“global consciousness is that thing that decided that decaffeinated coffeepots should be orange.” The idea that “orange means decaffeinated” originated during World War II, when Sanka promoted its decaffeinated coffee brand by giving away orange-rimmed coffeepots to restaurants across America. The idea took hold—not universally, to be sure, but sufficiently that the pattern propagates. At some point, it no longer belonged to Sanka but to the world.
