The Mystery Behind #TheDress

White and Gold Version (Left), Original Image (Center),
Black and Blue Version (Right)

I'm sure by now almost everyone has heard of "the dress". In case you haven't, this past weekend, there was a huge controversy over whether the dress on the left was blue and black or white and gold. Social media buzzed crazily when people could not agree on the colors of the dress. Personally, I saw blue and black. I was extremely confused when my cousin told me that she could only see white and gold. After a heated debate across almost all social media platforms, the designer of the dress, Roman Originals, tweeted that the dress was in fact blue and black: "We can confirm that #TheDress is blue and black! We should know!" Of course, I was relieved to find out that my theory was correct.

However, I was most interested in the fact that people became so invested in this mystery. News about this dress spread so quickly across social media because everyone was so eager to discover the truth. Not only was this a mystery about a dress, but a mystery about health, and specifically vision. Many feared that there was something wrong with their eyes when they disagreed with others about the dress color. It amazes me how Americans are so obsessed with their health. News spreads about the newest cancer treatments and salmonella-infested foods very quickly each day. I think to many Americans, viewing the wrong color of the dress was just another health concern. Of course, media went abuzz.