Pink is the hue of Barbie, bubblegum, and Valentine’s Day cards. The pink triangle and the pink breast cancer campaigns are two social movements and companies that have been linked to this hue. It has even been demonstrated to reduce anxiety, and it is utilized to create a calming atmosphere in institutional institutions like jails and hospitals.
Pink has been dubbed a scientific conundrum and isn’t even a “genuine” hue.
It does not occur in the visible spectrum and is not a wavelength or particle (rainbows do not contain it, for example). Pink does not truly exist, but our brains allow us to notice it because we believe it does. Trippy.
Think about these instances of pink occurring in nature as that mind-bending truth sinks in. These events are all the more striking due to the rarity of their color in the natural world as pink is not a color frequently associated with nature.
10 Pink Sand Beach, Bahamas
Pink Sand Beach, located on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, extends for three miles and like a scene from a technicolor fairytale. The beach and its guests are protected by a vast reef system that lies nearby, but it is also the source of the sand’s bubblegum color. The reef system also helps to keep the water calm.
A tiny single-celled creature with a brightly colored shell known as a foraminifera lives inside the reef coral. Because they eat on coral reefs, sea floors, under rocks, and in caves, these coral insects are vital to the health of the ocean ecosystem. But foraminifera also experience death, and like all living creatures, when they do, their vibrant bodies are trampled underfoot by waves and tossed up on shore. The Foraminifera, when combined with the sand and other pieces of coral, give Pink Sand Beach its distinctive hue.
9 Female Orchid Praying Mantis
The male and female orchid praying mantises of Southeast Asia have evolved to look extremely differently from one another, similar to many insect species. The female mirrors the look of the orchid blossoms that they dwell around, whilst the male is little and brown. The males can avoid being seen as they search for a partner and the females may attract insects as prey thanks to their camouflage.
This species’ evolution has produced a female specimen that is extremely exceptional. The art of disguise has been mastered by female orchid mantises. Their limbs have stunning pink and yellow colours and are formed like flowers. They are often confused for the genuine thing because to their bodies’ resemblance to fully grown orchids, and they may even be more effective at luring insects than the blooms they imitate. This is true despite the fact that female orchid mantis resemble a generalized mix of orchid-like traits rather than a specific type of orchid.
8 San Francisco Salt Ponds
You might have spotted a colorful patchwork of ponds on the shore below if you’ve ever flown to San Francisco. These are the Cargill Salt Ponds, which have mostly been returned to public and nonprofit landowners for restoration.
One of the city’s main industries for 150 years was salt production. The former salt mines, which formerly covered more than 15,000 acres, are now the site of a significant tidal wetland restoration effort. This implies that the vividly colored ponds won’t last forever.
So why did the salt mines provide such a vibrant environment? It’s all down to Dunaliella, a form of microscopic algae. Algae that grows in water with a lot of salt gets a rich red or coral pink tint. Algae turn green when there is little salt present.
Astronauts have utilized the salt ponds as a visual landmark when orbiting the globe because to its spectacular color array, which is visible even from space.
7 Amazon River Dolphin
One of the few freshwater dolphins still living today, you won’t find this one in the ocean. In South America, particularly the Amazon River, it may be found in lakes and rivers. These dolphins are large creatures, weighing up to 350 pounds (160 kg) and growing as long as nine feet (2.7 m), however they lack the dorsal fin that is often associated with dolphins.
Unfortunately, dolphins are sometimes murdered on purpose because they consume the fish that river fisherman wish to catch to make a living. They are the origin of a lot of myths as well. The dolphins are said to be quiet, alone, and blind in local folklore, but research has proven that they are actually social, even rather aggressive, and have full vision.
The color of the dolphins ranges from gray to their distinctive pink tint, and according to scientific observations, the pink color develops as the animals become older, with male dolphins having the pinkest coloring.
One plausible idea holds that the pinkness of their skin results from scar tissue from the numerous battles that adult dolphins have. Others have hypothesized that the pink colour is an evolutionary reaction to the need to conceal from larger predators by blending in with the red sand in the riverbeds of South America.
6 Lake Hillier, Australia
Australia’s Lake Hillier appears from above to have been covered in numerous vats of Pepto Bismal. It’s an eerily pink color. The algae that gives it its color—the salt-loving Dunaliella microbe—is the same as that which can be found in San Francisco’s salt ponds. The reddish-pink hue is a result of pigment components that make it exceptionally effective at absorbing sunlight.
Other algae and microorganisms that have contributed to the intensification of Lake Hillier’s pink hue have been discovered by scientists. The extra microorganisms are proof that the lake had a leather tanning plant in the early 1900s, and these discoveries also hint to the cause of the lake’s colour.
The lake’s hue is exceptionally vivid as a result of human activity, making this specific specimen half natural and half man-made.
5 Elephant Hawk Moth
This species is intriguing from caterpillar to fully grown moth. Its name is derived from the caterpillar’s appearance, which resembles an elephant trunk due to its thinner head and thorax than the rest of its body.
However, it has evolved, like many moth caterpillars, to pass for a snake, complete with eyes, in order to deceive prospective predators into staying away. Even better, the caterpillars have a protrusion on their head called an anal horn that can palpitate quickly to resemble an eye blinking.
One of the world’s most beautiful species of moths, and undoubtedly one of the most distinctive moths in its home United Kingdom, will emerge from the caterpillar if it manages to live through to the cocoon stage. The Elephant Hawk Moth is pink and olive in color, in contrast to many other moth species, which are normally gray or brown. They are sometimes mistaken for a pink butterfly, although they are actually nocturnal moths with thick, fuzzy bodies.
4 Pink Terraces of Lake Rotomahana
You can’t see this pink natural treasure right now since it is submerged and hidden from view. The 1886 earthquake off the coast of New Zealand was assumed to have destroyed all of the terraces. The pink and white terraces were a natural marvel that New Zealanders cherished. Some even referred to them as the world’s eighth wonder. The two greatest formations of fine quartz on earth, they were absolutely unique. One terrace outcrop was white, whereas the other was pink because of an unknown chemical impurity.
A mapping and research mission to Lake Rotomahana’s floor occurs 150 years later.
Using sonar to study the lake surface, researchers found what they believed to be the pink terrace’s vanished protrusion. To be sure, they dispatched a crew with underwater cameras, and they were able to ascertain that there were still little remnants of both the white and pink terraces.
The 1886 earthquake significantly reduced the terraces’ size to less than 10% of what it had been, but New Zealanders may take solace in the fact that these natural treasures are still accessible to tourists.
3 Pink Katydid
Although katydids, which resemble crickets, are often green, recent study reveals that pink is the genetically dominant color in North American katydids, which affects the coloration of progeny. For many years, scientists thought that katydids’ pink, as well as yellow and orange, colors resulted from a genetic abnormality caused by recessive genes, which is the lack of the typical green pigment, somewhat like albinism in humans.
Researchers at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New Orleans have discovered fresh evidence during the past ten years demonstrating the reverse. They have demonstrated that pink is a dominant characteristic while green is a recessive one. This indicates that, contrary to past views, the child of a green and pink katydid will be pink.
The brilliant coloration of the pink katydids provides less concealment than the green colouring, which is thought to be the reason for their scarcity. A Cajun proverb states that if a pink katydid lands on your shoulder on Valentine’s Day, you will discover true love that year if you travel to the New Orleans region if you want to witness one in the wild.
2 Lake Retba, Senegal
Senegal’s Lake Retba has idyllic white beaches, but they are not quite what they appear. Lake Retba matches the notoriously saline Dead Sea in terms of salinity, and the majority of its white beaches are made of pure salt. Lac Rose is a reference to the lovely tint of pink that characterizes it during the dry season. (Due to salinity, the waters’ hue changes continuously throughout the year.)
The algae Dunaliella, which also gives other pink bodies of water in the world their pink tint, is the cause of the color.
At some seasons of the year, the lake can even seem blood red due to a mix of minerals, algae, and intense sun.
With order to preserve their skin from the excessive salinity, salt collectors must spend entire days mining salt from the lake bed. They do this by slathering themselves in shea butter.
1 Okinawa Cherry Blossoms
There are many places in the globe where cherry blossoms are popular, such as Vancouver and Washington, D.C., but Okinawa, Japan is the best location to view the pinkest flowers. Around the middle of February, it is the first region in Japan to have cherry tree blooms; in contrast, the rest of the nation has flowers closer to April and into May.
The cherry blossoms are highly regarded in Japan. Hanami, which translates to “gazing at flowers,” is a popular activity that picnickers partake in various orchards around the nation during the cherry blossom season. Why then are cherry blossoms regarded so highly in Japan? Their brief bloom is a reflection of the Japanese cultural tradition that values beauty’s transient character. Cherry blossom season, which begins on April 1, coincides with the start of the Japanese school year and the new fiscal year. They are also simply stunningly lovely.