I was rooting through my Ohio photos trying to find something for Curator Jessica to use in a brochure or some such thing when I ran across this photo slugged “Barn on River Road,” taken in Athens (OH) county in August 2014.
When I was working in Athens, I went through a barn phase. There were lots of really pretty, well-kept ones in that area. This one still has a good coat of the traditional red paint. (Click on it to make it larger.)
Why are barns red?
Why are barns red, you might ask? Because they’re prettier against green grass, maybe? Actually, I ran across a whole bunch of links dealing with barn paint.
- Red barns and white barns and their dubious connection to a crime wave.
- They are red because of the physics of dying stars.
- Because farmers added rust to their homemade paint.
- They’re red so cows could find their way home. (Nope, cows are colorblind to red and green.)
- Because red absorbed heat and made the barn warmer in the winter.
- It was cheap (wealthy farmers added blood to the oil mixture, which gave it a red color).
Barns Are Painted Red Because of the Physics of Dying Stars
This THE BEST high tech answer to a easy question I have ever heard. Good work on this one Ken! The real reason is that is the cheapest paint but why it is the cheapest paint is the brains of the article, Dying stars!
Me, I love the old “See Rock City” barns the best. They were usually black with white lettering.