Ruby Red facts

While investigating facts about Ruby Red, I found out little known, but curios details like:

Rubies and sapphires are scientifically the same mineral. Rubies are the red variety and sapphires encompasses any other color, with blue being the most popular and common.

In 2005 someone stole Judy Garland's ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz film, while on they were on display in Minnesota. They have never been found and there is currently a $1 million dollar reward for there return.

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 18 of the best facts about Ruby Red I managed to collect.

1. The ruby red slippers used in The Wizard of Oz film were silver in the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

2. The familiar Ruby Red Grapefruit was discovered accidentally by a Texas grapefruit farmer who noticed one specific limb of a white-flesh tree produced a pink fleshed fruit.

3. Males have ruby-red (or rarely yellow-orange) patch that is normally hidden on top of the head. Exposed patch is a symbol of excitement or agitation.

4. More that 2000 crop varieties including Ruby Red grapefruits, and a rice called Calrose 76, which accounts for half of the rice grown in California, are the result of 'Atomic Gardening' in which crops are exposed to highly radioactive Cobalt 60 in order to induce beneficial mutations.

5. Rubies and Sapphires have no differences except for colour. A ruby is pretty much just a red sapphire.

6. The name Colorado originates from the Spanish language meaning colored ruby or red.

7. Botanically speaking, fruit of raspberry belongs to the group of aggregate fruit. Raspberry is cylindrically-shaped, ruby red colored and has sweet taste.

8. Chromium (III) is what gives natural rubies their red color.

9. Dorothy's iconic ruby slippers were actually silver shoes but were changed to red to take advantage of Technicolor

10. Latin name of the ruby-crowned kinglet is "Regulus calendula". Word "regulus" means 'small king". It refers to the crown-like red patch on top of the male's head.

What is true about ruby red?

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Star Ruby and Rio Red grapefruits are mutations created by bombarding plants with gamma radiation

Guinness is actually a dark ruby red, not black. - source

A puppy called Ruppy was a cloned beagle and the world's first transgenic dog. She glowed ruby-red when the a protein called GFP is activated. - source

Sapphires are found in more colors than just one. For example, rubies are just red sapphires, and sapphires can also come in violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, and many intermediate colors.

The colour of Guinness is actually ruby red. - source

Vegetarians can't consume many brands of ruby red grapefruit juice or yogurt because the manufactures add an insect extract called "Carmine" or "Cochineal Extract."