Let's Paint the Bedroom Penis, or Maybe Gay

Randall Munroe on the has performed a large experiment in color perception over at the xkcd blog. Basically, 222,500 people sat down in front of their computers and typed in the name they would ascribe to a wide panoply of monitor-produced colors. Language Log calls this "the largest scientific experiment ever run by a cartoonist."

The list at the end of the most outrageous individual entries was entertaining, but my favorite part was his analysis of the responses that occurred numerous times and in a gender-biased fashion:

Here are the color names most disproportionately popular among women:

1. Dusty Teal
2. Blush Pink
3. Dusty Lavender
4. Butter Yellow
5. Dusky Rose

Okay, pretty flowery, certainly. Kind of an incense-bomb-set-off-in-a-Bed-Bath-&-Beyond vibe. Well, let’s take a look at the other list.

Here are the color names most disproportionately popular among men:

1. Penis
2. Gay
3. WTF
4. Dunno
5. Baige

I weep for my gender.

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