--- title: No One Sees The Viral Sneaker Color Test the Same Way description: The Sneaker color test is back with a left brain vs right brain twist. Here's why people see pink and white and some see grey and teal. canonical: https://time.com/5699961/sneaker-color-test/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-10-14T18:40:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T21:10:21.000Z og:title: Pink and White or Gray and Teal? The Great Sneaker Color Test Debate Is Back to Splinter the Internet og:description: No one sees eye to eye og:url: https://time.com/5699961/sneaker-color-test/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pink and White or Gray and Teal? The Great Sneaker Color Test Debate Is Back to Splinter the Internet twitter:description: No one sees eye to eye twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Great Sneaker Color Test Debate Is Back to Splinter the Internet > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: How Many Dots Can You Count In This Optical Illusion? [Watch (HLS stream): How Many Dots Can You Count In This Optical Illusion?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/U2odo8Z6.m3u8) (0:49)  _Published 2016-09-12. A new optical illusion is here to break the internet, or at least our minds. The latest visual trick making the rounds is an image of intersecting grey lines against a white background, with 12 black dots on the nodes where the grey lines meet._ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:10 PM UTCPublished: Oct 14, 2019 6:40 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 9:10 PM UTCPublished: Oct 14, 2019 6:40 PM UTC Leave it to a good old [optical illusion debate](https://time.com/4979943/sneakers-optical-illusion/) to cause maximum internet breakage. The latest mind-boggling [optical illusion](https://time.com/4740154/photo-illusions-the-dress/) is actually a snapshot of a sneaker that stirred debate back in 2017, now returned to stir controversy once again thanks to verified celebrities like Lizzo and [Will Smith](https://time.com/5526427/will-smith-genie-aladdin/) weighing in. The shoe is clearly gray and teal— or definitely, most _definitely_ pink and white — depending on your view of things. “I SEE GREY & TEAL BUT MY WHOLE TEAM SEES PINK & WHITE HELP,” Lizzo captioned her Instagram post. Cue the standoff. Thousands have joined in on the vision quest to remind us of the power of perception. Smith had a thing or two to say on the matter. The [original tweet](https://twitter.com/%5F/status/918193149356281856) from two years ago appears to be gone. But this time, the lace-up sneaker that appears to be of the Vans variety is popping eyes and [sparking a debate](https://time.com/5657404/bird-or-bunny/). It’s safe to reject the debunked [left brain vs. right brain](http://ideas.time.com/2013/11/29/there-is-no-left-brainright-brain-divide/) myth, included in the text that has been circulating with the image. That theory claims that so-called “left-brained people” (or more logical, analytical thinkers) see gray and teal, and “right-brained people” (creative, emotionally in tune and imaginative folks) view the sneaker as pink and white. What colors you see likely all boils down to a couple of factors. As neurobiologist Bevil Conway recently told TIME, the most decisive factor is how an individual perceives light, but [what’s top of mind for the viewer](https://time.com/5624823/landscape-illusion-explained/) also plays a considerable role. > [](https://twitter.com/MrBelal/status/1184075877484769280) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5699961/sneaker-color-test/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5699961/sneaker-color-test/"},"headline":"The Great Sneaker Color Test Debate Is Back to Splinter the Internet","datePublished":"2019-10-14T18:40:09.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T21:10:21.000Z","description":"Pink and white or gray and teal?","url":"https://time.com/5699961/sneaker-color-test/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"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":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5699961/sneaker-color-test/","name":"The Great Sneaker Color Test Debate Is Back to Splinter the Internet"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Many Dots Can You Count In This Optical Illusion?","description":"A new optical illusion is here to break the internet, or at least our minds. 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