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Tags: St. Patrick's Day / Chicago Tourism / Green Rivers / → All Tags
The Chemical Breakdown of the Chicago River Greenness
This past Saturday the Chicago River once again went green for St. Patrick's Day. Yes, Chicago folks have been doing this since 1962.
If you remember, last year we caught Good Luck Bear pouring oozing green sludge into the Chicago River in broad daylight. Last year we questioned the motives of the Care Bears and asked: environmental terrorists or festive tourism promoters?
This year new evidence has come to our attention from both CNN and blog scientists. CNN says that Chicago uses a "secret orange dye," which sounds downright sinister and makes us half expect to see a giant red M&M dumping the dye into the river. However, those at scienceblogs.com suggest the dye is nothing more than fluorescein. Either way, some in Chicago claim the river looks green without the "dye" or the fluorescein.
Photo of this weekend's dye job above, while after the jump there is a Google map of the dye free river.
Tags: St. Patrick's Day / Chicago Tourism / Care Bears / Green Rivers / → All Tags
Dyeing the Chicago River: Are The Care Bears Evil?
This weekend, Good Luck Bear, a member of the Care Bears, who are, without a doubt, the cockroaches of pop culture, was photographed pouring oozing green sludge into the Chicago River in broad daylight.
Chicago famously dyes their river green on an annual basis to celebrate St. Patrick's day.
The tradition started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river, and it stayed green for an entire week.
Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of dye are used. The river remains green for approximately twenty four hours.
The jury is still out on weather the Care Bears are environmental terrorists or festive tourism promoters.
Luckily, we aim to please both groups:
· If you view the Care Bears as evil doers? Click Here.
· Think the Care Bears are bringing joy to Chicago? Click Here.
