--- title: The Internet Is Divided By This Photo of Shiny Legs description: The Internet is in a state of unrest after Instagram user Hunter Culverhouse posted a photo of that seems to show shiny legs. canonical: https://time.com/4546630/this-photo-of-someones-shiny-legs-is-dividing-the-internet/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-26T19:08:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:37.852Z og:title: The Internet Is Losing It Over This Photo of Shiny Legs og:description: Call it the new dress og:url: https://time.com/4546630/this-photo-of-someones-shiny-legs-is-dividing-the-internet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f6d6158af480bd2/6988abbbbc6cfc29873df165/shiny-legs-white-paint-illusion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: shiny-legs-white-paint-illusion og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Is Losing It Over This Photo of Shiny Legs twitter:description: Call it the new dress twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f6d6158af480bd2/6988abbbbc6cfc29873df165/shiny-legs-white-paint-illusion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Photo of Someone's Shiny Legs Is Dividing the Internet > Sponsored content. 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It covers the reporting, scoops and conversations shaping AI and the decisions facing leaders. #### Where can I get reported AI news rather than commentary? In the Loop is TIME's AI newsletter, built on original reporting and access to the people building and governing AI. It publishes Tuesdays and Fridays and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes TIME's In the Loop? Harry Booth, a tech reporter at TIME, writes In the Loop. #### Is In the Loop free? Yes. In the Loop is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-loop-2026q3/newsletters?i=5dff45be-3e01-45e3-a767-e4d90ffa70cb&cr=time-nl-loop-2026q3-v1) ## Video: REAL TIME: The Dress That Broke The Internet [Watch (HLS stream): REAL TIME: The Dress That Broke The Internet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pHrrVTQq.m3u8) (0:43)  _Published 2015-02-27. Musician Caitlin McNeill posted a a picture of dress to Tumblr and asked what color it was. The internet weighed in._  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 26, 2016 7:08 PM UTC  (Credit: Hunter Culverhouse / Instagram)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 26, 2016 7:08 PM UTC Remember [the dress debacle of 2015](http://time.com/4238688/the-dress-1-year-anniversary-white-gold-blue-black/), when the Internet was drastically divided on whether or not a dress was [black and blue or white and gold](http://time.com/3725450/dress-taylor-swift-black-blue-white-gold-celebrities/)? The debate was later [resolved with an explanation of color constancy](http://time.com/3725528/dress-explainer-white-gold-blue-black-science/), but in the end, it remained a hot meme and point of dissent for many. Now, it looks like there’s a new optical illusion that’s stirring up conversation on the Internet. Instagram user Hunter Culverhouse posted a photo of legs covered in white paint, but some people are seeing shiny, glossy legs instead. Culverhouse told [_Insider_‘s Jacob Shamsian](http://www.thisisinsider.com/shiny-legs-optical-illusion-meme-2016-10) that the illusion was created on accident. “\[I\] had some white paint left on my brush and put random lines on my legs, turned out to be a completely confusing picture for everyone on the internet.” What do you think? Shiny legs or legs with white paint? ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4546630/this-photo-of-someones-shiny-legs-is-dividing-the-internet/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4546630/this-photo-of-someones-shiny-legs-is-dividing-the-internet/"},"headline":"This Photo of Someone's Shiny Legs Is Dividing the Internet","datePublished":"2016-10-26T19:08:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:37.852Z","description":"Call it the new dress","url":"https://time.com/4546630/this-photo-of-someones-shiny-legs-is-dividing-the-internet/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Internet","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f6d6158af480bd2/6988abbbbc6cfc29873df165/shiny-legs-white-paint-illusion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f6d6158af480bd2/6988abbbbc6cfc29873df165/shiny-legs-white-paint-illusion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"shiny-legs-white-paint-illusion","caption":"","creditText":"(Credit: Hunter Culverhouse / Instagram)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4546630/this-photo-of-someones-shiny-legs-is-dividing-the-internet/","name":"This Photo of Someone's Shiny Legs Is Dividing the Internet"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"REAL TIME: The Dress That Broke The Internet","description":"Musician Caitlin McNeill posted a a picture of dress to Tumblr and asked what color it was. 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