Communicating with our neighbors has become more difficult since COVID-19. We can’t get to close to one another, which means we’re having to think up interesting ways to keep the conversation going.

One family had decided to use their extra free time to paint their home – but they couldn’t decide on a color. So the Landreths got inventive, and painted five different colors onto the side of their home, and asked their neighbors which color they preferred.

Of course, they couldn’t exactly go knocking on everyone’s doors to hear their opinions. Instead, they made a little sign out of cardboard and stuck it on their lawn. The sign read: “Help Us Choose A Color”, and featured a QR code, which passers-by could scan to be taken onto a short survey where they could select their favorite. Each of the colors was labelled 1 to 5 for simplicity.

Speaking about their motive for asking their neighbors which color they preferred, Dad Brian Landreth said:

“We don’t want to be that neighbor with that bright ugly house that everyone sees every day.”

He’s right. Though it should ultimately be the Landreths’ decision on their house color of choice, it’s nice that they gave their neighbors the option to contribute with their own opinions.

Brian added:

“Many people walk, bike, drive by our house every day. I thought it would be fun to give those people a chance to weigh in on the color of the house they are going to have to look at often. Love being collaborative and increasing community engagement.”

Sounds like the Landreths were trying their best to keep the community spirit lifted during a time of isolation for many of us. Unfortunately, they ended up reaching more than just their neighbors, so their plan didn’t quite pan out as expected!

Let’s not skip ahead just yet. Brian’s survey was produced with the help of his 11-year-old daughter, Grace, who had actually been given a homework task to gather and collect data and then later to report her findings.

Brian taught Grace about QR codes, and she learnt how to produce her own. Then they just had to put together the survey itself. Participants were asked to vote with numbers 1 through 5, with 1 being the top choice and 5 being the lowest. The 5 colors were listed – “rocky mountain”, “wild orchid”, “good taste”, “blessed blue”, and “it’s well.”

As it turned out, there were lots of people who were bored enough to fill out Brian’s survey – even those who didn’t live anywhere near his home. The survey went viral, big style. It received more than 150,000 votes.

Speaking about his surreal experience, Brian said:

“The best thing is having the chance to make so many people around the world happy, even if it’s only for a few minutes. In these times, we need fun and interesting distractions. The comments on the survey and social media have been so kind, this whole thing has restored my faith in our ability to be kind to each other and find happiness in common interests.”

So, the pressing question is, which color won? It was Blessed Blue, though we don’t know the exact figures and how close the results were. We’re personally of the opinion that It’s Well is more of an appealing shade, but hey, we’re not Brian’s neighbors. Hopefully, his little community was happy with the world’s decision!

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Source: Shareably, Reddit, Boredpanda