Calvin: Dad, how come old photographs are black and white? Didn't they have color film back then? Dad: Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs ARE in co

Calvin: Dad, how come old photographs are black and white? Didn't they have color film back then? Dad: Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs ARE in color. It's just the WORLD was black and white then. Calvin: Really? Dad: Yep. The world didn't turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too. Calvin: That's really weird. Dad: Well, truth is stranger than fiction. Calvin: But then why are old PAINTINGS in color?! If the world was black and white, wouldn't artists have painted it that way? Dad: Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane. Calvin: But... but how could they have painted in color anyway? Wouldn't their paints have been shades of grey back then? Dad: Of course, but they turned colors like everything else did in the '30s. Calvin: So why didn't old black and white photos turn color too? Dad: Because they were color pictures of black and white, remember?