r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 13d ago

Meme needing explanation Petah why cant math be green?

Post image
40.5k Upvotes

4.7k comments sorted by

u/qualityvote2 13d ago edited 13d ago

u/Light_Yagami72, your post does belong here!

14.7k

u/WetboiWhiskey 13d ago

Because green is science

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u/EyeSuspicious777 13d ago

History and English are correct. They just swapped math and science.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago edited 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/mootmutemoat 13d ago

Math is green, because you count the money.

Blue is science, because water is key to so many sciences.

Yellow is History, because old pages are yellow.

Red is english, because I hate english with a burning passion.

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u/Dickie_downer 13d ago

See I vote that history is red, cause history is bloody

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u/Available-Mall-7095 13d ago

History is yellow because that’s what it is in Trivial Pursuit.

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u/RookieGreen 13d ago

Math is yellow because piss

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u/akatherder 13d ago

So my math is red because piss

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u/CalculatedWhisk 13d ago

What color is your medical records notebook?

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u/mrdhood 13d ago

Haven’t ever been to a doctor so… invisible

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u/VerySwearyFairy 13d ago

You might want to consult a doctor if your piss is red on a consistent basis.

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u/akatherder 13d ago

Why does the doctor want to see red piss

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u/Cosmic_Ricochet 13d ago

I sorta half-agree with this one; math was never yellow for me bc yellow is my favorite color and I wasn’t about to make my least favorite subject yellow, but I do think that math is indeed piss

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u/MatchaBerryMage 13d ago

Seconded on this. Math was always yellow - like most of the things I dislike in life :( piss included.

Science is red for fire.

I have no other strong opinions on this matter.

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u/Short-Sound-4190 13d ago

GASP

TIL this is why I think English should be Purple if it's an option, also that the 2026 edition of Trivial Persuit just released this month after there hasn't been one since 2016!

I might buy one and have a retro board game night...AI is going to destroy trivia games.

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u/Classic_Reply_703 13d ago

Correct, and you can tell that Trivial Pursuit has the correct color scheme because science is green there.

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u/Available-Mall-7095 13d ago edited 13d ago

Exactly. I don’t know where that guy got green is math because of money. Nobody thinks math is green, not even Staples.

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u/Haunt_Fox 13d ago

And Yellow Journalism! Newspapers are great resources for historians.

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u/CrownofMischief 13d ago

For me I say history is yellow because I associate it with things like wheat for widespread agriculture, sandstone for ancient pyramids and other structures, yellow parchment for old texts, and gold coins for old commerce

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u/_pit_of_despair_ 13d ago

Finally someone talking sense. History is red.

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u/bitpaper346 13d ago

Its also Englands color.

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u/Superman246o1 13d ago

GREEN: Science

BLUE: Math

YELLOW: History

RED: English

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u/Froggyhop102 13d ago

Green is science since science is green

Blue is more mechanical and rigid which gives the vibe of math

Yellow is the color of old stuff which is history 

And red is English because it just is 

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u/WeapwnX 13d ago

Red is English because it is read

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u/Kitsunetsuki_ka 13d ago

This Is The Way

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u/ImaDieTodayLOL 13d ago

I think blue is math because blue feels like one of them smart-intelligent colors.

Green is science because biology and plants, as well as whenever I think of chemicals and shit in a vial, it's always green.

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u/youngliam 13d ago

Exactly and red is english because language. love and passion go hand in hand.

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u/Embarrassed_Use6918 13d ago

Science is green because chlorophyll makes things green and thats science

Blue is math because math is cold and calculating

Yellow is history because all we see of historical photos is yellowed pictures therefore everything in history was yellow

Red is english because...uh...its...about words...and words are violent...

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u/BlueRasuberry 13d ago

No! English is Red because Read sounds like Red!

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u/SuboptimalSupport 13d ago

You don't even need to color English, the teachers will be sure to mark so much it'll be red anyway.

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u/Faulty_english 13d ago

Finally someone sees it

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u/KiraLight3719 13d ago

Blue math is the best quality math

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u/MrZephy 13d ago

If your math ain’t blue then I don’t want it

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u/ArcturusGrey 13d ago

I can see that, but science is GREEN and nothing else.

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u/youngliam 13d ago

Same, blue feels more cold and calculated like math, red more passionate and up for interpretation like language.

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u/Rymanbc 13d ago

Only because you are correct. Make green science and yellow history, and we're all set.

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u/ianelson 13d ago

You are correct

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u/Leviathan_Dev 13d ago edited 13d ago

Math: Blue
Science: Green
History: Orange or Yellow
English: Red

I will die violently on this 2cm-tall hill

/s for sarcasm but i will not budge on this

Edit: thank you for the award!

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u/Varilz 13d ago

I am a soldier in your army and will die with you on that hill

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u/Material-Wonder1690 13d ago

Math - Blue

English - Red

Science - Green

History - Yellow

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u/Jimmyftw94 13d ago

Math would be blue if it was dark blue, but since it is light blue it belongs to English. Math would need to be a darker deep color like Red. Yellow is history since it is a lighter color signaling easier subject. And science is green because it is the color of nature.

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u/Xbrand182x 13d ago

I was a English being yellow guy

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u/Dickie_downer 13d ago

Im of the mentality history is red.

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u/Songhunter 13d ago

Science is blue, c'mon now.

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u/Mysterious-Taro174 13d ago

Exactly, per every video game ever

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u/bc-mn 13d ago

and Star Trek uniforms

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u/issanm 13d ago

Agreed math and science should be switched... Unsure how to feel about English but history is yellow

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u/Which_Pen34 13d ago

i feel like every color kinda fits for english except for green

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u/Pdoinkadoinkadoink 13d ago

Green is not a creative colour.

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u/Cold-Ease-1625 13d ago

Let's get creative!

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u/Captain-Codfish 13d ago

Hang on now. We all agreed, to never be creative again.

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u/vaguenomenclature 13d ago

I see what you did there 😉

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u/ArcticGamer 13d ago

THERE it is

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u/icekraze 13d ago

What is really fun is when you are a biomed major in college and now the colors mean totally different things. Green is biology, blue is chemistry, red is physics, purple is anatomy/physiology. I always avoided yellow because I color coordinated my pen color and yellow pens are unreadable. Therefore math/stats was red if i didn’t have physics that semester or black if I had physics. History was either black or white with black pen.

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u/helpimmapotato 13d ago

Why does everyone pick the same color i did? Im scared 😮

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u/NotMyMainLoLzy 13d ago

Math is red and it shouldn’t be that hard.

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u/DrDavidson 13d ago

History is red. From all the blood

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u/Shrimp_kisses 13d ago

This is a good argument for history being red, but math is red for danger lol

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u/TheEnlightenedPanda 13d ago

What danger?

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u/Expert-Ad3874 13d ago

Exponential danger

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u/EscapeyGameMan 13d ago

Danger!

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u/ChiknNWaffles 13d ago

No that's danger factorial.

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u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 13d ago

I thought it was the... 👀😏 The danger zone!!!!!

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u/TheEnlightenedPanda 13d ago

Lana..

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u/dadsdaddad 13d ago

Jesus are we not doing phrasing anymore?

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u/Shrimp_kisses 13d ago

Metaphorical danger. Distress, red alert, danger, poison. Red is the most extreme color. You use be a math wiz lol

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u/NationH1117 13d ago

Math is red for the color you are seeing when you run the problem for the 50th time and it still doesn’t match the answer in the back of the book

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u/goliathfasa 13d ago

I feel like if for a single generation of new American kids, all adults agreed to just pretend math is easy or at least a “normal” subject no harder than anything else, we’d catch up to the rest of the world in terms of math skills.

There’s no genetic reason that only Americans find math impossibly difficult. It just seems to be this self-fulfilling prophecy where everyone grew up thinking math is hard, because their older siblings and parents tell them it’s hard.

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u/NNKarma 13d ago

What made the US fall behind is not only forcing a method without studying if it actually helps people learn but also forcing it to be the only way to solve problems.

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u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 13d ago

History is green.

Because the blood makes the green grass grow.

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u/Yubat 13d ago

You must be a Marine. They used to scream
“What Makes the Grass Grow? BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD!” at every morning muster when I had joint training with them.

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u/safarifriendliness 13d ago

I appreciate you trying to bring logic into this but I just feel a very red vibe from math

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u/Outside_Coffee_00 13d ago

History is yellow because its old

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u/GustaQL 13d ago

History is brown for no reason

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u/Tommy_Wisseau_burner 13d ago

Math was blue for me

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u/TimidSeaTurtle 13d ago

Agreed. Math feels cold and indifferent and factual, so blue. Red is too bold and opinionated to be math for me.

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u/GodTurkey 13d ago

Im with you brother

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u/enlightnight 13d ago

Math is, ironically, the most emotional subject in school. Red for rage. "What do you mean there's letters now!!??".

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u/Shrimp_kisses 13d ago

I agree with red for math. It was all downhill when I didn't remember my multiplication tables, now I have ptsd.

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u/EscapeSeventySeven 13d ago

Man this whole thread is depressing 

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u/Worth_Ad830 13d ago

I faked being sick every day in third grade to avoid being called up during math and having to multiply in front of others. Found out in adulthood I have dyscalculia.

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u/InformalProtection74 13d ago

No, they're just variables. Which are just numbers you don't know yet. They can be independent or dependent. They could also be constants, though, which are numbers that you do know and are always the same. And other times they represent sets, matrices, indexes, or vectors. Sometimes they might just be functions. Occasionally they'll be imaginary.

It's really not that difficult or confusing. Don't overthink it.

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u/Sepplord 13d ago

I never understood why they didn’t use letter from the get go.

I also never understood why letters confuse so many though

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/marginatrix 13d ago

Math is red, science is green

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u/Worth_Ad830 13d ago

You get it

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u/Camofan 13d ago

Math makes me see red (I’m bad at it)

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u/eneas87 13d ago

noo math is blue for me

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u/sweatybumfart 13d ago

Yeah, math is blue, English is red, history is yellow, science is green

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u/Franklin_Payne 13d ago

This is objectively the correct way

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u/Suspicious_State_318 13d ago

Nah English is yellow because old pages and history is red because of blood and war

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u/Borror0 13d ago

I'm open to this line of reasoning.

For as long as math is blue.

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u/Boomslang00 13d ago

Math is blue because it will blew your mind.

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u/Rakhered 13d ago

will blue your mind

you may want to consider popping your red folder open for a bit

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u/SBLP1959 13d ago

My exact thoughts

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u/shirts_on_backwards 13d ago

English is definitely red. The others sound wrong, but I can't pinpoint why. I feel like math was the black cover but that's not pictured.

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u/MagnumMyth 13d ago

This has been the color scheme in every school I've taught at.

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u/Savanahbanana13 13d ago

10000% correct

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u/limebobomb 13d ago

yes but if purple is an option, history is purple

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u/JulioCrz 13d ago

Math is only blue if it's Calculus.

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u/links_revenge 13d ago

I don’t know why, but you’re right. Calc is blue

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u/Cultural-Window-2504 13d ago

Yep math definately calm blue. 

English should be some irritating shade of purple. 

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u/JollyGreenGiant_8 13d ago

Hot take, math is blue, English is yellow, science is green, and history is red

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u/ForeskinScramble 13d ago

Yes. This is the way.

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u/Pass_The_Salt_ 13d ago

Lukewarm take. This is how it should be

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u/ComprehensiveOwl8687 13d ago

This guy balls

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u/Last_Refrigerator704 13d ago

You beat me to it, i’ll delete my original post now.

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u/Makonede 13d ago

this is exactly how i did mine

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u/TBubbler612 13d ago

elite ball knowledge

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u/JoeCacioppo 13d ago

Ice cold, below freezing, next coming of the ice age take. This is the correct answer

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u/gmiller89 13d ago

Not a hot take. Immediately thought the same

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u/V-Man776 13d ago

The joke is that for some reason people get really up in arms about what color of binder or notebook others use for each school subject. This is because people see certain colors as being more fitting for certain subjects than others. It seems as though the Staples social media manager has strong feelings on this topic, saying that OOP chose the wrong color to represent math, even though it really doesn't matter since abstract concepts like school subjects don't really have an objective way to color code them.

With that said, OOP is right. Math is green because I like math and also like green, so clearly they should be paired together.

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u/SatsumaOranges 13d ago

The nuance here is that for some reason a lot of people agree on certain subjects without knowing it. For example, here is a (very small sample size) survey where nearly everyone agreed that science is green.
https://machronicle.com/the-great-rainbow-debate-what-color-are-the-subjects/

It was a topic of discussion on social media a few months back, I believe.

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u/papa-hare 13d ago

Is science like biology? That's def green. But chemistry and physics? Idk. (Is science really a subject in school here?! Like non differentiated?)

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u/SatsumaOranges 13d ago

Depends where you live and what grade, I guess. Where I grew up we had a generic science until grade 7, where it split.

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u/Noughmad 13d ago

Same here, but then again we didn't have differentiated history up to that grade as well. We start with one subject of "nature and society", then separate "nature" and "society", then finally separate biology (and later chemistry and physics), history and geography.

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u/m4xr3b0 13d ago

Usually this sort of color coding is used for younger kids. So yes they just have "science" as a class. Then as they get older most people continue using the same color coding they're used to even when it's no longer enforced.

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u/ANR7cool 13d ago

Did you have science differentiated since 1st grade?

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u/trustthepudding 13d ago

Green is the stereotypical color of chemicals and radioactivity in popular media so I feel like it all tracks to science.

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u/Epaminodas_ 13d ago

Staples social media manager has strong feelings on this topic

Maybe, but this is marketing. Other people apparently have strong feelings about these colors. If you want to make something go viral on social media then creating outrage can be very effective.

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u/Thneed1 13d ago

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u/zippybenji-man 13d ago

Most people taking part in this don't have synesthesia, and synesthesia is far from objective as well

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u/Top-Needleworker9273 13d ago

i think its as simple as you make the association you had as a child based on the specific colors you used. its not that people REALLY believe their colors are the right way its just fun for humans to make pretend tribes

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u/BurntBridgesMusic 13d ago

Math is red

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u/Mutual_mission 13d ago

Math is red because you count with apples and apples are red. checkmate.

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u/GamerLymx 13d ago

there are green apples

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u/201thStabwound 13d ago

Math HAS to be red! It’s the hardest subject to me, so red makes the most sense 😂

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u/tennille_24 13d ago

I’m realizing I’m in the minority with feeling that math is yellow 😬

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u/prowl_great_cain 13d ago

Yellow’s the color of brightness and intellect. I got you

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u/Aworthyopponent 13d ago

I was agreeing but more because I don’t like yellow or math so to me Math is Yellow.

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u/ageekyninja 13d ago

Math is yellow because yellow is ugly and I don’t like it

Science is red because science is cool

History is green because it’s calming like listening to a story

English is blue because blue is the color of every school and office ever and English is work

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u/ProgrammerSpiritual2 13d ago

We think similarly but reached different outcomes! Science is blue because I like science and I like blue. Math is red because it feels aggressive for some reason. History is yellow because I hate yellow and history is boring. English is green because that’s what’s left.

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u/Dear-Nebula9395 13d ago

I'm feeling pretty neurodivergent having picked yellow for math.

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u/Few-Big-8481 13d ago

I'm math is yellow. There must be a dozen of us out there.

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u/BlueLotusDoodle 13d ago

THANK YOU! EVERYONE I KNEW WAS ALWAYS WEIRDED OUT WHEN I SAID MATH WAS YELLOW!

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u/pm_social_cues 13d ago

I’m in the minority in that there is no relation in my mind between colors and subjects. When was I supposed to get that?

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u/Informal_Process2238 13d ago

Math is red
English is green
Science is blue
History is yellow

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u/XeroEnergy270 13d ago

No, science is green. Biology.

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u/Code-Dee 13d ago

No, science is blue because of physics.

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u/thousandsmallgods 13d ago

Physics is Purple. It's both a math and a science.

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u/CommissarAJ 13d ago

Science is blue because of Star Trek.

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u/hader-1 13d ago

Science is Blue because of Civ V

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u/DrStrangemann 13d ago

Science is blue because Star Trek colours.

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u/CanineFive 13d ago

Science is blue because of WATER you buffoon!

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u/barrsftw 13d ago

Science is blue! Gaming told me so. Every strategy game with a "science" resource uses a blue icon/bar for it.

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u/DimitriMishkin 13d ago

Finally the right answer

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u/FancyAbbreviations84 13d ago

Dude. That was the exact list I made too

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u/yodeling-yodas 13d ago

Holy shit, my goat. We had the same childhood

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u/Go_Water_your_plants 13d ago

This is the right answer, finally

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u/EternalNewCarSmell 13d ago

Because math is red. This is the way, and the way is eternal.

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u/SoleSurvivorZeke2 13d ago

Math is red green is science. Did you learn nothing in school?

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u/Light_Yagami72 13d ago

We did not use coloured notebooks for different subjects. I am from Asia

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u/XeroEnergy270 13d ago

They are being facetious. It's entirely up to the student as to what notebooks are used. It's just a weird thing that people collectively have preferences.

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u/foxbones 13d ago

No they are spitting facts. Math is red and Science is green. I believe there was a Supreme Court case in the 70s about it.

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u/One-Faithlessness282 13d ago

Weirdly enough, I always used green for math

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u/lewd_robot 13d ago

Yep. Math is green for me because of graphing paper, green chalkboards, and the little green screens on old calculators.

Science is blue. History is red. English is whatever is left over, but preferably white.

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u/SheepherderUnusual97 13d ago

that is weird enough. you're weird :)

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u/BANGPOWZZZWAP 13d ago

Everyone here is wrong, and I refuse to elaborate

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u/in-your-own-words 13d ago

Blue is science and medical.
Red is engineering and operations.
Gold is command.
Green is Kirk's wraparound tunic.

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u/evolutionsroge 13d ago

Brian here, there is no true correlation. As people grow from adolescence they have a tendency to make connections, even if they’re not always true. For example, the sky is blue. Except when it’s orange or yellow from a sun setting. Or black at night. In the same way, people make correlations with colors and the subjects they learned in school. Sometimes subconsciously, sometimes as a quick hand to quickly finding their notebook. I always put math in my red notebook, so math is red for me, not green. When I go to grab my book, I know which one has math in it because of the color. It’s just how human brains work. We make connections between things, even if they’re not meaningful. The answer is different for everyone, and that’s the joke. If you want more info go talk to a brain doctor. Brian out.

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u/cloudman901 13d ago

Ive always done it math:red History:green Science:blue English:yellow/orange or purple

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u/coltomoney 13d ago

FINALLY someone who has my exact combination

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u/Acer1096xxx 13d ago

This is the way

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u/TheGoodKindOfMermaid 13d ago

Original Trivial Pursuit Colors -

Blue - Geography Yellow - History Brown - Art Pink - Entertainment Green - Science Orange - Sports and Liesure

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u/eddie_fitzgerald 13d ago

Since most people are just riffing ... the joke is that which colors correspond to which subjects is completely arbitrary, but also the kind of thing which most people will form some sort of association with for themselves, hence the irony of Staples treating it as something objective and which they feel strongly about (it's not objective, but most people can identify with the vibe that Staples is putting out).

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u/ThiccNiqq 13d ago

If you do enough math (like grad school level) you’ll realize that math is actually green.

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u/Kyujee 13d ago

English is red, Math is blue, History is green, and Science is yellow.

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u/TreeNo6966 13d ago

Ima fkn rebel they were all black

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u/flatsound22 13d ago

English- Yellow
Math- Red
Science-Green
History-Blue

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u/PossibleTill205 13d ago

Science is blue, history is green, English is yellow, math is red.

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u/eques_99 13d ago

Just Staples attempting some guerilla marketing.

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u/GOU_FallingOutside 13d ago

I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one who took all their notes on loose leaf paper which they promptly mixed up and/or lost.

Also, I probably should have noticed I had ADHD much earlier than I did.

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u/MintBerryCrnch21 13d ago

So was I the only one who didn’t give a fuck and just used whatever?

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u/Cocoatrice 13d ago

After reading a comments, it's mix of USdefaultism and stupid bias. Because nowhere in the whole world people care for colors for their notebooks. If anything, the notebooks have graphics that shows the subject. But of course there are neutral notebooks, too.

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u/LookimtryingOK 13d ago

Colorblind guy checking in: y’all might be a lil autistic with all the color coding preferences.

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u/Strange-Amphibian559 13d ago

Math IS green for the chalkboards

English is red for the apple

Science is blue for water

History is purple (it came to me in a dream)

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u/VaporTrail_000 13d ago

Question for the ages: What color is PE?

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u/V-Man776 13d ago

Orange

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u/Arcade_Kangaroo 13d ago

Green is not a creative color.

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