What is the rarest color in nature?

The color blue is almost never mentioned in ancient Greek literature

Linguists have noted blue is regularly the last color to enter the language of most cultures. Researchers guess that the color's rarity in living organisms is partly the cause of its linguistic absence.

Photos and descriptions of unique plants found in the Amazon rainforest

It’s the plants that provide homes for the incredible diversity of Amazon animals. Read about 29 of the most fascinating Amazon rainforest plants.

The rarest blood type in the world

Rh-null, also known as “golden blood,” is a blood type so rare, fewer than 50 people are known to have it. It lacks all 61 Rh antigens, making it a universal donor for rare Rh cases, but a nightmare in emergencies, since only Rh-null can be given back.

Tetrachromacy allows humans to observe 10 times the normal amount of colors

Resulting from a mutation on the X chromosome, the rare genetic condition causes individuals to possess an additional type of photoreceptor cell, typically sensitive to the orange range, located between the standard red and green cones. This enables the perception of approximately 100 million colors.

Ring galaxies, the rarest kind in the universe

Galaxies come in different sizes, but when it comes to shapes there are just four kinds: spiral, elliptical, irregular, and the rarest kind, ring. Ring galaxies only form in the event of a small galaxy passing through a large one, but there's more to them that that. This page explores these rare and beautiful heavenly bodies.

Layers of minerals revealed by erosion give Vinicunca its distinct colorations

Located in Peru's Andean mountains, Rainbow Mountain is known for its vibrant colors, which result from layers of minerals such as clay, sandstone, argillite, and limonite exposed over millions of years by rain, snowfall, and strong winds.

A diamond's color comes from impurities, defects, and unique formation processes

While most diamonds are transparent and sparkly, the presence of nitrogen and boron during formation can make them yellow, orange, or blue. Radiation can produce green diamonds, and structural deformities can introduce red hues.

Weird ways critical minerals are being mined

Critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and graphite are economically crucial non-fuel resources subject to supply chain risks. To diversify production, scientists developed odd ways to harvest them. This article breaks down the weirdest approaches, including extracting minerals from seawater using algae, phytomining plants, and asteroids.

The history of iconic pigments used in seven famous paintings

While art paints can be bought by the bucket at any craft store today, pigments throughout history have been difficult to come by. Art historian Kelly Grovier traces the fascinating history of pigments that make up hidden layers in masterpieces from Picasso and Hokusai’s Prussian Blue to Vermeer’s shade of red.

How the pigments that absorb light for photosynthesis contribute to plants' green color

Although light energy is captured to power the reactions that produce the building blocks of starch, cellulose, glucose, and other sugars, chlorophyll a and b are most sensitive to violet, blue, orange, and red light, leaving green light mostly unabsorbed. This green light is instead reflected, giving most plants this color appearance.

View the most expensive materials on Earth, led by those forged in particle accelerators

Californium-252—valued at $27.8M per gram, as of 2025—is far rarer and more valuable than gold, silver, or diamonds due to production and transportation costs. The most expensive substance ever found or created is antimatter, costing approximately $62.5T per gram.

High solar activity can produce pink and purple auroras

Although less common, energetic enough charged particles from the sun that descend to an altitude of about 100 kilometers (62 miles) can strike a mixture of ionized and neutral nitrogen molecules, causing them to emit red and blue light, which our eyes perceive as purple.

Three examples of how humans are still evolving

For much of nature, natural selection and "survival of the fittest" still play a dominant role; only the strongest can survive in the wild. As little as a few hundred years ago, the same was true for humans, but what about now?

See photos of rare spotless giraffe born at zoo

A spotless giraffe was born at a zoo in Tennessee in the summer of 2023, with experts claiming the specimen is the only solid-colored animal of the species with genes for "reticulation," or the normal patchwork look. The phenomenon is so rare many...

Models of the strong nuclear force resemble the RGB color system

Quarks are described as having “color charge” and must combine to produce color-neutral particles (e.g., red + anti-red = white). An isolated quark, which would create a colored particle, is impossible because the energy to overcome strong force particles—gluons—is enough to generate more quarks to maintain color neutrality.

From the surface, Mars can appear butterscotch, golden brown, and even green

Images from orbiters, landers, and rovers show that Mars has a mix of surface colors resulting from variations in the mineral compositions of different regions. The reddish tint when viewed from Earth comes from kicked up particles of rusted iron.

View the rainbow effect on the waters at First Landing State Park

The phenomenon results from light interacting with a thin film of natural oils on the surface of swamps and marshes at the site, not unlike the coloration seen in soap bubbles. The oils originate from decaying vegetation or from anaerobic bacteria reducing iron in soil. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

Nearly 99% of the Smithsonian's specimens are hidden in high-security

At the National Museum of Natural History, nearly 99% of its 147 million specimens are stored in secure research collections rather than on display, where they are actively used for scientific work ranging from tracking invasive species to improving aviation safety.

Explore a gallery of tardigrades

Although sometimes called moss piglets, tardigrades are most often white or clear with some dark pigments. Tardigrades only move by crawling, not swimming, and depictions of organisms with caved-in heads or other coloration result from sample preparation for microscopes.

The science of dogs, from wolf origins to color-blindness

This under 10-minute podcast episode dives into the rich, fascinating science behind dogs: From their world-class sense of smell to their domestication from wolves.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Dive into the ocean's hottest water to explore hydrothermal vents

What can live at temperatures of 700 degrees Fahrenheit under skull crushing pressure with zero sunlight? Meet the animals living in the most extreme conditions on Earth in this four-minute video.

Natural toxins produced on plants or consumed by animals may cause food poisoning

When humans eat plants with certain natural toxins on them—including a family of toxins called aflatoxins that fungi produce on crops like peanuts and corn— they can become ill with food poisoning. Toxins can still harm humans even if animals or plants appear fine to the human eye. The World Health Organization advises that we should throw away moldy or discolored foods, refrain from eating wild plants or mushrooms that aren’t definitively nonpoisonous, and remember that just because something is “natural” it’s not always safe to eat.

The most common birthdays

Nine of the top 10 most common birthdays fall in September, with Sept. 9 being the most common. However, August is the most common birth month, followed by July and December. On the flip side, the least common birthdays are around major holidays, with Christmas Day being the rarest—probably due to doctors scheduling fewer inductions and C-sections on those days. Find out more birthday surprises here.

The research that led to sour

Scientists are trying to figure out if there are unique receptors that respond to the molecules that make up flavors we associate with calcium, blood, batteries, and other items that often escape dinner menus. Taste researcher Dr. Danielle Reed says the minimum evidence for a taste category typically involves identifying dedicated receptors and then removing them to show the taste vanishes.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Chaos gardening involves scattering seeds without any planning

The trend is intended to produce colorful, dense gardens by mixing various seeds. While encouraging experimentation and lower stakes, the success of these gardens depends on choosing plants with similar needs and incorporating native, nectar-rich flowers.

Coral reefs get their colors from zooxanthellae—microorganisms that line corals' digestive tracts and provide them with sugars in exchange for a home within this protective tissue.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.