Animals Cannot Be Blue | Explorer

Sometimes nature plays tricks on us. Animals use color in remarkable ways to attract mates or disguise themselves.
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Explorer, the longest-running documentary series in cable television history, honored with nearly 60 Emmys and hundreds of other awards, continues as a series of major specials on the National Geographic Channel. In the course of more than two thousand films, Explorer has taken viewers to more than 120 countries, opening a window on hidden parts of the world, unlocking mysteries both ancient and modern, and investigating stories of science, nature, and culture.
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Animals Cannot Be Blue | Explorer
• Animals Cannot Be Blue...
National Geographic
/ natgeo

[@NatGeo]

Some animals might appear blue, but they are deceiving you. What are your thoughts on this trick of the eye?

[@juanrodrigez7460]

Should we trust blue blood animals??

[@nicksullivan4203]

What about blue eyes

[@quantumcity6679]

We can't say anything... But we can imagine.... I 🤔 that one of the species of animals on 🌍 definitely have UV 👀 ....I'm 🤔 about there Retina Display.... 🙄

[@cheffythomas8520]

This is why I love photography/film making and nature. I really love lighting and the science of light. Thank you for sharing this.

[@bishwajitpothal4592]

Eyes hypnotized us .. 😵😵

[@canyounot810]

People: People: I saw a blue butterfl- NatGEO: well yes but actually no

[@Lyre206]

can you not 😂

[@aelivi]

can you not 😂😂😂

[@p1ss.official]

can you not 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@acid133]

can you not 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@lachupacabra3692]

Not you can 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@balys2168]

*Parrot* **laughs in blue**

[@lawlessfpv]

Lmfao

[@turntsnaco824]

Dabadee dabadeye

[@lawlessfpv]

@@turntsnaco824 HAHAHAHAHA

[@friedrichnietzsche4569]

Peacock

[@alexia3993]

lol

[@thetwelfth9987]

So in short: the Smurfs have been tricking us since 1958.

[@theautistic.teacher]

They were originally green, but it would be harder to distinguish them because of the grass, so the creator changed their color to blue.

[@jorbennoten9536]

Wait smurfs aren't real

[@thetwelfth9987]

@@jorbennoten9536 after watching the cgi movies I’m glad they don’t

[@madil2259]

@@thetwelfth9987 yeah me too.

[@ME_Toons]

;(

[@shakhri9077]

“No blue foods” I guess blueberrys are orange then

[@owbahraniya500]

When you cut them, they’re not blue inside... only outside

[@terraaudeux7946]

I think of blueberries as more of an indigo

[@g0ldamps391]

they're blue cuz they are called blue berry. dats the logic of my stupid brain.

[@erniellerena]

Blueberry pie and muffins tend to be purple not blue.

[@passionweasel3181]

Who knows maybe it’s just a very rich purple that looks blue well there’s probably a reasoning

[@InvestorAcademyPodca]

So, animals cannot be blue except for the ones that are blue.

[@OfficiallyKelvin]

pretty much

[@mangledfoxy2052]

I’ve seen many stupid and/or confusing things, but this among the top ones

[@666qwertz]

No, it is not blue. The butterflys wing appears blue because it filters out all the other colours from ambient light. The wing itself has no blue colour (in the sense that "normal" blue color stems from another physical principle). The video made a poor job explaining the fundamental different physical phenomena though...

[@chandlerblachut3878]

666qwertz then right after that it shows a different butterfly that actually has blue pigment. And also the blue dart frog. So it kind of contradicts itself

[@Icewind007]

That logic only works if you agree that if I tape a blue filter to your face, everything is blue. Most of us would disagree.

[@daanm3869]

'they appear blue' yeah when something appears to be blue, we call that: 'blue'

[@omegaman5663]

lmao

[@minimons684]

Lol

[@MrAndido]

Was looking for this

[@fluxpistol3608]

The sun appears to rise & fall but in fact we circle around it. There’s a big difference between what truely is & what appears to be the case. If you can see the value in knowledge. Leave it to those whom do.

[@MrAndido]

Pretty. However, they used a logical fallacy. It is not the the animal that is blue, it is the light. The only reason the “true blues” can’t change collor is because the pigment is contained within the cells, thus we are unable to dilute or do anything to change it. Still, the pigment reflects blue, like, well, anything that we see as blue. Not the thing, just the light.

[@thetravelingdoc8200]

The video ends with "If you can't trust your own eyes,what can you trust" Inner me: Definitely not your channel.

[@JosephM]

OOOOOOHH

[@retardman5193]

Not even funny

[@PrettybuoyJones1992]

Lol

[@sumthintuf3648]

How? Do you not wanna believe the facts they just gave or something or am I missing something here lmao

[@xavierjones6048]

No they are facts but also color is subjective for people so it's hard to decipher what is reality and your mind. I mean what you see is the truth. It is your truth. But reality is different. You could make the argument that when you see blue that thing is blue. You can also make the argument that blue is just reflected back into your eyes. See why its confusing to some people?

[@ZOMGILOST]

Blue light is produced when blue wavelength of light is reflected, right? Regardless if there is blue pigment or not, as long as something reflects blue light, then it is blue.

[@nothankyoutube]

The light you're receiving is blue yes, but one reflects blue but the rest filter.

[@Termerpores]

An example would be a glass prism. A glass prism refracts light and causes a rainbow spectrum to be reflected as a result. In our eyes, the glass prism appears rainbow in colour, but in reality, the glass prism itself has no colour and is clear. So the same applies. Yes, blue is reflected off the butterfly's wings into the eyes so we precieved it as blue, but the wings itself is may not be blue in colour . Hence "fake blue"

[@paradise4213]

@@Termerpores But couldn't the same apply to Red or Green? Some jackets are made the same way, they just reflect light to show red or green, but we don't call those "fake" red or green.

[@oscard.lisboa6105]

@@Termerpores u cant use glass and compare it to animals bro

[@Termerpores]

@@oscard.lisboa6105 that is why it is called an "example". It does not have to be glass to produce this effect you potato. The prism example is to make it easier to understand the concept of diffraction, not to say the wings are made of glass

[@akashkunte7444]

Will Smith is Blue.

[@NikkiCurve]

Lmfaooooo

[@aozorafreak]

In Aladdin ? He's black Your eyes are deceiving you Lol

[@beta700a]

No, he only appears to be blue!

[@shanhussain6114]

CGI is "essentially" playing with the physics of light... electromagnetism. So, no he isn't a true blue.

[@rogerr.2507]

This comment is heavily underrated! Great one buddy haha

[@arjunraj823]

Me:Our planet is called 'the blue planet Alien: So you have alot of blue. Me:It's rare in our planet.😊

[@corynorell3686]

It's called that because of the water you ninny

[@novidsnosubs9758]

Cory Norell yes but they are saying how confused the alien would be😂

[@arjunraj823]

@@pheenixgryphon7857 😉😉

[@alexia3993]

lol

[@frann8552]

National Geographic: Animals cannot be blue Poison Dart frog: Am I a joke to you

[@retardman5193]

They're an exception.

[@hairyputter5363]

@Erikas Sadauskas anything that can kill you easily isn't a joke

[@janmanuel4273]

Fighter fish: hold my bite

[@jerry1309able]

Shows a bird that's faking a blue color Peacocks: Hold my beer

[@maqsoodchoudhary2413]

JerryJoseph its purple not blue

[@chickentunna]

JerryJoseph lmaooo 😂

[@bronzee548]

@@maqsoodchoudhary2413 It is blue

[@pramanaart6062]

@@bronzee548 it is bird :/

[@suicidal.session]

wait is this meant to say that peacocks are actually blue because don't peacocks also use the same technique as the blue morpho to appear blue? the feathers refract the light in a way that makes it look blue to our eyes but it's not actually blue?

[@shadowshinobin8641]

Scientist : animal's can't be blue. Nature : *Hold my beer*

[@kristianapacheva]

Shadow shinobin 😂

[@ayalliville]

😂 😂 😂

[@albertoterryjoachim3195]

Nah hold my palette would be best

[@Elennaaaaaaa]

I also love beer

[@trapkat6656]

Where is blue

[@fellowbiodegradablehomosap2871]

TITLE: *ANIMALS CANNOT BE BLUE* 03:02 *_proceeds to show animals being blue_* When National Geographic starts using clickbait, that’s how you know we’ve reached the peak

[@JMRabil675]

Exactly what I thought... They have to use clickbait because in the big 6 English speaking countries, there is a distrust in new content, so content creators have to 'trick' people (morons I like to call them) into clicking on the video and falling for the bait. I just came here to whine about it lol

[@killerpussy84]

Hopefully the peak, 'cause it means it will get better soon ....

[@inno6788]

@@killerpussy84 if its the peak then it would go downhill from here

[@12DAMDO]

when i saw the title i thought Vsauce was back

[@12DAMDO]

killerkitten the peak is not rockbottom

[@anavideos2445]

"Animals cannot be blue." Blue Macaw: *Am I a joke to you?*

[@TT-nk3ho]

Me watching this with my blue eyes: 🧿👄🧿

[@finchbird2419]

Video: uses the light spectrum to explain why things look blue Me: that's literally how every color works wtf

[@lubv3965]

thats what im thinking atm

[@retardman5193]

But blue is way rare.

[@namelastname9580]

just going to like because you spelled literally correctly

[@LouisLixes]

The difference is when not under the exposure of light these "skins" will maintain their color while the fake ones won't.

[@eertikrux666]

Same

[@jayroumimper]

Nobody: National Geographic : Animals cannot be blue

[@autisticbot6904]

*The More You Know*

[@leosurname6993]

Me: Can animals be blue? Natgeo: No but actually yes.

[@laisgodinho8009]

@@leosurname6993 more like "animals cannot be blue, except if they are"

[@ryancoates665]

Autistic Bot the less you don’t

[@sluggish._]

And? It’s a literal known fact.

[@parmaxolotl]

What the video should actually be titled: "Most animals don't actually have blue pigment, so they have to find other ways to reflect blue light"

[@josh-bs1vq]

ain't nobody got time for that

[@karenmwehp1206]

No one: Not even a braincell of albert einstein Blue whale: am i a joke to you 🐳 Edit: omg tysm for the likes💙 Merry Christmas everyone 💙

[@PremKumar-pr5iw]

😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🙏🙏😂🤣🤣🤣awsm

[@AminGuides]

Well yes

[@emmaqiu]

lmao they're grey

[@bhbg0309]

emma yah they are grey. They appear turquoise bluish when they are right below the water’s surface. Hence the name given to them by scientists.

[@anotadonneb3108]

Had the same idea as you lmao

[@pman2434]

Should've been titled: "Why Blue is Such An Interesting Color in The Animal Kingdom" not "Animals Cannot Be Blue" because they can and you even said so in the video

[@CarthagoMike]

yeh, sadly a clickbait title, which is truely ashame since it is a very interesting topic on its own. It doesn't need a clickbait title.

[@Madeeha_shinkoko]

It's called clickbait, my son. Welcome to the internet.

[@LosloTypical]

Doesn't really matter. It was an interesting video nonetheless with some pretty neat shots.

[@Msnaida123]

In nature* ;)

[@lordhuebi]

@@Madeeha_shinkoko Just because it's a common thing, doesn't mean we have to accept it and be fine with it. Welcome to not being a sheep.

[@matthewstephens6502]

No blue pigment, but they're still blue. Semantics.

[@Andres-us9ld]

its a way to bait people

[@sammangiaracina9360]

thank you

[@xlur4027]

“Animals cannot be blue” Blue Jay’s: Am I a joke to u?

[@vermillionz]

You probably didn't understand the video

[@milyramirez4538]

*natgeo:* animals CAN'T be blue. *that one blue bird my aunt has:* am i a joke to you.

[@vermillionz]

You probably didn't understand the video

[@John-wd9mx]

Blueberry: am I a joke to you?

[@PantsB4Squares]

"No foods are blue" i immediately thought of the blued berries.

[@peacewillow]

blueberries are actually purple, which would imply some blue pigment mixed with some red pigment.....

[@bashundersmarck3990]

@@peacewillow blue pigment...

[@arifsugianto5245]

All animals stare at you... WTF -_-

[@orangeboy97]

@@peacewillow bLuE pIGmEnT??

[@BobMcCoy]

*_Avatar has left the chat_*

[@MidnightBloomDev]

*originality has left the chat*

[@sophonax661]

162 people gave a shiny blue thumb up, I think Avatar can come back and enjoy the virtual, true blue of YT :)

[@bmona7550]

*Will Smith entered the chat*

[@srishtighosh2083]

*This blue my mind.*

[@justinequizon7257]

get the f out of my room........

[@psalm8306]

"If you can't trust your own eyes, what can you trust?" That hit me hard

[@marethasheila3910]

God

[@NeilLopes]

The rarity of blue is what makes it exotic and beautiful.

[@abhaysharma9317]

Neel is blue in Hindi.

[@andromeda3780]

@@abhaysharma9317 interesting how it sounds like Nile (the river) when it pronounced in Arabic. The word itself comes from dyes and more particularly a bule ones 💙

[@hotpockets2224]

u should search what royal purple is haha now that is a rare color for sure

[@TUBESPECIFIC1]

Blue is my favorite. Blue is beautiful, peaceful, and honest. Purple is royal and red is provocative and even hostile. Yellow stands out for all to see.

[@RosinGoblin]

Now listen up here's a story

[@The33scap]

Is Will Smith blue or has he just evolved a way to trick your eyes?

[@eidrag]

He's ascended to higher plane, rendering light reflected to be perceived as blue

[@maalikisadikin4388]

Lol 😂

[@CrazyAsianDude]

Yup.....CGI?

[@indym8523]

My first wish would be to rewind KZbin Rewind

[@jaypalmer2463]

Under rated comment

[@atinahull216]

2:25 "don’t worry it dries back to blue" Me: ohhh so it is blue?

[@meepotello626]

Fake blue because if it was a real blue the colors won't change even if alcohol was added because the actual blue pigment is there ...but in this case , it was a fake blue because once they added that drop of alcohol it suddenly changes to somewhat green

[@ananefrimpongnicholas7824]

Drops green alcohol on butterfly wings. Butterfly: yoo, chill bro, I'm still blue

[@bentleyboy72]

Pigment or not, if it looks blue, its blue. If blue light is reflected from an object, that object is blue. That's quite literally the definition of color.

[@devangel990]

Obviously they're talking about blue pigment. Yeah, it's blue in APPEARANCE, but it IS not blue.

[@bentleyboy72]

@@devangel990 Nothing IS blue. Nothing IS any color. Color is determined 100% by the wavelengths an object reflects. BUT...since that's the case for everything in existence, we just simplify things and say that if something looks a color, then it IS that color.

[@jayce7646]

FishAntsPlantsAndDave These fartknockers just needed an excuse to talk about science. They could have made a quality video about the electromagnetic spectrum and how light interacts with the eye. Instead they decided fabricate a conspiracy and challenge your ability to use common sense. Classic Click-bait BS

[@devangel990]

Fine, my term and usage of IS was wrong, but the video is still obviously talking about pigment, and this is a pointless argument.

[@jim123bcbhd9]

@@jayce7646 true

[@mateogonzalez5678]

This feels the same as saying, "people don't actually think for themselves because your brain runs on auto pilot for 80% of the time." The only way we can see blue IS because of the light reflecting off of whatever, so then it IS blue regardless of the process of making it blue. So that statement about the sea and the sky seem redundant. Creatures like that butterfly are very interesting in the way they create it, but the result still stays the same, blue butterfly. I'm sorry the title just bothers me because they even mentioned two animals that are naturally pigmented blue, no tricks.

[@Timbit]

You're right

[@SolvayConference]

Which two animals have naturally pigmented blue?

[@DVN11227]

Sure. The correct angle would be describing the blue surface in contact with the air/ water vs. the surface of the pigment particles slightly below the surface of the body, also appearing blue - and the physics of the light scattering and reflection producing the same image in our brain regardless of the two types of sources. Nothing about the light reflection off the pigment is mentioned, let along the mechanism how the brain distinguishes the wavelengths. "Deception" is not an appropriate word, just different mechanisms are at play.

[@mateogonzalez5678]

@@SolvayConference The Olive Wing butterfly and the Blue Poison Dart Frog

[@ho2cultcha]

every pigment color has it's own 'tricks' of perception.

[@cambedak6510]

Nat Geo: No one is blue. Me every Sunday night: Am I a joke to you?

[@royaldeer87]

Blue Jays: *exists* Me: am I a joke to u

[@Kichu-lt1sw]

Is my Blue same as your blue? *VSauce music intensifies*

[@Chunderthunder420]

@Lord Bolton well how do you know those colors are actually the ones youve named. what if you think its blue but its actually green but you dont know. two people could point at the color blue and be thinking/seeing different colors and think its blue because thats what theyve been told.

[@sigalroman8547]

Im seeing green 😂

[@derekgo611]

Lol

[@GriseWeisshark]

*Hey Vsauce! Michael here.*

[@ngocninh02]

200

[@muz3226]

so the title is wrong, animals can be blue but it's very rare

[@venessasilveira8874]

Me: Scrolling through KZbin videos. Nat Geo: Don’t trust your eyes.

[@Sherburtz]

im looking at my blue parrot and questioning everything

[@KateeAngel]

Animals: we still appear blue! Cyanobacteria: hold my phycocyanin

[@prodbykodiak]

But can’t you just say the same about all the other colours? “Green is just the way the light is reflected into your eye”

[@jolenemathews]

Diffraction =/= Reflection

[@jolenemathews]

They did a bad job in explaining diffraction,

[@meepotello626]

But many animals actually has those green pigment in their cells while the blue pigment is very rare and often what our eyes perceived as blue doesn't have those blue pigment in them but only appears blue to our eyes because of how light was filtered

[@thehwatcha733]

My childhood movie "Rio" fooled me :,(

[@astrobookwormsinger]

Those macaws do exist tho

[@joharpaul3]

Blue whale disliked the video.

[@bachlamtung5131]

As if they're "blue"

[@joharpaul3]

@WaitingToFadeThey identify themselves as blue, your calling them grey is an act of violence.

[@mrslick58]

I laughed way too hard at this 😂😂

[@jamesbee6983]

Whales aren’t animals

[@Yashyennam]

I was searching the comment with blue whale. I was not disappointed.

[@1Poxxxx]

How is this different from the Way Pigments absorb a percentage of the wavelengths to form a color? I mean what makes directional reflection vs Absorption real or fake? Isn't the end result the same? 500mn photons hitting your retina?

[@jaredsmith112]

thePoxxxx yes that’s the real conceit of this video

[@ho2cultcha]

exactly!

[@jacquescousteau4592]

Exactly, it is just a bunch of pretentious scientists.

[@flower_k8713]

it's too deep

[@arr165]

I was wondering the same. I guess the clear blue pigment is rare is what they meant. But that don't really disregards the workaround animals found. I would like to know more about why the pigment is so rare. Are blue eyes in humans are "actually blue"?

[@gentlestickman3680]

So basically true blue animals are very rare... *BUT THEY STILL EXIST.*

[@yaminikathuria6077]

I appreciate the way whole phenomena has been narrated, beautiful explanation.. The words Enigmatic and the picturization as a whole made the video spectacular. The way background score, music, speaker's tone, the visuals make a 4 min a visual - audio treat. Great quality! By national geographic

[@sophonax661]

But using pigments also changes the way light waves are reflected or absorbed. I get why it's amazing that blue pigments are rare, but in the end of the day, every perceived color is a "trick" of the physical properties of light. Not just blue. As far as I know plants are only green because green wave lengths are _not_ absorbed by chlorophyll, but almost all other wave lengths. So plants do quite the same as these butterflies by reflecting only the specific color that we can see. They only use a pigment so the effect is steady and doesnt depend on angles.

[@Qui-9]

Understanding the explanation is key. Basically holographic blue. What color is the water is in the blue part of the rainbow?... Food for thought.

[@Calucig]

@Rebirth Vessel That's also not the point OP stated. The problem of this video is that they STATE that our eyes are being tricked that certain animals are not blue. Both definitions are wrong. You could go into a philosophical discussion and state that nothing, living or not, is really of a certain color. Things simply reflect lightwaves and we can see a certain range of them. A more correct statement would be that Animals don't usually produce blue pigments, but are blue because of their physical structures. And saying that our eyes are trick is clickbait. At the end of the day we see blue, whether it's reflected by a pigment or by a physical structure.

[@Icewind007]

That's not the same. Plants are green because they absorb all the light but green, and re-emit green photons. The butterfly does not do this. It changes the color of the light AFTER it was already re-emitted. It's like wearing a color filter over your eyes and saying that everything is that color. This would not be true. If you were to finely grind a butterfly wing enough to break it's structure, it would not make a blue dust. If you grind a plant, it will still be green.

[@sophonax661]

@@Icewind007 Sure, I know that. That's the difference between pigment and surface structure but either way the composition of light waves is altered which causes the effect of color perception. It doesn't make sense to call one a "trick" and not the other. Color perception is as much depending on the structure of the eye and the neuronal processing in the brain as it is depending on the object itself. The retina already changes its input (highlights contrasts, f.e.) before the brain "sees" anything and the brain only perceives a very small part of reality to begin with. One could argue the color yellow is more "tricky" than non-pigment-blue since we have no receptor for yellow and only "interpret" a red-green-mixture as yellow. As another person already stated it is almost a philosophical discussion what makes a "real" color "real" and a "fake" one "fake".

[@JustScrapHD]

There is no such thing as "true blue" Everything that appears blue, actualy is blue. Nature just found different ways of archieving blue. The only question is, why blue pegments are so rare compared to the others

[@jayce7646]

DEUCE Your opinion is Valid. The argument is moot. This entire video is a series of long-winded arbitrary semantics. Using NatGeo logic, Ice isn’t cold, you are just warm.

[@snapple1877]

@@jayce7646 lol, they have fallen to fallacious reasoning and pseudoscience.

[@jayce7646]

snapple187, They have fallen into the trap of greed and desperation. They’ve forgotten their reputation as a trustworthy and educational media outlet. It won’t be too long before they begin advertising snake oil and voodoo beads that hail from ancient alien civilizations.

[@snapple1877]

Jayce Segler lol

[@bonelessbagel2624]

You guys obviously havent listened to the video

[@OhHoneyBecky]

Amazing!!! Please guys, do MORE videos like this one! 🥰❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@neelima6460]

Now we can officially rename blue as Great Royal Blue..

[@elizabeth712]

This is getting too meta if it looks blue it’s blue

[@Blue_Azure101]

Eggy Egggs pigment vs crystal; there’s a difference

[@theviniso]

That butterfly looks very not blue from some angles, so it's probably not blue.

[@sammangiaracina9360]

@@Blue_Azure101 there's a difference in how the color is achieved yes, but that doesn't mean that it isn't still that color. color is just a wavelength of light. if that wavelength is present, that color is present.

[@IsabelleBoiten]

‘Animals can’t be blue’ Olivewing butterfly & blue poison dart frog: ‘well... *I’m blue da boo dee da boo daay* ’

[@khabyreacter]

Yes

[@rebeccatom2188]

"Blue butterflies only Reflect blue light! Not actually blue" "Yeah so thts how color works"

[@kiruthikabalasubramani8874]

The actual pigment for blue color lacks there I guess...

[@rebeccatom2188]

@@kiruthikabalasubramani8874 hmmm yeah i guess so

[@meepotello626]

Just like the ocean , it appears blue but it's really not . Because we all know water is not blue but the way lights are reflected to our eyes makes it look like blue , hence a fake blue .

[@rebeccatom2188]

@@meepotello626 the ocean actually is blue, if you go to the really deep depths, the only wavelength that can penetrate it is blue :D

[@meepotello626]

@@rebeccatom2188 nope it's not.. whatever you're trying to say it's not . Infact light gets filtered out and makes the ocean appear blue doesn't make it blue cause water is not blue

[@megz2708]

NATgeo: there's no blue animals Also NATgeo:shows a picture of an insect.

[@noahbayard6190]

I like u :) ... insects are animals

[@siennarichards7592]

*PAPPA SMURF HAS LEFT THE CHAT*

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

Paging Gargamel!!

[@momszycat4148]

😉

[@strikeplayzyt8768]

😀😀😀😀😀

[@bmona7550]

*Will Smith entered the chat*

[@cristinejoydeguzmatitin4563]

All Smurfs have left the chat

[@Junyoung_Kang]

What about my eyes. I have blue eyes. Are my eyes also tricking others and myself that it appears blue?

[@HenriqueSantosCosta]

Actually, yes. There's no blue pigment in your eyes. Iris color is due to variable amounts of eumelanin (brown/black melanins) and pheomelanin (red/yellow melanins) produced by melanocytes. More of the former is found in brown-eyed people and of the latter in blue and green-eyed people.

[@Junyoung_Kang]

@@HenriqueSantosCosta so everyone technically has brown/black eyes

[@HenriqueSantosCosta]

@@Junyoung_Kang You said you have blue eyes, so it means there are some red/yellow pigment in your iris, and less of brown. I think there's a video from It's OK To Be Smart about this.

[@shameenas5188]

Try pouring in some alcohol, who knows, maybe it'll turn green

[@ninaturtle7554]

@@shameenas5188 😂😂😂😂 I cant your comment is hilarious

[@PrettybuoyJones1992]

Blue is my favorite color,I'm crushed...

[@oykumelissari]

Hiacinth Macaw: Am I joke to you?

[@bheronz]

National Geographic : Animals can't be blue! Animals that are blue : Hold my beer.

[@robbitt]

Since when is pigment the only true form of color? Blue created by pigment or light is still blue. The color spectrum is created by light wavelengths. Are we now supposed to believe these aren't true colors because there's no pigment? There's no blue in a rainbow? Color created by light is no less real than color created by pigment.

[@alessandropolicarpo]

At the end, we only see things through light. Light is much more important than pigments.

[@GuerrillaVanity]

color in light is different than color in pigment, both also interact differently among themselves. For example red and green light make yellow light and red and green pigment makes a brown pigment. It's not that something isn't blue because it doesn't contain blue pigments. it's that it isn't truly blue. A black person with albinism is still black, but their skin color isn't truly black because it lacks the pigmentation. You would still refer to that person as black but you would also acknowledge that they don't have pigmented skin. that's pretty much what is going on here. it doesn't really make a difference, but it does raise the question to why blue pigmentation is very uncommon.

[@aliyahabrahams2071]

Exactly

[@WmsYTpage]

I think what’s being explained here concerns additive color vs. subtractive color: In additive color terms, light combines itself and projects a wavelength, such as in electronic displays or using the the rgb (red/green/blue) spectrum. Full-spectrum lighting (daylight) holds all the waveforms to carry all colors. Warm light only projects more golden-carrying waveforms, fluorescent projects more blue-carrying waveforms, etc.. Some materials (such as clear water or atmosphere) dont hold actual pigment, but more strongly refract blue waveforms. Subtractive color is based around what actual particles a material contains that absorb all wavelengths except for the one it reflects, which we regard as it’s color. An example would be in paint color or printing ink (the CMYK, or cyan/magenta,yellow, blue spectrum) It “subtracts” the waveforms, leaving us with the color impression that is then carried by the additive light source. Ive been trying to get my head around this for years, and am still wrestling with it. If my explanation is incorrect or if someone has a more clear way of explaining it, please share.

[@intansabrinasaad]

Peacock: am I a joke to you?

[@themoviefanatic4625]

Wow that's actually rly interesting! I never knew that! Amazing

[@farhantanvir6091]

Doesn't matter in which way it's blue...if it appears blue to the eyes its blue

[@Icewind007]

So if I attach a blue filter to your face, you'll call everything blue?

[@midnight8341]

@@Icewind007 no, he will call the blue filter blue, because he's not an idiot and knows that obstacles in the line of sight can impede with perceiving visual reality as it is... If I slap my hand across your face, will you say that EVERYTHING hurts?

[@jim123bcbhd9]

@@midnight8341 nice comeback, I laughed so hard

[@midnight8341]

@@jim123bcbhd9 thanks xD

[@fluxpistol3608]

Icewind007 awesome example! I had someone argued the sky was pink once because they had pink glasses on. They wouldn’t accept that it was blue. Still to this day without the glasses the claim the sky was pink.... *facepalm*

[@HereForTheComments]

So "fake blue" is when you cancel out other colors to reflect only blue light? Isn't that how all colors are? "Real blue" is when only blue light is reflected, isn't it? Just like "real red" is when only red light is reflected.

[@JMRabil675]

Thats what Im saying. Nature has found multiple ways to make colors, but our eyes still perceive it as blue. All colors are pretty much certain wavelengths of light ... Which is exactly how the 'fake blue' works aswell lol... Its just so utterly moronic I cant breathe

[@Icewind007]

Blue light is blue light. When light hits something, it absorbs that light and re-emits it as the color of the object. But if something else between you and the object changes the color (like colored glass), then that color you see is no longer the color of the object. This is what is happening for most animals. They have something else that messes with the light, but it does not absorb and emit that light again, so it's not the animal's color.

[@HereForTheComments]

@@Icewind007 But they're not using anything like colored glass. Colored glass or rose tinted glasses, I can look at a bowl of milk and know that the milk isn't red. But if the milk itself shifts around somehow and appears red? Why isn't it red?

[@brittscott5964]

Amazing

[@dezireeelizondo623]

So interesting I love it

[@briesangle1715]

*”you cant trust ur own eyes, so what can you trust?”* national geographic? 😂😂

[@ykMasiH]

Donald Trump news we can trust

[@cmntkxp]

Real pigment color or diffraction is the question

[@AmalDevYT]

*National Geographic

[@Qui-9]

What color are the water droplets in the blue part of the rainbow?... What color is a glass of water?

[@eidrag]

youtube comment sections

[@alexanderadams6473]

2:36 “All birds that appear blue have some structure in their feathers that reflects only blue light” That is how you describe a colour. For example, you look at a green apple. The apple absorbs all light except green, which it reflects into our eyes for us to see. So they are blue because that’s how colour works.

[@jolenemathews]

Imagine, if you will, each cell on the surface of the feather to be a series of grates. Devoid of any colour of their own, but capable of diffracting light to display a variety of colours in the similar wavelengths (here, blue).

[@jolenemathews]

If this top layer of feathers was chopped up into a fine dust, they may not reflect blue anymore. Why? Because the sole reason it looked blue was because of the specific shape of the cells. Meanwhile if you chopped the blue part of the true blue butterfly, it would reflect blue, regardless of the angle or intensity of light

[@krste3000]

Thats false. The green apple has a green pigment aka chlorophyll. It works that way with most colors aside from blue with the exceptions of things that actually have the blue pigment.

[@pedroadonish]

@@krste3000 The blue pigment also "uses physics" to reflect only blue wavelenghts and make us perceive it as blue. They're calling some animals "fake blue" without knowing the very definition of a color.

[@SaadNabil]

Very interesting.

[@Meelany261095]

I actually learnt something new today.

[@pbp6741]

Your own video contradicts your title.

[@hear-and-know]

They just wanted to talk about wavelengths 🤷

[@zaim.marzuki]

That's called clickbait. You new to youtube?

[@blackwater7183]

Nat Geo has mastered the art of clickbait.

[@CarthagoMike]

since many people are talking about 'it appears blue so it is blue' let me clear this up a bit: A 'true blue' in this context is a colour which will _be_ blue regardless of the conditions it is in, like a pigmented blue. A 'perceived' blue is when something _appears_ (aka is perceived) as blue in a certain condition, for example with the light-reflection of the Butterfly in the video. It might look 'blue' under the right light condition, but its inherent colour isn't blue.

[@HenriqueSantosCosta]

I am shocked by all those stupid comments. How hard is it to understand? I can only imagine the frustration of the NatGeo team who made this nice video. I wish your comment would be displayed at the top. Maybe it could clarify things a little to some people.

[@dotdash2284]

This is not how colour works because if I shine red light on something blue it will look red Inherent colour isn't real Is a blue flame really blue or is there just blue light coming from the plasma? Colour is based only on perception, not innate properties

[@lilikrosdyana274]

mindblowing

[@wolfer1225]

Mind blowing💥

[@RosinGoblin]

Now listen up here's a story..

[@lovejustifiesexistence]

i'm blue. da ba dee da ba dai

[@denisenova7494]

Of a little guy who lives in a blue world...

[@Maryam-qx9kp]

And all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue like him..

[@KingBongHogger]

They pretty much said blue animals don't exist and then showed blue animals. Cool.

[@graelonsalvador2248]

You even listened to their explanation?

[@matthewsconnor8075]

KingBongHogger “blue foods don’t exist” blueberries literally have blue in their name

[@KingBongHogger]

@@graelonsalvador2248 Yeah. It was one giant contradiction.

[@nestorv7627]

@@graelonsalvador2248 sounds like you were the one who didnt listen

[@alexia3993]

ye

[@thelanguageofhumanity1804]

Thanks Nat Geo! I've used this great info in one of my videos :)

[@nroman_p]

Blueberry: *exists* NatGeo: There are no blue foods Blueberry: Hey NatGeo: There are no blue foods

[@okidokiyo9294]

its purple bro

[@tamannad5107]

There are no blue foods. Haha! Tell that to Percy

[@astrobookwormsinger]

I was waiting on this 😂

[@lemlee2809]

no foods are blue?? so blue berrys are a lie?

[@lovejustifiesexistence]

maybe you should drop a little alcohol on them. you will see they turn a yellowish green

[@Katkiwi25]

Lieberries!

[@manjensen1710]

You can trust in Lactarius indigo.

[@ryno1509]

Blueberries have never been Blue they’re purple

[@teee.y]

they be purple

[@soumakbinduwildlife]

Lovely

[@vie3147]

National Geographic: Animals cannot be blue Cayote: Hold my blue Crayfish

[@AzlianaLyana]

My life has been a lie! Such is the tricks of nature. Amazing. That's some real study well done. Thanks NG

[@Bibibosh]

Azliana Lyana David attenborough lied to us. “the blue planet 2010”

[@Bibibosh]

Joe T gravity, objects.... go figure

[@hotpockets2224]

oh oh baby girl i been looking for u my whole life baby ur so beautiful girl i wanna make you my lady my real pretty woman waiting for me in a satin bathrobe embroidered with your name in the color blue lemme be the sugar daddy in ur blueberry pie

[@gordondsouza7136]

The blue eyes of human aren't blue either, you can go have a check.

[@adronator]

Joe T What?

[@Sckarmax]

Yo, listen up, here's a story About a little guy that lives in a blue world And all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue Like him inside and outside Blue his house with a blue little window and a blue Corvette And everything is blue for him And himself and everybody around 'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen (to listen)

[@abadlydrawnsnowman1648]

I'M BLUE

[@rafaxexe]

Da ba dee da ba da dee

[@okonjacob7316]

😂😂😂😂 jesus you couldn't resists

[@luisalberto7559]

Is he a Crip?

[@alienabuser3693]

Verry interesting

[@nejihyuuga.]

*There's no blue bird* Blu from rio: am i a joke to you?

[@dlg.studios5649]

Your whole life is a lie....

[@EmanuelGaldr]

But... aren’t ALL local colors reflected light? Therefore, isn’t it true that what the video calls “pigment” is also a compound with a physical structure that absorbs all the other visible frequencies of light and only reflects the part of spectrum we perceive as blue?

[@justinequizon7257]

the butterfly isn't blue but it's all the colors except blue. I think that is what NATGEO wants to tell us

[@jolenemathews]

They keep saying 'reflect' instead of 'refract'. The video was badly made. What they should've said was 'there are microscopic, prism-like cells on the surface of Morpho Butterfly wings, that *refract* blue light. Unlike the Olive Wing Butterfly which absorbs all other wavelengths of light and *reflects* blue

[@pedroadonish]

Yes. They're probably thinking that the rare "blue pigments" have LEDs attached on them to produce blue light and not just reflect it, like what they call "fake blue".

[@justinhowe3878]

@@jolenemathews That doesn't change the fact that whatever we experience as blue is blue, because blue is the name of an experience, not an objective attribute of things.

[@OceanGang732]

blue birds are blue

[@nlloyd6845]

Actually no. They only appear blue.

[@TUBESPECIFIC1]

@@nlloyd6845 Not even bluejays? The computer isn't blue either, it just falsely appears blue when it shows sky, ocean, and some birds.

[@joeinthebush]

I have little blue spotted lizzard looking things...salamnders i think..they're all over the boreal forest...

[@AndreasDelleske]

n lloyd They are also not birds. They just appear to be birds. This is due to their So-Beingness.

[@Narsuaq]

@@nlloyd6845 don't all colours appear to be what they are? 🤔

[@spelsson3283]

Thanks KZbin recommendations!

[@sakks-e]

Wow nice info

[@krishap9700]

Woah my profile picture i took last summer is a lie😱

[@yasmimsantos4042]

well, a pretty lie

[@superjgalmeida]

Of course whe cannot trust our eyes... people with blindness know this quite well. But, if we see blue... it's blue. This relativism really get me tired sometimes...

[@midnight8341]

I think the "you can't trust your eyes" only applies to somewhat functional ones... It's kind of a default-thing...

[@hinkallohar6648]

Extraordinary as usual🎉🎊

[@davsonfilipe7493]

Very Nice

[@MrBlitzpunk]

"no food is blue" Blueberry: *offended*

[@okidokiyo9294]

its purple lmao

[@MidnightBloomDev]

Actually they can but choose not to. They are strong independent butterflies.

[@Pivotification]

this made me _literally_ lol

[@Akuma72]

This is my favorite video on this site

[@Artemis-jk2xt]

Wow this is so interesting