Watching paint dry

Watching paint dry, closely related to "watching the grass grow",[1] is an English-language idiom that means something is incredibly boring or tedious.[2] It is believed to have originated in the United States.[3]

For the Wiktionary definition, see wikt:watch paint dry.

Wall with wet paint

Media

In 1959, Geoffrey Warren of the Los Angeles Times wrote that a theatrical presentation of The Shrike was "as exciting as watching paint dry".[3][4]

In 1969, sports announcer Red Barber warned that, due to the dominance of pitchers over batters, baseball at that time was "as exciting as watching paint dry."[5]

The expression was well known by the late 20th century and has led to real-life activities. In 2012, the World Watching Paint Dry championships were held by online trade merchants localtraders.com to promote various brands of paint. Entries were received from all over the world.[6]

External video
10-hour YouTube video of drying paint

In 2016, director Charlie Lyne released a 10-hour-and-7-minute-long film of paint drying titled Paint Drying to antagonise the British Board of Film Classification as a protest against their censorship and steep fees. The board was forced to watch all of it in order to award it a U certificate.[7]

Mike Gapes, MP for Ilford South, complained in 2017 that the parliamentary debate for the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill was sometimes "like watching paint dry".[8]

In 2018, the artist Arvid Boecker exhibited his work Watching Paint Dry at the Kunstverein Brackenheim, Brackenheim, Germany.[9]

The television station HGTV was criticised in 2020 for featuring coverage of people watching paint dry as interludes between segments on renovation shows such as Home Town and Fixer Upper.[10]

Science

Observing the process of paint drying has been found to be important in the development of modern environmentally friendly wall covering material, replacing earlier solvent-derived paints and coatings. The drying process is observed in order to better understand how aqueous material dries on a wall and forms a protective layer.[11] This is particularly important for the marine and shipbuilding industry, to demonstrate the feasibility of new materials on ships.[12]

Charles Tomlinson delivered a lecture on the "Drying Properties of Various Kinds of House Paint" to the Royal Society of Arts in 1869, concluding that paint dries due to the absorption of oxygen and thus solidifies as a result.[13] In 2008, a lecture titled "Why Watching Paint Dry Is Interesting" published by the Royal Society of Chemistry presented the chemistry and technology used in various marine paints.[14] In 2016, scientists at the University of Surrey and the Université Claude Bernard set up a computer simulation of paint drying, showing that it forms into two layers spontaneously as small particles in the paint combine and push away larger ones. This could lead to improved performance of future coatings.[15]

References
  1. Howard Hellman (2019). Watching Grass Grow: A Sequel to Watching Paint Dry. ISBN 9781070195599.
  2. "something is like watching paint dry". Collins Dictionary. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  3. Tréguer, Pascal (4 October 2017). "Like watching paint dry". Word Histories. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  4. "'The Shrike' Offered at Horseshoe". Los Angeles Times. 19 May 1959. p. I-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Baseball is as exciting as watching paint dry". Albany Democrat-Herald. 28 March 1969. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Watching Paint Dry Championship attracts international interest". Metro. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2020.; "Could You Win The World's First 'Watching Paint Dry' Championships?". Huffington Post. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  7. "BBFC rates Paint Drying film 'U', after sitting through all 607 minutes". The Independent. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  8. Gapes, Mike (4 December 2017). "European Union (Withdrawal) Bill". Hansard. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  9. Verein für Aktuelle Kunst Ruhrgebiet e.V., ed. (6 July 2018). Arvid Boecker: Watching Paint Dry. Ausstellungskatalog [Arvid Boecker: Watching Paint Dry. Catalog of the Exhibition]. Heidelberg: Das Wunderhorn. ISBN 978-3884236048.
  10. Buckman, Adam (3 January 2020). "How Dull Is TV Now? We Are Literally Watching Paint Dry". MediaPost. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  11. "Watching paint dry; more exciting than it seems". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  12. "Watching paint dry? Marine paints and coatings: more interesting than you might think". Dry Cargo Magazine. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  13. Towlinson, Charles (1869). "On the Drying Properties of Various Kinds of House Paint". Journal of the Society of Arts and of the Institutions in Union. Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. pp. 51–56.
  14. "Why Watching Paint Dry Is Interesting". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  15. Bulman, May (19 March 2016). "Watching paint dry leads scientists to an 'exciting' new discovery". The Independent. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
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