

The real reason why barns are painted red - derekp7
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+YonatanZunger/posts/EfmdR6VWvRM

======
DanBC
There's a gentle danger with this kind of science myth that people just accept
it because "science is cool".

([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1688324](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1688324))

([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5822301](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5822301))

Ferrous Oxide is not only plentiful, but acts as a fungicide.
([http://home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm)(http://www.gr...](http://home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm\)\(http://www.grit.com/Community/Why-
Are-Barns-Red.aspx#axzz2VI7dVmd9\))

------
purplelobster
Red houses and barns are most common in Sweden and Finland. The reason is that
the red color imitated the brick buildings of richer people, it was a matter
of class. It also helped preserve the wood, but that is not the main reason.

~~~
derekp7
That's interesting, and it still may mean that the article applies in that
case to. Just for those who want the tl;dr version, the article states that
barns are read because red paint is the cheapest (decent) paint. And the
reason red paint is cheapest, is because it has pigments made from iron, which
is about the most common heavy element (heavier than neon) element on earth.
And this is all due to fusion in stars, and how it stops at iron.

So, the question is, are bricks red due to iron also?

