<P> The viral image became a worldwide Internet meme across social media . On Twitter, users created the hashtags "#whiteandgold," "#blueandblack," and "#dressgate" to discuss their opinions on what the colour of the dress was, and theories surrounding their arguments . The number of tweets about the dress increased throughout the night; at 6: 36 pm EST, when the first increase in the number of tweets about the dress occurred, there were five thousand tweets per minute using the hashtag "#TheDress," increasing to 11,000 tweets per minute with the hashtag by 8: 31 pm . EST . The photo also attracted discussion relating to the triviality of the matter as a whole; The Washington Post described the dispute as "(the) drama that divided a planet". Some articles humorously suggested that the dress could prompt an "existential crisis" over the nature of sight and reality, or that the debate could harm interpersonal relationships . Others examined why people were making such a big argument over a seemingly trivial matter . </P> <P> That evening, Wellesley College neuroscientist Bevil Conway gave some comments on the phenomenon to Wired reporter Adam Rogers . Before they hung up, Rogers warned him, "your tomorrow will not be the same". Conway thought the reporter was exaggerating, saying, "I didn't appreciate the full extent of what was about to happen . Not even close ." Rogers's story eventually got 32.8 million unique visitors . Meanwhile, when Conway woke up the next morning, his inbox had so many emails about the dress that at first, he thought his email had been hacked, until he saw that the bulk were interview requests from major media organisations . "I did 10 interviews and had to have a colleague take my class that day," said Conway . </P> <P> Celebrities with larger Twitter followings began to weigh in overnight . Taylor Swift's tweet--which described how while she saw it as blue and black, the whole thing left her "confused and scared"--was retweeted 111,134 times and liked 154,188 times . Jaden Smith, Frankie Muniz, Demi Lovato, Mindy Kaling, and Justin Bieber agreed that the dress was blue and black, while Anna Kendrick, B.J. Novak, Katy Perry, Julianne Moore, and Sarah Hyland saw it as white and gold . Kim Kardashian tweeted that she saw it as white and gold, while her husband Kanye West saw it as blue and black . Lucy Hale, Phoebe Tonkin, and Katie Nolan saw different colour schemes at different times . Lady Gaga described the dress as "periwinkle and sand," while David Duchovny called it teal . Other celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres and Ariana Grande, mentioned the dress on social media without mentioning specific colours . Politicians, government agencies and social media platforms of well - known brands also weighed in tongue - in - cheek on the issue . Ultimately, the dress was the subject of 4.4 million tweets within 24 hours . </P> <P> In the UK, where the phenomenon had begun, Ian Johnson, creative manager for dress manufacturer Roman Originals, learned of the controversy from his Facebook news feed that morning . "I was pretty gobsmacked . I just laughed and told the wife that I'd better get to work," he said . </P>

White and gold vs black and blue dress