The Statue of Liberty in the USA is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world with its large torch, blue and green color and decorated hat. However, this huge statue was not this color when it was first made as a gift from France in 1885. It achieved this color as a result of chemical reactions over the years. And now, the idea of ​​returning the statue to its original color is being discussed on X (Twitter).

As explained in a video from the American Chemical Society’s YouTube channel Reactions, the original color of the Statue of Liberty was a pretty gorgeous copper color. “During its first few decades in the Big Apple, the statue gradually changed from that shiny copper color to a dull brown and eventually to the blue-green we see today, or ‘verdigris,’ as they say in France,” explains American Chemical Society videos.

An image of the Statue of Liberty published 1 year before it was erected.

Why and how did the Statue of Liberty change color?

Various chemical reactions have occurred over the years. First, copper reacted with oxygen in the air. Copper gave up its electrons to oxygen, resulting in the formation of pinkish-red cuprite. After this, the cuprite gave up more electrons to oxygen, forming black tenorite and causing the sculpture to darken even further. But it still hadn’t reached the green color.

When water in the atmosphere mixes with sulfur, it turns into sulfuric acid. When this combined with the copper oxides on the statue, it began to turn its distinctive green color. When chloride from sea splashes was added to this, the statue became even greener.

The statue has retained this color for over 100 years because the copper exposed to air has now reached a chemically stable point, but the original bronze still exists beneath this layer.