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We're
passionate about our freedoms in this country.
We tend to be more rebellious and outspoken
than people in some countries in our efforts
to protect what we hold most sacred -- our right
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Turn on the TV these days, and you won't have
to go far before you find a channel featuring
someone going ballistic about something some
candidate said (or didn't say), did (or didn't
do), and what needs to be done about it.
So
why doesn't all that passion translate into
actual foot traffic to the polls on election
day? It's a mystery. We have
the freedom to show up or not -- and many of
us exercise that freedom by staying home and
complaining about the results. Voting doesn't
take long, you meet interesting people in line,
and you get the chance to remember what this
country was founded on when you step into that
booth and cast a ballot instead of just bowing
to a monarch or dictator.
Make
a plan now to strut your stuff at the polls,
and why not make it a day to celebrate by wearing
red, white and blue? We've got tips on how to
do that in this newsletter.
See you at the polls!
Ed and Mary Longanecker
Iris City Cleaners and Laundering Company |
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Voting
Factoid
- As a nation, the
US ranks 139th out
of 172 countries in terms of voter
participation.
- In
2000, just
54% of those eligible to vote
in the US actually made it to the polls.
-- Source: Now
with Bill Moyers on PBS
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Seeing
RED Coupon!
You know you're afraid
to clean it at home, lest you be stuck with
pink underwear and towels for years as a result.
So bring us your red stuff! We'll
professionally clean and finish a predominantly
red garment for just $1 when you have $15 in
drycleaning done. (Include
first page of this e-mail with your order. Offer
expires November 13, 2004. Cannot be combined
with other offers.) |
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No
such thing
as color!
No, that's not a misprint.
There really is no such thing as color. What
we call color is actually just certain parts
of the light spectrum bouncing off particular
items. Something we say is "blue"
is actually just reflecting blue and absorbing
the other parts of the spectrum.
Interestingly, how
you see color and react to it is a product of
your background. Different
countries have different meanings for colors.
For example, a white wedding dress is what all
little girls in Western nationsdream of... but
in China, white is for funerals! (Their happy
color is red.) And only the USA seems to brand
babies at birth with either blue or pink garments
and accessories; other nations don't have that
association with those colors.
Strong colors draw
the eye and cause us to react in emotional and
physical ways. The
colors red, white and blue are three that have
very tangible emotional content.
What
they mean.
- Red
is a passionate color, of course. It's
a power color. People who
wear red tend to be confident and outgoing
-- especially if they wear whole garments
of it. However, it's also a bit menacing
to some people and comes on strong.
Psychologists suggest you not wear it if you're
heading into a negotiation or a job interview
(that old wave-the-red-cape-at-the-bull syndrome.)
Looking at quantities
of red actually makes a person's heart rate
increase, respiration rate rise and causes
people to make quick decisions.
(Aha! Now we know why the cars in the show
room are usually red!) Red on products
increases expectations. It's so noticeable,
though, that if you wear red or have red furniture
or a red car, it should be perfect -- everybody
will be looking. Oh, and it can make
things look bigger, so be careful
which area of your body you wear it on.
- White
is such a neutral color that just
looking at it causes us to calm down.
We feel cooler looking at it. White
symbolizes purity and cleanliness,
which is why medical professionals used to
wear nothing but white. It's a great color
to wear or use to set off other colors, though
the ease with which it gets dirty (and the
difficulty getting it truly clean) can limit
its functionality.
- Blue
is one of the favorite colors universally.
We tend to relax
when blue is around. We
also do better (people taking tests
do better in blue rooms, weight lifters hoist
more weight when their surroundings are blue,
and we retain more information if we read
it in blue print.) Dark shades of blue can
be cold to us, but medium and light shades
are tranquilizing. We don't like it in food,
though! People
tested with food that had been dyed blue quickly
lost their appetites. (And
this is probably why Blue Plate Specials were
so popular -- the cook knew you wouldn't eat
as much!)
Red,
White and Blue facts
- Red
cars are stolen more than
other colors.
- People
wearing blue are perceived
to be loyal. (Good for interviews and meetings.)
- Words
printed in Red gets people's
attention fastest.
- White objects
actually reflect ALL colors, which blend
to make white.
- Red
rooms cause people to lose
track of time (and so it is used frequently
in bars, casinos and other places where
the longer you stay, the more you spend.)
It's also an appetite stimulant.
- When
people look at blue, their
bodies produce tranquilizing chemicals that
calm them.
- With respect to
rate of eye blinking, heart rate and respiration,
when people were tested with each of the
three colors, red
caused the highest rates, white
was lower and blue
was lowest.
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How
to wear Red, White
and Blue tastefully.
We've all seen it --
people who look like walking flags. Sometimes
they even wear garments that have stars and
stripes on them. Red,
white and blue together can make a crisp, powerful
visual statement, but in the
everyday working world, it's possible to have
too much of a good thing.
Guidelines
for Red, White and Blue
- Determine
what image you're trying to convey
(power/passion, loyalty/tranquility, lightness/purity)
and then make
the color associated with that perception
the dominant one in your outfit.
If you're going for strength and volatility,
by all means make the largest piece of
the outfit red! If a more subdued strength
is called for, go for blue.
- Play
the colors off against each other, with
white for a pleasing eye-break.
A blue suit with red shirt and blue tie
is probably hard to look at -- just too
much color! Give the eyes of those who
will look at you a place to rest that
is more neutral, such as a white shirt
under that red tie, inside that blue jacket.
- Use
the jazzier color of red as your accessory
color. (White is also
a great accessory color.) Spread spots
of the vibrant colors around -- a belt,
shoes, tie or scarf, jewelry, even eyeglass
frames.
- In the
business world, wearing a garment
(other than a tie or scarf) that
closely emulates the flag is both too
casual and too controversial.
Business tends to be conservative -- don't
stir up controversy needlessly.
Garments
that are a blend of red, white and blue (polkadotted,
striped, with a bold print on white, or with
dramatic trim colors) are
often a challenge to clean.
Manufacturers want you to be draw to the bright
red and the deep blue, so they overdye those
components of the garment to be sure the color
is deep. With the first several cleanings, the
dye can "migrate" and end up on lighter-colored
areas if care is not taken. Generally,
red is not something you want to clean at home
-- unless you really like a pink laundry load,
that is! We take special care with reds, and
often do entire loads of nothing but red to
prevent mishaps. We'd be happy to keep
your patriotic wear looking crisp enough to
salute.
Thank
you for voting! |
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