SMOOTH JAZZ -Photograph of Crystalline DMAE (an amino acid)
OCEANNA -Photograph of crystalline tartaric acid (found in wine)
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.”
– Georgia O'Keeffe
BOUNTIFUL -Crystalline DMAE (an amino acid)
ART AND SCIENCE: Santa Claus, Carmine Red and Cherry Coke
Look close, really close at the prickly pear cactus growing here in the Sonoran Desert, and you might be able to see a Dactylopius coccus. Scarcely bigger than the head of a pin, it is only when viewed under a microscope that it can clearly be seen as an insect.
These tiny desert dwellers have played a surprising role in the rise and fall of empires. Such a small insect has had such a significant impact because if you were to take a Dactylopius coccus and squeeze it between your fingers, you would end up with fingers stained a bright red. Carmine Red, to be precise.
Civilizations have been aware of this bright red dye since the 2nd century B.C. Native to the Americas, this colorful insect was used by the Aztecs and Incans, who valued it so much that they required it to be paid as a form of tribute by their subjects. After the Spanish conquest, Carmine Red was shipped by the ton, 72 tons in 1587 alone, from Lima, Peru to Cadiz, Spain. From there, it colored the towns and people of 16th-century Europe, producing luxurious Venetian velvets, the robes of Roman Catholic cardinals, it was even used to give a rosy glow to the cheeks of fashionable ladies of the day.
This brings us to Santa and Cherry Coke. In 1931 the Coca-Cola company hired an artist named Haddon Sundblom to bring Santa to life in its advertising. Sundblom's illustration was of a rather large bearded man decked out in red (a shade conveniently made to match the Coca-Cola company's red logo) drinking Coca-Cola and delivering presents to children. The ad was a big hit and ran for over 30 years, and Sundblom's Santa went a long way to cementing the modern Santa image, red outfit and all.
And our friend Dactylopius coccus? This busy bug not only produces a color befitting the jolly man's suit, but that same red dye under the innocuous pseudonym of E120 is used as a red food dye. You can find it to this day in M&M's, red velvet cake, and, coincidentally, Cherry Coke. Happy Holidays!
