The Story Behind Dyeing the Chicago River Green
Did you know that this colorful custom was started by accident?
Fifty-five years ago, Chicago plumbers poured 100 lbs of an oil-based fluorescein to reveal where some illegal dumping was coming from. The whole river went green. Pretty festive, but probably not super eco-friendly.
Today, the yearly tradition is still sponsored by the local plumbers union, but now vegetable dye is used instead, which is much better all around!
The EPA-approved dye keeps the river green for approximately five hours.
Would you get in the water? LOL
Chicago continues its Patty’s day tradition. But did you know the Chicago River was first dyed green in 1962 by accident? #MFSChi #180yrSci pic.twitter.com/Oc03wUGL3D
— MarchforScienceCHI (@ScienceMarchCHI) March 11, 2017
The @Chicago River is going green for St. Patrick’s Day. #StPatricksDay #greenriver #chicago #green pic.twitter.com/CaEM15Tyd0
— ReginaWaldroupNBC5 (@ReginaWaldroup) March 11, 2017
One man told us what it’s like to dye the #Chicago River green. https://t.co/4bzTInBMbE Apparently, it’s pretty wild. #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/dqrZexhGHp
— UrbanMatter Chicago (@UMatterChicago) March 11, 2017