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Comment by leetcrew | Hacker News Reader

I wasn't aware this was a trend; I thought it was just practical. a gray coffee machine may not make for a striking kitchen centerpiece, but it doesn't clash with anything either. if you're KitchenAid, by all means, go and make 12 different colors for a stand mixer. but if you only want to make one color, it might as well be gray.

I always get my cars in gray for a similar reason. I like cars, but I don't want mine to stand out on the road. don't need the extra attention from cops, thieves, etc. plus, a gray car in the right shade looks clean for a long time between washes.

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The trend the article discusses is using colors that are tones, meaning a hue mixed with gray. So it's not just that a lot of things are gray, it's that even the things that are colored have a gray-ish cast.

I admit I didn't read past all the pictures of cars in TFA. I see what you mean with kitchen items now. weird trend, but I think my original point still holds? desaturated versions of otherwise incompatible colors clash less, to my eyes at least

Oh, I agree. And I'll take muted colors over no colors at all.

I do love me some bright Ikea-style colors though, even though they are more difficult to coordinate properly.

Isn't it wrong that "attention from cops" is a factor in your everyday life?

Ok, I'll bite. I used to live in Dallas. It's not really a secret that literally everyone speeds all the time on the highway. If you commute daily, it's not uncommon that you'll probably be going 10-15mph over the speed limit at some point. Of course you don't have to speed, but sometimes it's easier to stay in the flow of traffic and drive a little faster.

Most of the time, the cops are too busy with other stuff to sit by the road writing tickets for speeding. This is probably why there are so many speeders. It's barely enforced. However, on the 3 days a year where the department has had a slow morning, I wouldn't mind having a less conspicuous car. For the cop, it's much easier to focus on the bright neon green car and pull them over once they turn on lights and sirens and start following them.

Nobody wants attention from the cops, but it's also important to acknowledge the possibility. If you drive the speed limit perfectly, by all means, get a bright colored car. For most people, a little bit of speeding is a daily habit and statistically, having a car that blends in will lead to fewer tickets on average.

In my country everyone is speeding as well, but speed limits are enforced primarily by the radar-cameras, not cops. So you just have to know location of those cameras (thanks, Waze) and slow down there.

I assumed that your concern was cops giving trouble just because they can, not for actual violations.

This is true where I live currently (Netherlands). Luckily, there are no silly cameras on my commute to and from work. :)

In America, cops generally will leave you alone unless you're actively breaking the law right in front of them. Most departments are understaffed already, especially in big cities. In Dallas, there were a couple of suburbs that were notorious for writing traffic tickets and in those areas, people would slow down. But those areas were wealthy and have low crime rates so the local police don't have much else to do.

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