We all have a favorite . Maybe it’s the red of your favorite football team, the calming blue of the ocean, or the sunny cheerfulness of yellow. But what if we told you that one of the most beloved out there isn’t even real?

That’s right — scientists have revealed that purple doesn’t actually exist in the way most other do. It’s not a trick or a joke. Purple is something your brain makes up — and there’s a fascinating reason why.

Let’s dive into the colorful truth behind this surprising fact.

What Makes a Color “Real”?

To understand why purple is a special case, we first need to look at how works.

come from light waves. Each color in the rainbow has its own wavelength. Red has the longest wavelength, and violet has the shortest. These are called spectral , and you can find them in natural light — like when you see a rainbow after it rains.

Here are the classic rainbow :
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

But where’s purple?

Go ahead, try to find it. You won’t.

Why You Can’t Find Purple in the Rainbow

The reason purple is missing from the rainbow is simple: it doesn’t have its own wavelength.

Purple isn’t a spectral . It’s not on the visible light spectrum like red or green. Instead, it’s a mix of two other — red and blue. When these two wavelengths hit your eyes at the same time, your brain tries to make sense of the combination. The result?

It invents the purple.

This phenomenon is called color perception — and it shows just how powerful your brain really is.

The Brain’s Clever Trick

So, how does this trick happen?

Your eyes contain special cells called cones that detect red, green, and blue light. When both red and blue light hit your eyes, your brain doesn’t register it as either red or blue. Instead, it creates a new color — purple.

Think of it like this:
Red + Blue = Brain says “Let’s call that purple!”

It’s the same reason you can see other that don’t exist on the light spectrum, like pink, turquoise, or seafoam green. These are called non-spectral colors, and they only exist because your brain combines different wavelengths to form new colors.

The Bigger Picture: More “Invisible” Colors

Purple isn’t the only color that plays mind games. In fact, there’s a whole world of colors that we can’t see at all.

The European Space Agency points out that beyond the colors we see in the rainbow, there are types of light like:

Infrared (just beyond red)
Ultraviolet (just beyond violet)

These are also part of the light spectrum, but they’re invisible to the human eye. We can only see them using special equipment — like night vision or UV cameras.

So while our eyes give us a beautiful view of the world, it’s only a tiny slice of what’s actually out there.

Social Media Reacts: “Purple Is a Lie?!”

Naturally, the internet went wild after this revelation. Purple fans were especially shocked.

One Reddit user summed it up perfectly:

“Purple isn’t real? My whole life is a lie!”

Another added:

“There are tons of colors we see that aren’t on the spectrum. Seafoam green, burnt umber… they all exist only in our heads!”

It’s a fun — and mind-blowing — reminder that our reality is shaped by the way our brain interprets information.

Final Thoughts: Is Purple Really Fake?

So, is purple real or fake? Well, it depends on how you define “real.”

If you’re asking whether purple exists as its own light wavelength — then no, it doesn’t. But if you’re asking whether we see and experience purple — absolutely yes.

It’s a color born from the brilliance of our brains, and that makes it even more magical.

So the next time you see something purple, give your brain a little credit. It’s working overtime to paint your world in color.