• @[email protected]
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      9310 months ago

      Basically also why Swedish barns are red. I presume those two stories and red barn origins are related.

      • @[email protected]
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        9410 months ago

        Not just barns, the stereotypical swedish red houses with white detailing exist pretty much because of a single copper mine in the town Falun, where they got so much leftover product to turn into paint that it basically supplied the entire country even to this day.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falu_red

        That town also spawned the equally stereotypical (though less internationally known) Falu sausage, which is probably one of the most popular meat products here.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falukorv

        And lastly to hammer home how insanely important this mine has been: It has been continously mined from like year 800 up until the 90’s, has been the source of a lot of improvements to global mining technology, and as of 2001 it is a UNESCO world heritage site.
        It’s honestly kind of weird it’s not more well known, and i HIGHLY recommend visiting the museum and going on a tour through the actual mine itself.

        You can get there by train comfortably by taking the Snälltåget night train from hamburg (or even berlin) to stockholm and then the SJ intercity to Falun.

        • @[email protected]
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          1010 months ago

          That’s really interesting, I’ll have to try to remember this if I ever find myself in Sweden again.

      • theodewere
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        1510 months ago

        sure, lots and lots of Swedes came to the States in the 19th Century… they tended to settle the Northern States and build farms, like everyone else was doing…

      • Archmage Azor
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        910 months ago

        More than just Swedish barns. Red houses with white corners are a key part of a Swedish countryside

    • candyman337
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      2110 months ago

      Yeah red dye goes a long way and is easy to make

        • @[email protected]
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          810 months ago

          House paint can use slag from mines, making it a rest product and thus very cheap.

          Cars use much fancier stuff.

        • @[email protected]
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          110 months ago

          I find that a bit hard to believe, seeing as the paint of a car affects mpg through air resistance, luxury cars often add in glitter, and all of it has to be applied through air brushing

          Maybe at one point, but I’d be beyond shocked if red was meaningfully more expensive. There are also the myths that red cars cost more to insure and get pulled over more, like with those myths there might be a tiny kernel of truth, but the statements probably aren’t true outside very specific historical conditions

        • vlad
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          110 months ago

          That’s because of our evolutionary desire to look for ripe fruit. So, we want red thing.

          Source: idk, heard it sopmewhere

    • bayportOP
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      710 months ago

      Cool! I suspected there had to be a practical reason. Thanks for sharing the link!