Tampa juvenile detention center cells plastered with pink

The Hillsborough Regional Juvenile Detention Center West is plastering the color on its cells in the hopes of calming the youth. And it's not just any pink. The shade used is known as "Baker-Miller Pink" which looks like Pepto-Bismol pink, only deeper.

The juveniles in the center stay enclosed in the pink cell for 15 minutes. It's all part of a study to see if this special shade of pink really calms inmates as some research suggests.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is relying on research published in the International Journal of Biosocial Research in 1981, which says Baker-Miller Pink could suppress aggression.

One pink cell has been set up at the Hillsborough center, and others have been established at facilities in DeSoto and Jackson counties.

Powerful stuff:

Effects of Baker-Miller pink and red on state anxiety, grip strength, and motor precision.

Profusek PJ, Rainey DW.

John Carroll University, University Heights, OH 44118.

7 male and 39 female undergraduates were alternately assigned to rooms painted red or Baker-Miller Pink. After 5 min., measures were taken of state anxiety, grip strength, and motor precision. Subjects in the pink room had significantly lower state anxiety, but strength and precision scores did not differ, providing minimal support for the hypothesized calming effects of Baker-Miller Pink.

PMID: 3438141 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

More on Baker-Miller pink: Color Matters

...''It’s a tranquilizing color that saps your energy. Even the color-blind are tranquilized by pink rooms.'' 1 In spite of these powerful effects, there is substantial evidence that these reactions are short term. Once the body returns to a state of equilibrium...

As a sidenote, every time my mom dosed me with Pepto-Bismol, I vomited. I can't stand to even look at a bottle of the stuff without getting queasy.

The color pink as a calming influence is not new. I think a Sheriff out west issues pink underwear to his jail prisoners.
About 20 years ago one of my favorite watering holes changed management – and made extensive use of “Pepto-Bismol pink” in his redecorating. Pink carpeting throughout, pink felt on the pool tables, pink upholstery on the barstools and booth bench seats, even pink on parts of the walls. The name was changed from “The Crystal Inn” to “The Lollypop”.
The first day it reopened I walked in and just about walked out, but I knew most of the employees so I stayed. The barmaid, waitresses and dancers looked just a little embarrassed. The proud new owner introduced himself and welcomed me to his bar. After the pleasantries he asked why people were walking out as soon as they walked in. I was the only customer. This was shortly after noon, and the old place would have been packed with the lunch crowd.
I told him that all the P---- Pink color scheme chased them out.
“But studies have shown that this color pink prevents violence!”
“Maybe, but pink pool tables? They should be green or maybe even blue – but not pink. When will you be putting in the potted palms and pictures of The Village People?”
I still dropped in a couple days a week to see girlfriends, but couldn’t stay long. It took a couple months for him to wise up and change the pool tables to blue and the carpet to a deep red. Business picked up – but without the “Reserved for Harleys only” parking section near the door it never regained it’s old level of business.

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