On Thursday, Scottish musician Caitlin McNeill posted a picture of a dress on micro-blogging website Tumblr with the caption “guys please help me — is this dress white and gold, or blue and black? Me and my friends can’t agree and we are freaking the f*** out.”
The Internet freaked out as well, after BuzzFeed posed McNeill’s question to its readers. The post, entitled “What Colors Are This Dress?”, has already been viewed nearly 21 million times and sparked off a heated global debate that saw celebrities, sportspeople and, well, pretty much everyone weighing in.
“What happened was two of my close friends were actually getting married and the mother of the bride took a photo of the dress to send to her daughter,” McNeill, whose band Canach performed at the wedding on the tiny Scottish island of Colonsay, explained to Business Insider. “When my friend showed the dress to her fiancée, they disagreed on the color.”
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Portrait of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and Princess Grace (Grace Kelly) on their wedding day on April 19, 1956 in Monaco. Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesFirst Lady Jackie Kennedy wearing a fitted silk apricot dress and triple strand of pearls, walking through crowds at Udaipur during visit to India, 1962.Art Rickerby—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarilyn Monroe poses over the updraft of a New York subway grating while in character for the filming of 'The Seven Year Itch' in Manhattan on Sept. 15, 1954. Matty Zimmerman—APThis is a photo from page 2991 of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report showing Monica Lewinsky's dress which was tested for physical evidence of a relationship between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. OIC/APJennifer Lopez wears Versace at the 42nd Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2000.Scott Gries—Getty ImagesPresident Barack Obama introduced his wife Michelle at the Commander-In-Chief Ball after his inauguration held at the National Building Museum in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009. David Stephenson—Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT/Getty Images
The band (which McNeill told BuzzFeed almost didn’t make it on stage for their performance because they were so busy arguing about the dress) posted the article to their Facebook page with the caption “It seems like we’ve caused quite the stir online! This is madness!”
Of all the celebrities that tweeted about the dress, McNeill said she’d love to meet Taylor Swift the most. “That would be something,” she told Business Insider.
As for the dress, which she actually saw on the bride’s mother at the wedding: “Obviously it was blue and black.”
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt with his wife Eleanor voting in a Hyde Park polling station, 1937. Pictures Inc.—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesEleanor Roosevelt with Doris Fleeson, 1937.Thomas D. McAvoy—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesEleanor Roosevelt walking and talking with the commanding officer of a group of American paratroopers, 1942.David E. Scherman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBess Truman sitting at a desk, 1946.Marie Hansen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBess Truman waving to crowd as her husband, President Harry S. Truman, and daugther Margaret look on during Army Day, 1946.George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBess Truman looking over a table full of baked goods, 1949.Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGeneral Dwight D. Eisenhower walking with his wife Mamie, 1948.Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMamie Eisenhower posing in her inaugural ball gown with a jeweled purse encrusted with 3,456 pink pearls, 1953.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMamie Eisenhower at the North Portico, 1958. Featured on the cover of LIFE. Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFour past, present and future first ladies at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration ceremony, including (L-R) Pat Nixon, Mamie Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson and new First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, 1961.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresidential candidate John F. Kennedy riding in car with wife Jackie Kennedy upon return home from Democratic National Convention, 1960.Paul Schutzer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresident John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie chatting with poet Robert Frost at a party for Nobel Prize winners at the White House, 1962.Art Rickerby—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFirst Lady Jackie Kennedy standing on the grounds of the Taj Mahal during visit to India, 1962.Art Rickerby—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesJackie Kennedy on the first day of a trip to India, 1962.Art Rickerby—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresident of Senegal Leopold Senghor with Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson during the first anniversary of independence from France, 1961.Hank Walker—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLady Bird Johnson, 1964.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPresident Lyndon Johnson sitting on porch swing with wife Claudia (Lady Bird) on the morning following his landslide election win, 1964.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesRichard M. Nixon and his wife Pat talking with photographers during the 1952 convention.Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesVice President Richard Nixon and his wife Pat in formal dress reflected in oval mirror, 1958.Hank Walker—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPat Nixon, wife of presidential candidate Richard Nixon, on the campaign trail, 1968.Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChinese premier Chou-En-Lai, First Lady Pat Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during Nixon's visit to China, 1972.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNewly appointed Vice President Gerald R. Ford with wife Betty and (clockwise from L) daughter Susan, sons John and Steve at home, 1973.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGeorgia Governor and future American president Jimmy Carter kissing his wife, Rosalynn, 1971.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCalifornia gubernatorial candidate Ronald Reagan holding hands with wife Nancy while on the campaign trail, 1966.Bill Ray—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesNancy Reagan, 1967.Fred Lyon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCalifornia Governor Ronald Reagan with wife Nancy, hosting social evening during conference of GOP governors, 1968.Arthur Schatz—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFuture First Lady Barbara Bush on the golf course, 1971.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAmbassador George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara, 1971.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesClass leader and future First Lady and Senator Hillary Rodham (later Clinton) of Wellesley College talking about student protests which she supported in her commencement speech, 1969.Lee Balterman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
