What kinds of things are red these days. Apples. Fury. Herrings.

If you could taste red, what would it taste like? 

Other deep thoughts on the way, but red has this vast and fascinating history as well. 

Blood. Roses. Stop. Seduction. Devil. 

And before we get too deep...let's talk about how, for centuries (presumably), people with orange hair have been called Red Heads. Never have I seen naturally actually red hair. RED hair. Red like a rose hair. Red like blood hair. Have you!?

Why aren't those lucky ones called Orange Heads? Are they just called Red Heads because those words together make a slant rhyme and people are lazy? Because I'll tell you right now, if we ordered red socks from our manufacturer and they showed up the color of my sister's hair (which started out as orangey and is now a pretty rust) I'd be curious if there was a breakdown in communication.

A red herring, however, is a phrase you may want to start using as comments on social media, because catch this: A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question (um, that's SO much of social media). It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentionally, as in mystery fiction or as part of rhetorical strategies (like in politics), or may be used in argumentation inadvertently.

Okay, can we stop for a second and appreciate that red herrings are EVERYWHERE? Suddenly I'm wondering if things I say could be red herrings! I need to go back and look. 

Anyway, the term "red herring" was popularized in 1807 by English polemicist William Cobbett, who told a story of having used a strong-smelling smoked fish to divert and distract hounds from chasing a rabbit

PS: there is no such fish as a red herring. The brine used when smoking herring can be so strong it actually turns the fish a reddish color. 

SooOOOooo: check out more red love.

xo,

Claire