Unless you have been living under a huge rock deep under the sea you already know about #TheDress, a viral image that has the world puzzled. This photo of a dress has now divided all of humanity into dueling factions, with sane individuals who see this image as white and gold pitted against the dangerous loons who perceive it as blue and black. (OK, so the dress is blue and black in real life, but the argument is about how it appears in this particular photo.)
Why people see the dress differently hasn’t been conclusively figured out. The more prominent theories have to do with color constancy, or the way that an object appears to stay the same color under different lighting. This process can get dicey when colored light comes into play, as Dr. Jay Neitz told Vice.
Anyway, whether you’re distraught because the debate has torn apart your relationship or you’re just sick of your whole office talking about nothing else, we’ve compiled some other totally confusing images to take your mind off #TheDress.
Checkerboard Illusion
The squares marked A and B on this board are the exact same color.
Yes, they are. As with #TheDress, the reason you may perceive them as different is related to color constancy.
Shapeshifting Light
This beautiful music video by artist Nacho Guzman uses light to make an actress appear to be constantly morphing into other people — even though it’s the same woman the whole time.
Shifting Blocks
Another color constancy shocker.
Ponzo Illusion
These three cars are the same size. After you bust out a ruler to double-check, you can read more about why this works at the Online Psychology Laboratory.
Illusion Carpet Floor
This floor, reportedly located in a French game store, is flat.
Colored Tile Illusion
ONE more color constancy one, because these are seriously crazy. The tile on the top that looks brown and the tile on the side that looks bright orange are actually the same color.
Spinning Dancer
Is she spinning clockwise? Counterclockwise? Both!? Different people perceive her to be spinning in different directions. Put this gal in #TheDress and we’ll have an all-out war on our hands.
