2 ms·

Am I the only one who found it noticeable that they called the third die "olive"? It's definitely a color I've heard before, but in this context I would have ju

by saghm 5y ago

Am I the only one who found it noticeable that they called the third die "olive"? It's definitely a color I've heard before, but in this context I would have just expected them to say "green" since that's far more common. Even if they used the same exact graphics, I find it hard to believe anyone would have objected by saying "that's olive, not green!"

Miiko 5y ago
That was the first thing I noticed too. Apparently, the reason for that is to have these nice properties: > This set of five dice is similar to other sets of dice we have seen, in that we have a chain where Blue>Magenta>Olive>Red>Yellow>Blue. > However, we also have a second chain, where Red>Blue>Olive>Yellow>Magenta>Red. > Notice the first chain is ordered alphabetically, while the second chain is ordered by word-length.
adrian_b 5y ago
Olive normally means yellow-green or yellowish green, not green. However on that page I see indeed green, not olive. Another poster explained the likely reason for this choice of word, but the discrepancy between the shown color and its name is slightly confusing.
- dafoex 5y ago
  It becomes even more confusing when you realise actual olives aren't even that colour. Olives are just _green_ green (or very dark brown to blue/black).
  - adrian_b 5y ago
    The plant parts which will eventually become green, when they will contain enough chlorophyll, pass through an initial stage that is either light green when they were initially white or yellow-green when they were initially yellowish (due to carotenoids). Immature olives pass usually through a stage when they are yellow-green, but that stage may not last long. I agree that using as a color term the name of something that may have a variety of colors, is not a good choice. Nevertheless, the use of "olive" as yellow-green is entrenched in various domains, e.g. the yellowish green mineral that was called "topaz" by the Ancient Greeks (now topaz means something else) and which is called now "peridot" when in gem form, is also called "olivine", due to its color.

by saghm 5y ago

Miiko 5y ago

That was the first thing I noticed too. Apparently, the reason for that is to have these nice properties: > This set of five dice is similar to other sets of dice we have seen, in that we have a chain where Blue>Magenta>Olive>Red>Yellow>Blue. > However, we also have a second chain, where Red>Blue>Olive>Yellow>Magenta>Red. > Notice the first chain is ordered alphabetically, while the second chain is ordered by word-length.

adrian_b 5y ago

Olive normally means yellow-green or yellowish green, not green. However on that page I see indeed green, not olive. Another poster explained the likely reason for this choice of word, but the discrepancy between the shown color and its name is slightly confusing.

dafoex 5y ago
It becomes even more confusing when you realise actual olives aren't even that colour. Olives are just _green_ green (or very dark brown to blue/black).
- adrian_b 5y ago
  The plant parts which will eventually become green, when they will contain enough chlorophyll, pass through an initial stage that is either light green when they were initially white or yellow-green when they were initially yellowish (due to carotenoids). Immature olives pass usually through a stage when they are yellow-green, but that stage may not last long. I agree that using as a color term the name of something that may have a variety of colors, is not a good choice. Nevertheless, the use of "olive" as yellow-green is entrenched in various domains, e.g. the yellowish green mineral that was called "topaz" by the Ancient Greeks (now topaz means something else) and which is called now "peridot" when in gem form, is also called "olivine", due to its color.