Scientists Discovered a New Color Named ‘Olo’—but Few People Have Actually Seen It

A new color has just been discovered, but you won’t be able to add it to your home’s decorating palette anytime soon. As of now, it can only be seen after you look directly into a laser light. Researchers were able to help study participants see the color by utilizing a special laser light delivery technique. This helped researchers isolate and activate a specific cone within participants’ eyes, allowing them to all see the new color, which they named “olo.”

What the New Color Looks Like

The original study describes olo as a “blue-green of unprecedented saturation.” Participants found its shade to most closely match a very bright teal color.

While it’s tempting to try to pinpoint exactly what olo looks like by imagining colors we can already see, the color can only be experienced when a particular cone in your eye is isolated. You can get an idea of what it might look like by imagining a bright turquoise, but this still doesn’t come close to the results of the study’s laser technology.

If you’re desperate to see olo for yourself, there’s a possibility you’ll be able to in the future. Researchers want to create a virtual reality experience that will allow the public to see the new color without needing specialized lasers, so that olo can be shared with the rest of the world.

What Olo Means for the Future

In addition to uncovering a new color, this technology also presents promising developments when it comes to studying retinal diseases and helping those who are colorblind. There is hope that the laser technology used to discover olo could help researchers understand more about eye cone cell loss and related eye diseases.

While the potential for more colors to be discovered is uncertain, we’re looking forward to the possibility of seeing olo (at least virtually) in the near future. And in the meantime, we’ll be decorating with fresh spring shades of green and blue.