Before the recent (January 28, 2022) Crown Point, Indiana show, a report surfaced of a collector recovering some ice-blue colored Whitall-Tatum insulators from the rafters of a central Indiana icehouse. The collector claimed that the cold conditions and lack of sunlight caused the insulators to turn from a purple color to the lighter shade. Given the controversy about yellow California helmets found in a similar situation, several collectors decided to test the theory at the show, given that the conditions would be similar to those in the icehouse.

Three identical-in-color purple Whitall-Tatum insulators were secured for the test. The first was kept in a warm, lighted location. The second was put in a plastic case, exposed to the sun, during the freezing temperatures of the show. The third was put in an opaque box buried in the snow.

Results can be seen at here. The pictures clearly demonstrate how frigid temperatures can cause the reversal of purple glass to a lighter shade. Collectors in areas subject to freezing temperatures, especially Canadian collectors, to avoid storing or displaying their purple insulators in unheated garages or barns and to closely monitor their purple insulators if they are in a cold basement. Work is currently underway to create some kind of device to monitor when temperatures have dropped to a level sufficient to produce the lighter purple shades. Plans are to call it a Cold-o-meter and to make it wall mounted.

In July, when the snow has finally melted in northwest Indiana, tests will be conducted to assess if the color will revert to purple with exposure to the short summer season.