Just before we climbed onto the plane to Carcassonne I had my usual wander around the airport bookshop. One particular title caught my eye. Drunk Tank Pink.

I just had to buy it.

It’s not the normal book I would buy but it is fascinating and an easy read. It’s all about psychology and some very strange effects that colours, words and symbol have on us as people.

Take for instance bright pink, the colour. Science has proved that if you stare at or are in a room of this colour you are weakened somehow. An experiment with several groups proved the effect. It calms humans, reduces strength and resistance. Hence drunk tank pink colours, it has been proven to reduce aggression of arrested drunks if you lock them in a cell of this colour. Marketing companies use it to help sell products or to get us to linger longer in their stores. I’m currently reading the part about names and how this can affect your future- all about pronounceability. Some fascinating insights and experiments in here.

Worth a read.