How Chicago dyes its river green for St Patrick's Day and surprising reason why tradition began
It's a tradition that's been going on since 1962
17th March is of course St Patrick's Day with millions of Americans celebrating all things Ireland on Tuesday.
Whether it be attending a parade or sinking an ungodly amount of Guinness, there are numerous ways people celebrate St Patrick's Day, though none are more bizarre than what happens in Chicago.
To mark the Irish day of celebration, officials in the city pour a special green dye in the Chicago River beginning near the Columbus Drive bridge.
The river turns an Irish green within just minutes and the speculator color is at its most stunning in the first hour. The river remains green for a number of hours before returning to its usual state.
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The deed was done on Saturday (14 March) this year, with the dye stretching all the way to Orleans Street, before coming to a halt just before Wolf Point.
While the formula of the dye is non-toxic, the actual makeup of the dye is kept between officials who unleash the substance on the Chicago River every year.
The Chicago green dye tradition backstory
It was back in the 1960s when the idea of dyeing a body of water first started to emerge, and it all began by accident.
It stems back to an incident which emerged at a local plumbers' union, which was headed up by a friend of then-mayor, Richard J. Daley.
While looking for a leak from a broken pipe, the Chicago-based plumbers used orange dye to try and track down the source of the leak, but noticed the dye turned emerald green after hitting the water.
The head of the union called Mayor Daley to discuss the find, after which Daley suggested turning Lake Michigan green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that was too ambitious of a project, so the pair decided they would dye the Chicago River green instead.
That was in 1962, and the green dye has remained a tradition ever since.
Choose Chicago, a tourist information, said of the event: "The annual Chicago River dyeing is one of the most unique St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the world. Typically held the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day (the same day as the downtown parade), this bucket-list event is a beloved tradition that dates back over half a century.
"The brilliant green color only lasts a few hours, so be sure to catch a glimpse and snap some photos before heading off to a local tavern to enjoy some green beer."
Unfortunately, if you are in the Chicago area and were hoping to see the green Chicago River on St Patrick's Day, you may well have left it too late as the dye only stays around for a matter of hours, according to Choose Chicago.
Callum Jones