before was a very dark blue that looked purple in some lights. It is no longer available. The painter phoned from B&G to tell me this and asked if purple would be OK Thinking deep dark windsor purple, I said yes. I was wrong. I'll see how it wears, but I think someone needs to shin up a ladder again.

Purple is what I called an inactive colour; it needs light to activate it.
Dependant on time of day or year, even those colours which most would not associate with the colour purple are horrified when what they have painted on the wall is energised by light to create a purple hue.
It’s hard for them to understand that the colour they have chosen has a purple type pigment injected into it as part of its make up and it is that which is reacting with the available light

I think most people would be delighted if they discovered a purplish hue. It's a very popular colour.

Trust me, your wrong!
Having worked in retail paints, that the last thing they will tolerate

Well, it's against my philosophy of life to listen to people talking about what they don't like.

Often what people express is based on real life experience or an extension of a native belief or feeling.
The colour you are referring to as deep rooted historical and religious associations and can not be devoid of personal interruption