The Statue of Liberty is an iconic olive-green symbol of American freedom. But did you know she wasn't always that…
Statue of Liberty (Photo: Getty Images)
The Statue of Liberty is an iconic olive-green symbol of American freedom. But did you know she wasn't always that colour?
When France gifted 'Lady Liberty' to the US in 1885, it was a 305-feet statue with reddish-brown copper skin.
The colour change to the present olive-green happened as a result of about 30 years' chemical reactions with the air in New York City harbour.
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"In her first few decades in the 'Big Apple', the statue slowly turned from that shiny copper colour to a dull brown and then finally to the blue-green we see today," according to a video produced by the American Chemical Society and PBS Digital Studios.
The copper skin of the statue continuously reacted with the oxygen in the air to form black-coloured 'tenorite' that gave the statue a darker brown hue.
The sulphuric acid in the air and the salty sea-spray around the statue then reacted with the 'tenorite' and produced 'atacamite' giving the olive-green colour we all recognise today.
Researchers say that the olive-green coating on the monument protects it from further reactions, and the Statue of Liberty has remained this colour for over a hundred years.
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