r/oddlyterrifying • u/TheOddityCollector • 7d ago
Scientist holding a basketball covered with Vantablack, the world's blackest substance.
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u/Beard_of_8bit 7d ago
I want to paint an entire room in it, windows and all.
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u/akaAgar 7d ago
Wow, easy there, Mick Jagger
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u/Beard_of_8bit 7d ago
Awr, okay then. How about just a door or something?
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u/reputablesorcerer 7d ago
A red door?
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u/sir_retardwithaknife 7d ago
no colors anymore, you want them to turn black?
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u/Beard_of_8bit 7d ago
Of course. No other color will do.
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u/FullBurntToast 7d ago
That ball looks like a black hole, completely swallowing all light around it.
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u/ZebraLover00 7d ago
You think it can wash away the rain?
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u/Terry-Smells 7d ago
Many years ago my uncle was released from a psychological hospital after spending years in prison and needed a place to stay. I helped him secure a place as I knew someone renting a house. Sorted it all out for him and furnished it a little too to have him comfortable. Well about a week goes by and I've not heard from him so go to his house to see what's up. No joke as soon as I walked into his living room it was like I walked into a windowless room with this lights off. Turns out he bought black black- out curtains and painted to whole room including ceiling black. When I asked him about it he said he felt better with it like this. Man would just sit in the dark, Took him years to start behaving normally again
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u/No_Grass8024 7d ago
Sounds cosy ngl, maybe just one room though
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u/TheBeastlyStud 6d ago
We can have one room of the Ę̶͕͇̫̳͖͍͉͎̈̀̽̓̈́͌̈́͝Ṉ̶͎̺̿̒̓̈́̈́̈́͜͝D̵̡̘͕͇̦̱́̈̊́̓͑̑͝L̵̯͕͈̰͇̺̠͍̣͚̗̝̎̀͑̋̆͗͑̚͜͜Ẹ̶͙̳͎̳̹̲̭̝̦̝̪̮̥̖̉͒̓̾̓͝ͅS̷̨͈͕̮̻͉̼̝̟̹͚͔̠̯̝̬̼̄̿͛̅̽̿̓͊̐͋͑̔̚̚͘͝S̸̛̛̝̯͍͍̹̣͚͈̳̬͖̗͎̖̒̃̿̅̒̃͊̌̅̿̈́̒̏͜͝ͅ ̸̛̜́͛̎͌̅̏̔̏V̶̧̲̲̣̣̜̣̘͖̦͚̠̋̍̿̑̽̂̀̐̾̃́͒́̅̋̂͠O̶͎̠̠̹̹͈͌̐̈̉́̊͆͠I̸̢̩͍̭͎͕̮̲̱̱̾D̵̰̝̬͕̑̈̀̑͘. As a treat.
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u/TheoreticalJacob 7d ago
I mean I get it. If that’s what it takes to have a calm space freakin do it. Lack of stimuli and all that.
Probably should have someone checking up on him, seeing if he wants to go out with “safe” people. Just don’t want it to become a debilitating habit, but that also depends on his prognosis and what can be expected of him in the future.
Not saying you didn’t do or arrange any of this for him, just musing on the prospect of someone (or myself) doing this.
Just sounds like a nice way he got some grounding when he was too stressed out, not hurting anyone by doing that. Sure might be an issue with the landlord down the road (black is difficult to paint over, needs loads of coats to cover) but all in all no big deal
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u/Terry-Smells 7d ago
He's much better now thankfully. This was 26 years ago now and he's moved on with a wife and kids. He got locked up in 1991 and spent the first 4 years in Broadmoor (iykyk) then some other prison in segregation, he was extremely violent, then hospital. Took all his strength to change his mental state and is blessed today.
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u/Beefpotpi 6d ago
Like a sensory deprivation chamber, but cheaper. That’s a good idea when you need to take a break from it all.
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u/UCFCO2001 7d ago
Based on some quick research, about 8 years ago, painting that basketball cost about $44,000 (https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/6ntz1o/how_much_would_it_cost_to_get_something_coated_in/). I'm going to guess price has come down some, but probably not to the level where it would cost less than a million dollars to paint a bedroom with this. With that said, I think it would be cool as hell to paint the entire outside of the house with this.
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u/Geawiel 7d ago
Musou black is much less and absorbs 99.4%. I'm currently using it to paint parts of a gundam model. Prime with flat clear coat, then paint the black over it. It'll hold up much better and still keep its blacker than black effect.
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u/UCFCO2001 6d ago
Interesting. Never heard of that color black before. Learn something new everyday. With that said, pretty sure my county wouldn't approve it and I KNOW my HOA wouldn't approve it (and that's only if my wife approved it as well, which would be highly unlikely). Not to mention how much heat it would retain, I imagine my electric bill down here in Florida would skyrocket.
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u/Geawiel 6d ago
The heat from that would be unbearable for sure. Our house was painted a darker color. Kind of a dark blueish grey. I don't know what the previous owners were thinking. We're nearly perfect east/west facing. Only a tree to somewhat shade the back wall. Our walls on the exterior got so hot you couldn't touch them. You could feel the intense heat from a couple feet away.
Thankfully, we got insurance to pay for a repaint due to fire fading the paint. I had them paint it with uv reflective paint. What a huge difference.
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u/owningxylophone 7d ago
Unless your name is Anish Kapoor you’re shit outta luck.
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u/Bubbly_Magnesium 7d ago
Stuart Semple's Awesome Pink Color
Quote:
Hi Everyone, I’ve released my own brand of pink paint, ‘PINK’, it’s the world’s pinkest pigment. PINK is available from www.culturehustle.com – to everyone but Anish Kapoor.
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u/SoulsBorneGreat 6d ago
I love the note on everything on that site:
Note: By adding this product to your cart you confirm that you are not Anish Kapoor, you are in no way affiliated to Anish Kapoor, you are not purchasing this item on behalf of Anish Kapoor or an associate of Anish Kapoor. To the best of your knowledge, information and belief this material will not make it's way into the hands of Anish Kapoor.
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u/AnAverageTransGirl 6d ago
Stuart Semple is a petty grifter who deliberately misrepresented the truth of vantablack to make a quick buck off someone who was already ill-received in the art world, and rapidly spiraled into both men being massive dickheads to each other for no god damn reason, with Semple still pulling this shit today whereas Kapoor's pulled back years ago.
This stuff was never intended as a paint, is not produced in quantities large enough to serve more than one person as such, and was only ever used as such by Kapoor once or twice. He was only permitted access to it so that someone could demonstrate the sheer richness of how dark the substance is. It's intended for lining the interiors of long-distance space telescopes and similar devices to reduce light pollution and allow clearer imaging of distant bodies.
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u/Bubbly_Magnesium 6d ago
This seems spot on.
The pettiness is amusing to the random observer, like me, so it's enjoyable in and of itself.
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u/tottoman768 7d ago
You coud probably recreate the gman stepping trough the doorway with that
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u/NandoMoriconi 7d ago
“The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and... smell the ashes…”
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u/Any-Relation-934 7d ago
There is a picture of someone’s room floating around that has done that and they have black sheets and everything just looks flat and small
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u/DangedRhysome83 7d ago
It looks like he's holding [redacted].
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u/Interesting-Switch38 7d ago
Wdym he’s obviously holding [redacted].
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u/pokealm 7d ago
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u/Forward-Photograph-7 7d ago
I agree with [redacted], [redacted] is very [redacted]. [redacted], however [redacted].
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u/69th_Century 7d ago
Can't be. SCP-055 isn't round.
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u/Jerrytheone 7d ago
What SCP? There is no SCP-055
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u/Anschuz-3009 7d ago
No, bro. I'll tell you a secret.
This photo has John Cena missing. Even from the text
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u/GullibleMacaroni 7d ago
That's not the blackest substance anymore. Scientists in MIT created a substance that's 10x blacker than vantablack. Also, some douchebag acquired the rights to vantablack so that only he can use it for art.
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u/KrytenKoro 7d ago
Also, some douchebag acquired the rights to vantablack so that only he can use it for art.
That's a little bit of a misunderstanding, pushed by a grifter.
https://www.reddit.com/r/meirl/comments/1n37ox9/meirl/nbbmo1k/
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u/SketchesOfSilence 6d ago
The other thing he didn’t mention about vanta black is that the process would be extremely hazardous for somebody who is not lab trained and has access to safety equipment. It is carbon nanotubes which if inhaled would really fuck your day up. Besides you can’t just stick it in a jar, it’s a whole process with specialist equipment, training and the aforementioned dangers.
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u/kayychristina 6d ago
And I was just wondering why you couldn’t just go out and buy it. Cause they need that kind of super-black for eyeliner and nail polish
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u/JeshkaTheLoon 6d ago
It's also so black it gets incredibly hot from light exposure because it reflects pretty much nothing. So going out with anything on you painted in it, will possibly get you burns faster than you can say "Hot Topic".
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u/xXx_ozone_xXx 7d ago
Black hole sun, wont you come
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u/wouter135 7d ago
AND WASH AWAY THE RAIN
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u/Billazilla 7d ago
I liked how someone interviewed Chris Cornell and was like, "What is the song about?!" And Cornell goes, "Oh, nothing, really. I just liked how the words fit together. It's a tone poem."
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u/ASideofSalt 7d ago
Fuck Anish Kapour
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u/Wbcn_1 7d ago
I had to google this guy.
Sounds like an asshole.
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u/streppe 7d ago
Check out the artists who made the second blackest black and the pinkest pink. Everybody is free to use it, except if you are (or buying it for) Anish Kapour
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u/Th3FakeFatSunny 7d ago
Oh my god I thought you were being facetious or doing a bit or something, but NO, ITS REALLY FOR EVERYONE EXCEPT HIM 😂😂😂
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u/UufTheTank 7d ago
That’s peak r/fuckyouinparticular
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u/theGOV3NAT0R 7d ago
Totally deserved too from what I know about Anish Kapour
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u/SinisterCheese 7d ago
If you go to the CultureHustle site. Anish Kapoor and anyone associated with them, is not allowed to buy the products. You agree to these terms when you go to the site.
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u/WebheadGa 7d ago
But also check out the complaints from that guy’s customers cause his company has turned into a bit of a scam.
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u/BadgersAndJam77 7d ago
I ordered some Black 4.0 and a few other materials they said they had in stock IN MARCH, but nothing ever shipped and I literally couldn't even get an email reply, despite months of trying. I finally put in a chargeback a few weeks ago, tagged them in a FB post (mostly to tell them to fuck off) and THEN I get a notification that everything is shipping. 🤦♂️
Allegedly, it will be here in the next few days. I'm super excited for the new black (I had some Black 2.0) but wildly disappointed at what a shit show it was to get some. (And I'm not secretly Anish Kapoor)
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u/3506 7d ago
And I'm not secretly Anish Kapoor
Ah, so you're openly Anish Kapoor? :)
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u/BadgersAndJam77 7d ago
Damn it! Foiled again!
I'm going to paint my entire body with Vantablack, and disappear into the night!
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u/Craigglesofdoom 7d ago
Damn that's sad. I always had really good communication and results from them, even when they were a bit slow to ship (which I understand, small businesses have it extremely hard these days in general, I can't imagine the art world.)
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u/BadgersAndJam77 7d ago
It was a bummer, and if I didn't really like Stuart and Culture Hustle, I wouldn't have been as patient as I was. I would have been ok with the extended timeline, if they were up front with it, especially because I'm in the US, and it seems like it may be the USA "branch" that dropped the ball. The biggest disappointment was thinking I had the materials inbound and starting to mentally plan out some specific uses, and then just getting ghosted for months. Regardless, I'm excited and hope things normalize with CH, because I really want to try a few of the other new formulas. I just need to know WHEN I could actually expect them.
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u/Craigglesofdoom 7d ago
I forgot they're british - I can't imagine trying to navigate the tariff bullshit that's flying around right now
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u/vodka_tsunami 7d ago
Let us know if you ever get it!!
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u/BadgersAndJam77 7d ago edited 7d ago
It says it cleared customs in Long Beach, US yesterday, and I'm up in the PNW, so I SHOULD 🤞 have it before the end of the week!
I ordered some Blink (Blackest Ink) and Wink (Whitest Ink) and have been holding off on buying some fountain/quill style pens, until I have it in hand.
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u/tribbans95 7d ago
Pinkest pink is cool I guess but the blackest black is definitely cooler because of the 2d effects
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u/Olcri 7d ago
Okay, but what if we make a goth princess themed room where we use the pinkest pink to make things pop and the blackest black to give it a 3d shadow.
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u/Majestic-Selection22 7d ago
He’s mad because everyone in Chicago calls the Bean, the Bean. It looks like a bean. He should be proud his sculpture has become a huge symbol here but he’s gotta bitch about something. What a jagoff.
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u/Rainfall_Serenade 7d ago
Wait... he's the guy who designed The Bean? That's a shame
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u/Fafnir13 7d ago
Designed is such a generous word for basic shapes. I know that a lot of work goes into actually getting a sculpture up regardless of its simplicity, but I’m just not going to be too impressed when the final result is a shape any teenager messing around in a 3D modeling program could render in 5 minutes.
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u/ZeroOpti 6d ago
The construction of it is the only thing I find impressive. Love how polished they are able to keep it without the seams showing.
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u/rg4rg 7d ago
My art teacher went on a rant when Anish did this. Taught us right. Still holding down the hatred on this one for Mr. C.
Anish is a “douche canoe kazoo” ( Mr. C’s worst insult).
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u/KrytenKoro 7d ago edited 7d ago
Taught us right.
Most of the complaints about Kapoor's actions with Vantablack were made up by Stuart Semple, a consummate grifter.
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u/Hawt_Dawg_II 7d ago
Obligatory.
Plenty of reasons to hate Anish Kapoor but vantablack isn't one of them.
It's a highly specialised coating intended for the insides of telescopes or advanced IR camera's, it was never just a paint. It used to be made through a chemical vapour deposition process which is essentially impossible to do without a whole factory to do it in.
They made it for science but decided that it was cool enough to use for art. They couldn't just partner up with any artist who wanted to cause it's a massively expensive and at the time confidential process so they just chose some artist and it happened to be Anish Kapoor.
For some reason people act like he's the reason it's privatized but that's so wrong. The coating costs thousands of dollars and was never open to the public to begin with.
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u/ledbetterus 7d ago
It's not even a paint afaik. It's like a coating. There's a process to apply it and it's not painting. Again, could be way off. Also apparently the government owns the rights to say who gets to use it and who doesn't. Again, could be way off lol
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u/happyanathema 7d ago
Stuart Semple owned him a while back
https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2022/12/13/anish-kapoors-stuart-semple-vantablack/
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u/GasStop69420 7d ago
Ain't Vantablack toxic? Like I'm pretty sure the stuff isn't meant to be used as a pigment
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u/ASideofSalt 7d ago
Yup! Carbon graphene tubes give the color and light absorption. Can only be applied in a special lab setting.
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u/GasStop69420 7d ago
I understand that it's kinda scummy to not let other people use a certain paint, but Vantablack is both toxic and extremely expensive to produce. I feel that this hatred for Anish Kapoor is slightly uninformed for many people, and I was one of them. I still don't think that a single person should have the power to bar others from being able to use a certain pigment, but Vantablack was never meant to be used as paint
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u/ASideofSalt 7d ago
Oh, it's not just this color. He's an absolute dick about a lot of colors. This isn't the only one he's patented
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u/jozaud 7d ago
He did not patent this. You’re proving the comment above you about being misinformed.
Vantablack was developed by Surrey NanoSystems and they hold the patent to the process of applying this “paint”. That company grated Amish Kapoor the exclusive right to use their PROCESS. It was their choice not to give this right to anyone else.
It is also NOT PAINT. This color is achieved by applying billions of microscopic carbon nano tubes to the surface in a way such that they are all perfectly arranged in exactly the same orientation. This cannot be done by anyone not just be done in a very controlled setting using specialized equipment, and THAT PROCESS is what that patent covers. As stated higher in this thread , “painting” this basketball cost $44,000.
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u/DaToeBeans 7d ago
Found the source of that pic. He’s not holding a basketball but still cool. Source
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u/cndn-hoya 7d ago
Doesn’t some douchey artist own the rights to it?
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u/BigRedSpoon2 7d ago
So yes, but its more complex. Vantablack isn't even really a paint, its carbon nanotubes that 'grow' on a surface they are attached to. The primary customer base of vantablack is in aerospace and defense. Anish Kapour did buy the exclusive rights to use it in an art piece, but from the creator's of vantablacks perspective, it was never really meant to be used in that way. The exclusivity deal is likely less Kapour's ego, which he does have, and more the creators didn't want a lawsuit when someone inevitably misused their product.
Anish Kapour can absolutely be a douche nozzle, you can find your own reason to dislike the man, but the vanta black 'controversy' is largely marketing at this point by Stuart Semple, who took advantage of it to peddle his pinkest pink, so buyers felt like they were 'sticking it' to Anish Kapour.
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u/Outrageous_Expert_49 7d ago edited 7d ago
I know absolutely nothing about all of this so thanks for sharing this info!
EDIT: Someone posted the pic’s source, and it’s a non-nanotube version of Vantablack! (source)
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u/BigRedSpoon2 7d ago
Oh yeah, thats another thing, plenty of versions for commercial use have been made in response to vantablacks exclusivity. My point is more just, the continued story about Kapour barring the gates so no one can use 'his' special pigment is largely spread at this point by either the misinformed, or as a part of marketing purposes.
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u/BluePeriod_ 7d ago
This is really interesting. I absolutely love it when someone adds tons of context. I feel like Vantablack would be pretty dangerous in the wrong hands, right? Maybe this is for the best. Can you imagine how many douchebags would have made their cars Vantablack by now?
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u/walrus_breath 7d ago
I agree with what you’re saying re: The exclusivity deal is likely less Kapour's ego, which he does have, and more the creators didn't want a lawsuit when someone inevitably misused their product.
I don’t think many people understand this part in particular. I honestly think the real reason people can’t use this pigment is because the chemical structure of the material is incredibly dangerous to be around. Like notice how the scientist in the photo is suited up and has a respirator on? That’s because breathing that shit in will harm your lungs. You have to completely suit up around it. It’s a tiny nano particle so it just gets freaking everywhere. Any amount of air sends particles airborne.
So I really think the drama is all manufactured marketing capitalist bullshit.
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u/KrytenKoro 7d ago
No, that's a misrepresentation of the facts by a purposeful grifter.
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u/Juggalo13XIII 7d ago
Thats not a basketball, thats one of those movable holes from the loony toons
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u/blackboyx9x 7d ago
You sure this ain't Photoshopped?
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u/PelicanFrostyNips 7d ago
Absolutely not photoshop!
It takes 5 seconds to draw a black circle in MS Paint
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u/Auggie_Otter 7d ago
I actually think it's funny when people say "photoshopped" to describe really basic MS Paint types of photo edits like adding a black circle or a cartoon word bubble or something as though you need powerful image editing software instead of something basic like MS Pant or Paint.NET
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u/VealOfFortune 7d ago
I can't be the only one who feels like it's shaped NOTHING like a basketball being held at this angle...
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u/paperswan23 7d ago
According to snopes it's not photoshopped but it's also not a basketball, the actual object is a metal disc
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u/bababradford 7d ago
that make more sense, the lack of color doesnt remove a 3rd dimension from the image, and that thing is only 2d.
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u/fruttypebbles 7d ago
Or he could be holding a severed head and it’s blocked out to hide the violence.
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u/what-the-pewpew 6d ago
No this is a scientist casually bare handing a blackhole bc that’s how science be sometimes
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u/LuckyReception6701 7d ago
The real question is how much more black can that get
And the answer, is none.
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u/ChipmunkWizzard 7d ago
OK WE GET IT THE FUCKING PAINT EXISTS HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE 7TH REPOST IN 3 MONTHS!
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u/Alklazaris 7d ago
This looks like one of those holes the wild coyote used to rob a bank. Although on the plus side I think if you sprayed this all over your face no one could tell your facial features.
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u/quit_it_boi 3d ago
That's just a black hole....
A black hole? At this time of year, at this time of day, localized entirely within your lab?
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u/boughtoriginality 7d ago
Wasn't the inventor of vantablack a douche? I heard a anecdote about him refusing to permit third parties from using it unless they paid a hefty fee so scientists made their own which superseded vantablack as the darkest.
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u/UnfortunateSnort12 7d ago
Inb4 the story about the pinkest pink guy.
I’m on his side, but man is this replayed enough on Reddit. And don’t defend Mr Anish…. I’ve heard enough apologist arguments that don’t quite hold up.
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u/The_Advocate07 7d ago
lol this is old. Vantablack hasnt been the blackest for like 6 years. They've gotten like 30x blacker since then.
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u/btan1975 7d ago
*basketball obscured for privacy reasons