Why Don't Country Flags Use The Color Purple?

This is the amazing TRUE story of why we don’t see purple on national flags. Sometimes the simplest questions have the most extraordinary answers. This unusual tale will take you on a journey through history, geography, science and art.

 Vocabulary
DYE = a substance used for changing the color of something (such as hair or cloth)
ELITE = the most wealthy and powerful people in a society
EXPENSIVE = high-priced, costly
FORBID = (forbade, forbidden) ban, prohibit
HOLINESS = religiousness, spirituality
SCIENTIST = a person who works doing scientific research or solving scientific problems
SNAIL = a small animal that lives in a shell that it carries on its back and that moves very slowly
SYNTHETIC = artificial, fabricated
WEAKNESS = fragility, vulnerability

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Have you ever thought about National flags and their colors?
Sit back, relax and watch this...

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Watch the video again and answer the questions
Why didn't countries use purple in their flags?
a) Because it represented weakness
b) Because Queen Elizabeth forbade it
c) Because it was too expensive

Where did the dye to make the original color purple come from?
a) A snail
b) Gold
c) The water in the Tyre region of the Mediterranean

Besides royalty and wealth, what else did purple represent?
a) Greek gods
b) The Romans
c) Holiness

When was synthetic purple discovered?
a) About 150 years ago
b) When the elite stopped liking it
c) When it was no longer popular

Who discovered today's color purple?
a) An American painter
b) A scientist
c) The video doesn't say

Discussion questions:
What's your favorite color?
What are the colors of your country's flag? Do you know what they represent?
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