So I saw cookies at Shop-N-Stop...

[King Kool]

I don't have a digital camera on my phone, so I couldn't take a picture of this, but they had "rainbow cookies" that were three layers: red, yellow and green. Now, those seem to me like stoplight cookies.

But that made me think: what colors are essential to a rainbow? How many of the colors IN the rainbow would you need before you would call something a rainbow, and which colors?

(see, now there IS a reason for a poll where you can choose every answer. Huzzah!)

[iamafish]

I think you can miss out one of the purples and still call it a rainbow.

[Master Gunner]

You don't need indigo. Just extend the lower wavelength range of violet from 450nm to 420, and you're set.

[goat]

red, yellow, green, blue, violet

Indigo can go huff a dong.

KK, what you had there were rasta cookies.

[Echi]

To trigger my mind into thinking "rainbow" I need at least four colours, the three primarys and a secondary colour. Usually that would be Red, Yellow, Blue and Green, but orange or violet would also work in place of green.

[JustAName]

It's really just red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. People will still recognize it if it's red, yellow, green, blue, but purple is the best of colors, and if you don't have orange when purple's there it does look slightly odd.

[AlexanderDitto]

Red, yellow, green, blue for absolute minimal, though honestly that reminds me more of the inside of a kindergarten classroom than a rainbow.

Adding purple or orange makes it an adequate rainbow. Both is substantial and mostly complete. No one really cares about indigo.

[Metcarfre]

ROY G BIV is a mnemonic for a reason.

[TheRocket]

ROY G BIV is a mnemonic for a reason.

Yeah, call me what you will, but I need ROY G BIV or else it's not a rainbow to me. I mean, I grant that the I and V can just pass with a straight up purple... but I need the rest to have a double complete rainbow all the way.

Also, I have been wanting to make this for a LONG time but have no reason to make it.. One day I WILL make this.. anyone want to eat it with me?

[Graham]

YES.

I WILL PUT IT IN MY BODY.

[JustAName]

That is flippin' awesome. Count me in!

[Evil Jim]

At a stoplight, RED means "stop," YELLOW means "hold on" & GREEN means "go." But on a banana it's the opposite. GREEN means "hold on," YELLOW means "go" & RED means "where the hell did you get that banana?"

Also, I have been wanting to make this for a LONG time but have no reason to make it.. One day I WILL make this.. anyone want to eat it with me?

You will make that cake

BECAUSE!

I!

SAY!

SO!

And also because it looks nummy.

[Murakami]

ROY G BIV is a mnemonic for a reason.

Yeah, call me what you will, but I need ROY G BIV or else it's not a rainbow to me. I mean, I grant that the I and V can just pass with a straight up purple... but I need the rest to have a double complete rainbow all the way.

Also, I have been wanting to make this for a LONG time but have no reason to make it.. One day I WILL make this.. anyone want to eat it with me?

I seriously want to know how to make such a cake! It looks awesome and very good, good, good for a belly!

[iamafish]

Before now i thought wraith was a lucky man. he just got one hell of a lot more lucky

[Mister Fiend]

I've never understood the whole "I need a reason to bake a cake" thing. You bake a cake because FUCK YOU, IT'S CAKE DAY!

When I was in kindergarten the teacher thought I was retarded because I couldn't identify the colors of the rainbow. It never occurred to her that I might be colorblind, the bitch. Ah, the early 80's.

[Lord Chrusher]

I think any selection of spectral colours in order is a rainbow.

Also purple is not the same as violet. Most purples are a mix of blue and red light while violet is purely light with a wavelength shorter than blue light.

[Ottoman]

Guys. Really? King Kool, I am disappoint in you poll choices.

A rainbow technically consists of every colour, but the distinguishable bands are each primary and two secondaries (because magenta is weird). Blue, Cyan, Green, Yellow, Red.

Orange is not a secondary colour. Neither is purple.



EDIT: Also, 'indigo' and 'violet' are some bullshit colours that are only there to make a good mnemonic.

[sdhonda]

Mnemonic.

[Ottoman]

I don't know what you're talking about. . .
Derp.

[Master Gunner]

Indigo is a largely bullshit colour. Violet is a distinct colour band, referring to colours with a wavelength of 380–450nm.

[Emperor Gum]

INDIGO 4 LIF DOGZ! FUCK AL YAL H8ERS!

[Evil Jim]

Ever see green in a sunset? It's there! Right between the yellows & blues. It's pretty narrow but you'll see it if you look for it.

[Drinnik]

It exists because Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain, not Richard Of York Ganked Bosses Pets.

[goat]

My girlfriend and I have had a long standing desire to make a rainbow cake, particularly after she made me a two color cake for my birthday (which was fucking delicious).

[Metcarfre]

Who needs a reason to make cake?