7 Optical Illusions That Caused The Internet To Lose Its Mind In 2015. #1 For Sure Started A War

You might think that humanity is a highly evolved species, but no creature can be too evolved if it spends hours online arguing about what color a goddamned dress is. Whether you want to start arguments with your friends all over again or just want to stare at some trippy shit, enjoy this list of optical illusions from 2015.

#7. This woman’s color-changing hair.

In May, Florida musician Sabrina Abu-Obeid dyed her hair blue. Or maybe pink. Or maybe violet. See, depending on the color of the light in whatever room she’s in, her hair color appears to change. After her video was posted all over the Internet and shared on TV news, Abu-Obeid posted a good-natured follow-up about how it actually worked, and how to dye your hair. Not in any special way, really, just how to dye your hair.

If you want real magic hair, you’ll need to look at this hidden oil-slick hair.

#6. This penis that’s not a penis.

This tall, firm drink of water looks like a penis in a glass, but it’s an illusion caused by the woman’s arm and hair. Unless her upper arm is actually a penis.

#5. This empty-looking field that is actually filled with sheep.

No, really. There are a bunch of sheep here.
This wintertime field photo featuring all the cheer of a scene from The Road has a secret: it’s actually a picture of hundreds of sheep. Liezel Kennedy from Pilgrim Farms posted the above photo, and then a close-up to prove it:
Open your eyes, sheeple!

#4. This cat that is going either up or down the stairs.

Cat owned by M.C. Escher.
This picture of a cat that is either going up or down the stairs isn’t new. But in the wake of #thedress fever, some cruel Internet troublemaker decided to raise the argument all over again.

#3. This name on a Starbucks cup.

Does it say Greg or Corey?!?!?! Well, since this was posted by a guy named Greg, we know it says Greg. But it kind of looks like Corey. Wow. Letters: they look similar sometimes.

#2. This shoe that matches two very similar colors of nail polish.

Would this nail polish/shoe image have ever been a thing that existed if The Dress had not existed before it? Probably not. But that is the gift that The Dress gave us: the gift of a new kind of clickbait to argue with your friends about.

#1. …and yes, #TheDress.

PTSDD: Post traumatic stress dress disorder, a condition that makes you terrified you’ll keep seeing The Dress after 2015.

It’s the optical illusion that split up more families than the Civil War (Editor’s note: should we fact-check this? Nah.). Brother against brother, sister against sister, and commenter against commenter. It’s the thing that filled our Facebook feeds, and the thing that, in 2025, will prompt a horribly out-of-touch talking head on TV to say “Hey! Remember The Dress?” And the people that are watching will remember it, because you’d have to be old and lame to still be watching TV in 2025.