Orange fever is everywhere

"Orange is the happiest color," according to Frank Sinatra. If that's the case, you'll be in heaven in the Netherlands, where the Dutch adore the color orange. It all began when William of Orange ascended to the kingdom in the 17th century, and everyone realized what a great, jazzy color orange was.

Today, the Dutch simply need the tiniest excuse to turn their entire country into a brilliant orange explosion. International sporting events (particularly football matches) and Koningsdag, the annual holiday commemorating the king's birthday, are popular times for oranje to emerge.

They are all affected by oranjekoorts ('orange fever,' as you surely already know). We'd all be eating purple and yellow carrots if it weren't for oranjekoorts. In the 17th century, the Dutch improved the orange carrot by adding more beta carotene (a natural orange colour), and then grew so many that everyone forgot about the previous varieties.