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If you get thrown in the drunk tank in the Jackson County, Iowa, jail, relax! You're not hallucinating---the room really is pink. And the ceiling really is swimming with stars and moons.
The county sheriff painted the cell pink and applied the celestial decorations because he says it's "soothing and calming" to prisoners. Turns out, some color experts think certain shades of bubble-gum pink really do have a calming effect.
The sheriff was inspired by Iowa football coach Hayden Fry, who decades ago painted the opposing team's locker room a nice shade of rose to get them off their game. That came under fire earlier this year; some Iowa faculty members said the pink locker room smacked of sexism and homophobia.
It wouldn't be a surprise if a little of that was at play here, too. A pink jail cell may be calming, but surely part of the intent is to embarrass and emasculate prisoners. Let's call a spade a spade. Or, in this case, a pink star a pink star.
