I’m intrigued, but also very much raising an eyebrow.
So researchers “discovered” a new color called olo, which is apparently so out-there it’s only been seen by five people using special equipment… but they also describe it as kind of like “an oversaturated hue of teal”? That’s like saying you found a new species of bird, but it’s just a really, really bright blue jay if you look at it through this special device.
Color perception is already super slippery—what we see is a combo of physical light wavelengths and how our brains process them. So if this olo requires machines to even render and can’t be seen under normal conditions, it kind of feels like calling infrared a “new shade of red.” Sure, it exists, but it’s not exactly about to show up in your box of Crayolas.
Still, I’m curious. If olo is legitimately outside the bounds of our typical vision, and not just some tech-induced exaggeration of teal, it could tell us a lot about the limits of human perception and how the brain constructs color. But if it looks like teal, walks like teal, and squawks like teal… and can be described in hex code as #00ffcc… maybe it’s just… teal.
What do you think—breakthrough or branding gimmick?
Are we just pining for the 90s maybe? Anyone else remember how teal in the ’90s was just THE color. It was everywhere—clothing, furniture, school folders, windbreakers, plastic cups with squiggles, even entire living room sets. It was like the whole decade got dunked in a vat of turquoise dye and came out strutting.
Think teal Chevy Cavalier convertible… That’s peak 90s mom glam right there. I can totally picture it: Mom with the top down, cassette tape blasting Paula Abdul, sunglasses as loud as her enthusiasm for the open road. That car wasn’t just a vehicle—it was a statement. Teal said, “I’m fun, I’m fashionable, and I’m probably headed to the mall.”
There was just something about teal that screamed fresh and futuristic back then. It was edgy but approachable, like the cool older cousin of baby blue and forest green. And it wasn’t just cars—teal made its way into everything from bridesmaid dresses to Taco Bell’s entire brand identity.
So when scientists say they’ve discovered a new color that’s an “oversaturated hue of teal,” I’m immediately taken back to the 90s thinking, “Wait… did we already discover that in the form of literally every fashion item from 1993?” Unless olo glows and changes your credit score, I’m not convinced it can top that teal era.
Further reading: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-say-theyve-discovered-a-new-color-an-unprecedented-hue-only-ever-seen-by-five-people-180986473
