5 Odd Colours You’ve Probably Never Heard of

Colours are a familiar part of our lives, ingrained in our everyday experiences. We effortlessly recognize and name various hues, reciting them almost instinctively. Common colours like red, green, blue, yellow, orange, pink, and purple are well-known to us. Additionally, we often acknowledge the primary colours, which are red, blue, and yellow, as they cannot be produced by mixing other colours. Furthermore, we understand secondary colours, which emerge from the combination of two primary colours, such as purple, green, and orange.

Malachite 
Malachite is probably a colour we’ve all seen, but never known by its “real” name. This colour is also known as basic green 4 and is often used when creating a green dye. This vibrant green comes from the carbonate mineral known as Malachite, or copper carbonate. In the 1800, the mineral was widely used for green paints because it was lightfast and often varied in colour. The colour is one that is seen rampant in history.

Gamboge
Think of spicy mustard and think of gamboge, but a little bit darker. The colour is a yellow pigment that is somewhat transparent, despite its dark tint. The colour is named after the gamboge tree, which is known for its yellow resin. The colour comes from Cambodia, where in the 12th century painters would use the colour as a watercolour paint.

Razzmatazz
Not the liquor; nor the song, nor the television series, razzmatazz is red-pink colour that was invented by Crayola in 1993, and was first found in the Big Box of 96. The colour is said to be one very similar to rose, which is found directly in the middle of magenta and red on the colour wheel.

Arsenic 
It doesn’t take a brain scientist to figure out this colour, but it’s definitely not a happy colour, so to speak. Imagine saying you want to paint your walls in arsenic, semi-gloss. You’d get some looks there. The colour arsenic is based around the element arsenic which is a dark grey-blue colour. Arsenic is a metalloid that is often naturally found. However, there are other types of arsenic that aren’t the grey-blue colour.

Tint United Nation Blue  
That’s right, the United Nations, the international organization provided to help countries with human rights, social progress, economic development and more has its own colour. Originally named United Nations blue, the colour is very similar to Dodger blue, but is more pastel like and not as vibrant. You will find this blue on the U.N. flag, as well as their emblem and even the U.N. peacekeeper uniforms.