Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum Seeing Red?

THE Washington Redskins, Manchester United and the Welsh rugby team have all been playing with an unfair advantage. Just seeing their red kit is seemingly enough to cow their opponents into submission even before a ball is kicked.

Russell Hill and Robert Barton of Durham University in the UK tracked success in four Olympic sports: boxing, taekwondo, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling. In these sports athletes do not wear national colours, but are randomly assigned either red or blue. Of 441 bouts, reds won 242 and in all four sports reds triumphed in more contests. And the red advantage was higher in close encounters: 62 per cent of red-garbed competitors won these. But in pushover contests there were similar numbers of red and blue winners. "If you're rubbish, a red shirt won't stop you from losing," Barton says.

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18625005.300

Could be something to do with the Psychology of colour, as in animal display? Or that teams that wear Red, against a Green background (grass)are more easily seen? (being reverse colors)
Would skin coloured boxing gloves, give you an unfair advantage?

I seem to recall that red car drivers are involved in more accidents than any other colour, though not because others behave more aggressively toward them but because those who choose red cars are more likely to speed and take chances on the road.

(out of interest, do any of you own a red car? )

No doubt this explains what happenedt to Communism.

yes,yes i agree with you all!

that was the kind of observation I never thought of .... hahahah