Blue and black or white and gold? The science behind it

There’s a new internet craze; it’s confusing some, and annoying others. It all has to do with a photo of a dress. I would tell you the color, but nobody seems to be able to agree on it. Some believe the dress to be Black and Blue, while others believe the dress to be White and Gold.

The photo supposedly originated on the blogging website Tumblr, where a Scottish woman questioned to her followers what color the dress was, as it was worn at her wedding by one of the guests. When her followers began commenting the two different answers, the internet craze officially kicked off.

Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Anna Kendrick have taken to the web to comment on the new phenomenon. So what is causing these people to see everything differently?

To begin, it should be known that the original dress is actually Blue and Black. It all has to do with the way light is entering our eyes. The picture itself is so badly filtered, some people’s eyes attempt to make up for the bad quality. “If you see black and blue, you’re looking at face value. If you see gold and white, it’s because you’re compensating the lighting and aesthetics,” said Joe Canali, 11th grade.

Here at Osceola, it was a clear winner; in a poll of 41, 23 students believed it to be Black and Blue while 18 believed it to be white and gold. With the scientific explanation of the dress and the reveal of its actual color, it’ll be interesting to see how long this craze lasts, and if a similar case may come up in the future.