They have discovered what made Pompeii’s red so much more red than any other reds. YEAH. This article discusses the fact that cinnabar, mercury sulfide, is the red that most reds came from. Then it looks at the fact that the non-fading red is actually two sizes of cinnabar mixed together. (I got there via cranky professor. He got it from Mirabilis.ca and sent me on to Cronaca for great history in the news.)

I love this. It is one of my favorite stories from history. Because coloring ability was lost several times over the course of history. It is a major point in my novel. Or it was a major starting point in my novel. It hasn’t actually shown up at all, but it is what the grandmother is afraid will happen.

I love history.