This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

About a year ago, we released an episode in which I interviewed the author Cassia St. Clair about her book The Secret Lives of Color.

It was a conversation about the history and origins of different

colors throughout human existence. And during our talk, Cassie and I covered everything from

a type of purple that squeezed from sea snails to a shade of green that could literally

kill you.

But there was one pigment in particular from that episode that one of our producers here

at 99PI hasn't been able to stop thinking about.

Because it's bonkers.

Producer Vivian Lay.

It's called Vanta Black, and it's a pigment that reaches the level of darkness that's so intense, it's kind of upsetting.

It's so black, it's like looking at a hole cut out of the universe.

It's so black it's like looking at a portal into another dimension of nothingness. It's so black that if you stared it long enough you'll see your own

death. I can keep going. These metaphors are crummy but it's it's like this

philosophical abyss your eyes just fall into it.

This is Adam Rogers.

I'm a journalist. I'm a writer at Wired, and I write books sometimes too.

Rogers has written about Phantom Black for Wired because and I write books sometimes too.

Rogers has written about Vanta Black for Wired because when anyone sees it,

not just Vivian, they think it's bonkers.

It makes you rethink what Black means.

Vanta Black is striking when you look at it, even when you look at a picture of it, because it looks

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