How do you determine the Background Color of a cell?

This is a simple question, I hope   (and maybe I even have the answer, please read).

I have a spreadsheet with different background colors -- and I need to determine what the specific fill color is, in order to duplicate the color at other places on the spreadsheet.

When I select a cell, I thought the color was supposed to be outlined with a box when I click on the Fill Color dropdown, but none of the colors in the dropdown are selected.

I managed to figure out a way to duplicate the background color by messing around with the Format Painter, but if I am playing with the background colors (to get a different look), I need to know what the original background color is.

So what happened to the little box that used to show up in the Fill Color dropdown, indicating the color selected (in the cell I have selected).

P.S.  I can find a color selected (outlined) if I click on the "More Colors" option in the Fill Color dropdown, but that selected color is very hard to keep track of because of the way the More Colors are displayed (the big somewhat confusing hexagon) -- so is that what is going on here -- i.e. it is not broken after-all.

P.P.S.  This is one of the MS sample spreadsheets which is why I don't know the original background color selected.]

ron in round rock