With March Madness starting this weekend and everyone filling out their brackets today’s mystery is basketball themed. Why are most basketballs orange?
The main reason is visibility. Back before the 1950s all basketballs were dark brown. Until Butler University’s head basketball coach Tony Hinkle decided the brown color was hard for everyone to see. The players, the fans, the coaches, and refs all complained about it. So he decided to choose a much brighter more visible color, orange! And it’s been that way ever since.