Roses Are Red ... and Now Kind of Blue

OK, it's not exactly the bluest of blues, but a Japanese company plans to put what it hails as the world's first blue rose on sale in the US in early November. The flower is genetically modified, necessary in this case because roses lack the ability to synthesize delphinidin, a pigment found in blue flowers, explains Wired. (Hence the reason blue roses—or white ones dyed blue—signify the unattainable.) Named Applause, the flower by Suntory has been sold in Japan since 2009, and a single rose goes for about $50, notes CNET. (More roses stories.)