Pingelap Atoll is Known as the Island of the Colorblind

By: Reuben Westmaas

There's a place where colorblindness runs so rampant that it's known as the Island of the Colorblind. Learn more about the island where its inhabitants see in almost entirely black and white.

December 18, 2019

A lot of people are colorblind — including some very famous color enthusiasts — and in fact, very few of us have perfect color vision. But there's a place where colorblindness runs so rampant that it's known as the Island of the Colorblind. And it's not the red-green blindness that's most common on the mainland. The island's inhabitants see in almost entirely black and white.

Achromatopsia Island

Pingelap Atoll made its first impression in the mainstream media in 1996 with the book by Oliver Sacks that lent it a nickname: "The Island of the Colorblind." It lives up to the name. While red-green colorblindness isn't especially uncommon (at least among some people — about 8 percent of men have it, while only 0.5 percent of women do), on Pingelap Atoll, about 10 percent of the population has the much rarer condition known as achromatopsia. Elsewhere in the world, the condition only affects about 1 in 30,000 people.

So how did this place come to be? This isn't an evolutionary adaptation to gain some sort of advantage from the environment. Instead, it's almost a fluke. This endemic achromatopsia dates back to 1775 when a typhoon devastated the atoll and left only a few survivors behind. One of those survivors — the king, according to the oral tradition — had the condition, and passed it on quite liberally as the people repopulated the islands. Fast forward a couple of centuries, and achromatopsia on Pingelap Atoll is about as common as left-handedness is on the mainland.

You may have heard of how color vision works thanks to the three types of cone cells in your eye — some are sensitive to red, some to green, and some to blue. Achromatopsia happens because none of the cones function properly, leaving only the brightness-sensitive rod cells to do all the work. Rods only detect the intensity of light, so they can only perceive in grayscale. But there's another side effect, as well. People with achromatopsia also tend to be very sensitive to bright light, which can make daily chores on a sunny island unbearable. The upside is that achromatopsia comes with excellent dark vision, which is handy for another island tradition: catching flying fish by night using a bright fire suspended from a boat.

Color Me Intrigued

Belgian photographer Sanne De Wilde recently paid a visit to Pingelap Atoll, hoping to document how this extreme colorblindness (which is called "maskun," or "not-see," on the island) shapes the way the residents see the world. It's easy to tell which of the people have it, she told Wired, because they blink and squint constantly. But one thing that she was surprised to learn was that many achromatopes claim to see some very slight variations of some colors: blues and reds specifically. Thus, her project (also called "The Island of the Colorblind") was born.

In this series, she photographed scenes and citizens on the island in several different ways. Many of her pictures depict the world in stark black and white, while for other images she used infrared settings to distort and subdue certain wavelengths. And then there are the pictures that she had colored in. Back in an art installation at her Amsterdam studio, she displayed several of the black-and-white photos under special conditions to simulate colorblindness. Visitors were then invited to color in those images using watercolors, even though the lighting made them unable to actually see what colors they had been using. Only later, under normal lighting conditions, were they able to see the colorful artworks that they had helped to create. De Wilde's goal is to make people reconsider their relationship with color and try to understand what a color actually is outside of how it's experienced.

This article first appeared on Curiosity.com. Click here to read the original article.

Next Up

Panama has Hundreds of Islands, Each More Beautiful than the Last

Panama is often overlooked for its more famous neighbors Colombia and Costa Rica, who are renowned worldwide for their biodiversity, colorful cultures, and jaw-dropping scenery. But Panama, which links Central and South America, has a few of its own gems to offer – including the 1,400-plus islands that dot its coast.

Mt. Shasta, California’s Mysterious Volcano, is an Enigma Waiting to be Explored

At the northernmost tip of California lies the southern end of the dramatic Cascade mountain range. And the crowning glory of the range, which ripples down through British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, before it comes to a stunning crescendo at Mount Shasta.

The Romantic, Heartbreaking Love Story Behind the Taj Mahal

Ivory white columns rise from the earth, framing the central masterpiece: an intricately carved marble domed structure stood on a square plinth, resplendent with arched doorways, and topped by a bronze moon that reaches for the sky.

A Canadian Teen Once Discovered an Ancient Temple – Using Google Maps

Most teenagers while away hours playing video games, scrolling TikTok, or texting friends. Not William Gadoury, a 14-year-old from Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Quebec. Back in 2016, Gadoury was holed up in his bedroom, plotting ancient Mayan constellations against modern satellite images and coordinates.

A Majestic City Carved into Rock, Thousands of Years Ago

Carved into soft stone cliffs, the ancient sandstone city of Petra was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataeans. These people were a nomadic Arab tribe–Bedouins–who roamed the Arabian Desert in search of pasture and water for their herds.

In this Mars-Like Landscape, You Can See Both Hemispheres At Once

There’s a rarely-visited, dusty corner of the world where something magical happens. The place, which looks like Mars with its red rock landscape, is the Tatacoa Desert, in Colombia.

A Spanish Sunken Galleon Has a $17B Bounty Onboard - and Now You Can See It

Way back in 1708, when the War of Spanish Succession was waging across Europe and Latin America to decide who should be the next King of Spain, three Spanish galleons set sail from Panama. They were loaded to the brim with gold, silver, emeralds, and other jewels that had been extracted from the mines of Bolivia – and were vital in financing Spain’s costly war against its enemies.

4 Wonders of the Philippines

The Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia, consisting of over 7,000 islands and islets. From rolling chocolate hills to caves and beaches for exploration, the Philippines has many places to explore and learn about!

Belize's Jungles are Wild, Mysterious and Full of Discovery

More than half of Belize, a Central American country with as many as 2 million indigenous Mayan inhabitants, is covered in dense, sprawling jungle – meaning the region has adventures galore for any traveler wishing to explore.

Explore the California Redwoods

Coastal redwoods are a type of evergreen tree that can live to be more than 2,000 years old. They are the tallest trees on Earth, with some reaching more than 250 feet tall. Redwoods provide habitats for many forest creatures and pull more carbon out of the air than any other tree species. Where can you find these magnificent perennial plants?