The Canary Girls and the WWI Poisons that turned them Yellow
▻http://www.messynessychic.com/2016/02/17/the-canary-girls-and-the-wwi-poisons-that-turned-them-yellow
At lunchtime, the women had to be separated in the cafeteria because everything they touched turned yellow. They were called the “Canary Girls” because of their bright yellow skin and green or ginger-coloured hair. With the nation’s men at war and male labour in short supply, Britain’s women had been recruited to ramp up production ammunition and were paid on average less than half of what the men were paid. By the end of the war, roughly 80% of the weaponry used by the British army was being made by women who were in fact paying very dearly to “do their bit”.
