This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
Published on October 14, 2019, a viral photo of a Vans Old Skool sneaker has been tearing the internet apart, with people strongly divided over its colors.
The controversy began in 2017 when Twitter user @AliciaMarieBODY shared the photo, asking 'WHAT COLOR ARE THESE SNEAKERS/LACES?'
As with other viral phenomena like The Dress and Yanny/Laurel, people had strong feelings about the colors, with some seeing the sneakers as grey and teal, while others saw pink and white.
Two years later, the shoe resurfaced in the form of a viral meme suggesting that the colors could determine whether you're right- or left-brain dominant. Musical artist Lizzo shared the meme on Instagram, writing, 'I SEE GREY & TEAL BUT MY WHOLE TEAM SEES PINK & WHITE HELP???????'
However, the idea that logical people are left-brain dominant and creative people are right-brain dominant was disproven in a 2013 paper, according to Healthline.
So, what's really going on with the sneaker photo? According to Elle.com, the shoe is actually pink and white, but the color temperature is off, making the white parts look teal and the pink parts look grey.
'The camera's not reading white as white—the color temperature is totally off,' said Mariel Tyler, Elle.com's photo editor. 'It's like when you take a picture when you have a flash on, you will look bluer than you are, because flashes have a blue tint—it's cooler-colored, versus, like, a tungsten light.'
