
Orange is an extremely bright color that you can’t miss. It makes us feel youthful, enthusiastic, and optimistic. Even though we might not see it often, it’s a fun color to have around. So, of course, there are plenty of fascinating facts about this energetic hue.
Let’s take a look at some of the most exciting and surprising orange facts. They may change the way you see the color!
1. The Color Is Named After the Fruit (Not the Other Way Around)

Whether the fruit or the color came first isn’t a mystery. The fruit was called orange first, and then the color name came after it. There aren’t a ton of orange things in nature, so people most commonly associate the fruit with the bold hue.
The fruit got its name in the 1300s, while the color wasn’t named until the 1500s. Of course, the color appeared before then, but it didn’t have the name we know today.
2. Orange Used to Go By a Different Name

Before it was named after the vibrant fruit, the color orange was called “geoluhread” in Old English, meaning “yellow-red.” That’s because red and yellow were recognized as separate colors long before orange. The words red (rēad) and yellow (geolu) already existed in Old English, and it wasn’t until the 16th century that English speakers began using orange to describe the color. It came from the Old French word “orenge,” which originally referred to the fruit.
While orange is technically a mix of yellow and red on the RYB color model, it’s a distinct enough color to have eventually gained its own name. Today, it’s widely recognized as one of the seven colors of the rainbow.
3. Not All Oranges (Fruits) Are Orange

It makes sense that oranges look the same as the color orange. However, not all oranges are orange. The orange coloring comes from molecules known as carotenoids. When growing on the trees in subtropical climates, oranges contain chlorophyll, which is responsible for their green coloring. When exposed to cool temperatures, the chlorophyll dies off, leaving the orange color showing.
In tropical regions, the skin of an orange might remain green since chlorophyll is present. This is common close to the equator. While they might not look like oranges initially, you can see they’re still the same fruit when you cut them open. Eating a fruit called an orange when the skin is green can be a weird feeling, but it’s normal in some places.
4. Orange Became a Safety Color Due to Scientific Research

Orange is often used for safety purposes because it’s typically one of the colors we notice first. That’s why you’ll see orange used for construction vests, road signs, and traffic cones. However, “safety orange,” also known as “blaze orange,” “OSHA orange,” and “hunter orange,” wasn’t a color chosen at random.
Studies suggest that bright orange is one of the most visible colors across various lighting conditions. These studies examine how people distinguish and recognize colors by displaying multiple bright colors under different lighting conditions. For most participants, bright orange and yellow tend to be the most visible colors, even in low light. Bright orange is also one of the least likely colors to be mistaken for something in nature, so it makes sense that it’s commonly used for safety on the road and in wooded areas.
5. The Golden Gate Bridge’s Orange Hue Was Chosen Carefully

The Golden Gate Bridge was painted with the bold and iconic color “International Orange.” Consulting architect Irving F. Morrow decided on the unusual hue after taking color studies. He found that the bright orange/red color paired well with the nearby hills while still being easy to see since it contrasted with the blue sky and water.
This bridge’s color is a huge part of its iconic look, and it’s hard to imagine it in any other hue. While International Orange is the perfect color for this structure, it isn’t the only example of that color being used. The color also appears in the aerospace industry to help things stand out from backgrounds. Its purpose is similar to the orange color of safety vests but with a reddish tint.
6. Astronaut Suits Are a Very Specific Shade of Orange

International Orange is also the name associated with the orange color of spacesuits (although the Golden Gate Bridge appears darker and redder than the NASA spacesuit International Orange). Like many other orange objects, spacesuits are orange for safety. These bold outfits are usually worn when astronauts take off and land in space shuttles. The orange suits are highly visible for search and rescue missions, such as sea rescues.
Even though orange spacesuits are worn for launch and landing, white is the color most people are familiar with. That’s because white is typically worn during spacewalks, where it’s better suited for the conditions of space while still standing out against the surrounding environment. White is also the ideal color for helping the suit’s heating and cooling systems work efficiently in harsh space conditions.
7. Theravada Buddhists Wear Orange Because the Dye Was Easy to Obtain

Theravada Buddhists, one of the two main schools of Buddhism, are commonly seen wearing bright orange robes. Today, Buddhist monks view the orange hue as a color of the flame of Buddha’s teaching, reminding them to lead a life of simplicity and purity. Yet, the initial reason for the color is much simpler.
When the robes were first introduced, they were colored using readily available natural dyes like saffron, turmeric, and other plant-based pigments. These dyes produced a yellow or orange hue, which became associated with Buddhist monks over time. It’s worth noting that this is a much different color than the maroon robes of Tibetan monks.
8. Carrots Weren’t Always Orange

Like oranges, carrots are another food known for their iconic orange hue. It may surprise you that they used to be a deep purple. This unique carrot color occurred thousands of years ago in ancient Persia. Later, there were yellow and white carrots before orange ones, which didn’t appear until the 16th century.
People purposely created orange carrots through selective breeding. Today, they’re by far the most popular carrot color due to historical preference, marketing, and taste. You can still get other carrot colors, but they’re less common.
9. A Tiger’s Orange Fur Helps Them Uniquely Camouflage

Orange is typically a color used to help things stand out, but for tigers, it’s actually a method of camouflage. While we view tigers as orange and black, most of the tiger’s natural prey, such as boars and deer, cannot perceive certain colors like orange. To them, tigers appear as a dull greenish-brown, which helps them blend into forests and grasslands.
A tiger’s stripes are similar to the vertical stripe patterns of tall grass and trees. When tigers crouch down to stalk prey, their striped pattern blends in with the plants, especially to animals who can’t see the orange fur contrasting the green grass. Even for humans who can see the color orange, tigers can be tricky to spot when hiding among dense vegetation. Overall, a tiger’s colors don’t matter nearly as much as their patterns.
10. Some Orange Animals Use Their Color as a Warning Sign

While a tiger’s colors help them blend in, other animals use their orange coloring for very different purposes. For animals that can see orange, it’s usually a color that indicates danger, similar to other bright colors. Poison dart frogs are the most obvious example. These tiny amphibians appear in a rainbow of colors, including orange. When animals see these colors standing out from the rest of the environment, they know to stay away.
Monarch butterflies also use orange as a warning sign. They’re poisonous, meaning they can be harmful if consumed. Their bold colors tell predators not to eat them, and the orange color provides a clear contrast from the green plants they rest on. So, being orange helps protect both monarch butterflies and their potential predators.
11. Prison Uniforms Are Orange to Make Them Easy to Spot

Orange is the standard color for prison uniforms. Like warning signs, these uniforms are orange because they’re easy to identify. They started being used toward the end of the 20th century to make escaping inmates easy to spot. Before then, black and white striped uniforms were common, similar to the ones seen in cartoons.
While orange is the color most people associate with inmate uniforms, many prisons don’t use them 24/7. Orange jumpsuits are most commonly worn when transporting prisoners as a safety precaution. After all, a person wearing all orange is nearly impossible to miss.
12. Brands Use Orange to Evoke Excitement and Grab Attention

We might not see orange much in our daily lives, but it’s frequently used in company logos. Orange is a color that’s easily noticeable, and it can evoke enthusiasm and positivity. Those are factors that companies want in their branding. Nickelodeon, Fanta, and Dave & Buster’s are just a few companies that use orange in logos to evoke excitement.
So, the reason you see so many orange logos is because they catch attention better than any other colors. Plus, the feelings they create are very fitting for many brands. In some cases, orange could also be used to advertise cost-effectiveness, such as when it’s used in sale advertisements.