Cochineal Beetles. How the world went Red | ASMR Style Historic Dye Process #asmr #history

Welcome! Today, we will cover quickly the bizarre history of the color red. Originally achieved by collecting the plant madder, then harvesting the root only for the dye pot. The result being madder was used for thousands of years. It was a plentiful plant throughout Europe, North Africa and Western Asia.
It wasn’t until the rediscoveries of the Americas that cochineal beetles took off in vast ways. While the native peoples had been using the beetles for hundreds of years, it was then suddenly being distributed in mass quantities all over the globe. The red coats for King George’s army were dyed by this beetle. A bright crimson to a dark ruby, this dye bath can be mordanted in many ways to achieve an array of beautiful shades of red, browns, and even purples. This dye produces such wonderful shades that it even exists in our candies and makeups to this day! 🥸