How 'The Dress' Sparked a Neuroscience Breakthrough

Back in 2015, before Brexit, before Trump, before Macedonian internet trolls, before QAnon and Covid conspiracy theories, before fake news and alternative facts, the disagreement over the Dress was described by one NPR affiliate as "the debate that broke the internet." The Washington Post called it "the drama that divided the planet." If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. The Dress was a meme, a viral photo that appeared all across social media for a few months.