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Haint Blue

Started by nebo113, August 02, 2020, 12:27:30 PM

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Economizer

Re: blue gum GEECHEES

There are folks about with blue gums nowadays but I think that is caused by cocaine use.
So, I tried to straighten everything out and guess what I got for it.  No, really, just guess!

the_geneticist

My useless bits of trivia are that it's really common in the south to paint the ceiling over your porch a pale blue color. 
Not sure why, but it does seem to be regional.
Other useless trivia is that the paint was traditionally "milk paint" which is lye mixed in milk and any added color you want.  Indigo dye is water soluble and would give a nice blue color.

nebo113

Quote from: Economizer on August 06, 2020, 06:58:58 AM
Re: blue gum GEECHEES

There are folks about with blue gums nowadays but I think that is caused by cocaine use.

Huh?

sinenomine

Quote from: the_geneticist on August 07, 2020, 02:21:18 PM
My useless bits of trivia are that it's really common in the south to paint the ceiling over your porch a pale blue color. 
Not sure why, but it does seem to be regional.
Other useless trivia is that the paint was traditionally "milk paint" which is lye mixed in milk and any added color you want.  Indigo dye is water soluble and would give a nice blue color.

The conventional explanation for the blue porch paint is that it supposedly deters insects.
"How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks...."

San Joaquin

'Course, if you put "Haint Blue" in Google, you can link to the folklore.

dr_codex

I have nothing to offer, except to say that I love this thread. I wish more of the Fora would emulate it.

Thank you all for your expertise and quirky knowledges.

dc
back to the books.

apl68

Quote from: sinenomine on August 08, 2020, 05:41:05 AM
Quote from: the_geneticist on August 07, 2020, 02:21:18 PM
My useless bits of trivia are that it's really common in the south to paint the ceiling over your porch a pale blue color. 
Not sure why, but it does seem to be regional.
Other useless trivia is that the paint was traditionally "milk paint" which is lye mixed in milk and any added color you want.  Indigo dye is water soluble and would give a nice blue color.

The conventional explanation for the blue porch paint is that it supposedly deters insects.

May be a Deep South thing.  I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about it in Arkansas.
All we like sheep have gone astray
We have each turned to his own way
And the Lord has laid upon him the guilt of us all

wareagle

Quote from: dr_codex on August 10, 2020, 07:13:20 PM
I have nothing to offer, except to say that I love this thread. I wish more of the Fora would emulate it.

Thank you all for your expertise and quirky knowledges.

dc

I agree, this is one of the most interesting and unusual threads I've ever read, and I've been on the fora since 2006 or so.  Fascinating!
[A]n effective administrative philosophy would be to remember that faculty members are goats.  Occasionally, this will mean helping them off of the outhouse roof or watching them eat the drapes.   -mended drum

mamselle

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Reprove not a scorner, lest they hate thee: rebuke the wise, and they will love thee.

Give instruction to the wise, and they will be yet wiser: teach the just, and they will increase in learning.

sonoamused

The Old House Journal  may actually be a good source of information -- or at least places to go to track down historically accurate paint colors (and who they work with to make them).  Their team are kind of geeks about this sort of stuff. 

Was milk paint common in the South?  Because in the colonial North, that shade of blue would have been a milk paint, deep slate or other blue, diluted heavily.   (it seems like sometime in the 20th century all NE homes that painted their porches were required to use the same shade of gray for some reason; at least on the floors.  IMHO)

San Joaquin

May be town specific...seems like on a long-ago visit to Annapolis there were strict historic preservation codes limiting houses to white and trim to black or dark blue...

Again, my memory, not research.  :-)

Economizer

Whites out in the "country" sometimes hear about or speak of a "house of blue lights". My idea is that one of those is a recreational or party place.that might be involved in the sales or use of contraband items. Do any of y'all know particulars as to that?
So, I tried to straighten everything out and guess what I got for it.  No, really, just guess!

sonoamused

Quote from: Economizer on August 11, 2020, 02:28:57 PM
Whites out in the "country" sometimes hear about or speak of a "house of blue lights". My idea is that one of those is a recreational or party place.that might be involved in the sales or use of contraband items. Do any of y'all know particulars as to that?

In my neck of the woods, you would look for the red light.  Blue always met that there was a military vet or LEO involved family there of some kind (as long as I can remember, which would be the early 80s or so). 

wareagle

What are the origins of the word "haint"?  Is this a corruption of "haunt", or something implying a ghostly color?
[A]n effective administrative philosophy would be to remember that faculty members are goats.  Occasionally, this will mean helping them off of the outhouse roof or watching them eat the drapes.   -mended drum

nebo113

Quote from: wareagle on August 12, 2020, 11:46:34 AM
What are the origins of the word "haint"?  Is this a corruption of "haunt", or something implying a ghostly color?

Apparently.