JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL, BOSTON — After the image of a dress with indeterminate coloring went viral on social media late Thursday night, a team of neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital have concluded that a brain tumor is responsible for those who falsely perceive ‘the dress’ to be white and gold.

“The data doesn’t lie,” says chief neurosurgeon Dr. Khavi Shandakaar. “Pressure on the frontal lobe due to a massive brain tumor is the undeniable culprit.”

“There is no other way to scientifically explain how people in the white and gold camp can be so unbelievably wrong,” he added.

Blue and black? White and gold? Hopefully you said the first one!

The photo of a seemingly-innocuous striped dress exploded on social media after being reblogged hundreds of times on Tumblr. A heated online debate ensued over whether the dress was blue and black (undeniably correct) or white and gold (incontestably wrong). With a nearly 50/50 split as to the color it came down to Dr. Shandakaar and his team to solve the mystery.

“If you were worried that seeing a white and gold dress meant there was something wrong with you, then you were absolutely correct. You are likely suffering from a debilitating brain tumor. I highly encourage anyone in the white and gold camp to schedule a CAT scan as soon as possible.”

Sociologist Megan Dunn agrees with Dr. Shandakaar’s findings, but does not limit this brain tumor to its effect on dress color.

“While the dress phenomenon is a great litmus test for the presence of this brain tumor, there have been several other recent indicators of the tumor’s influence that have gone unnoticed,” says Dunn. “For instance, 95% of people who wanted Boyhood to win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars also perceive the dress as white and gold. Similarly, every parent who refuses to vaccinate their child sees a white and gold dress in the photograph.”

Twitter and other social media outlets have had mixed responses to the news. Twitter user spongebunz tweets “@JohnsHopkins more bullsh*t propaganda from the blue and blacks. Where are your white and gold doctors?! #whiteandgold4ever #colorconspiracy”. Another user, twat_scum had a more sympathetic reaction. “My heart goes out to all the white and golds dealing with brain tumors. Stay strong! #colorblind #thankgodimblueandblack”.

Dr. Shandakaar acknowledged that there are some outliers from his research. “We’ve discovered that there is another group that perceives the dress to be blue and gold or blue and brown. There is nothing physically wrong with this group, they are likely just dumb.”

What do you think? Is the dress blue and black or white and gold? I’m sticking with blue and black! Sound off in the comments!

UPDATE: I accidentally uploaded the white and gold dress instead of the original image of the blue and black dress. I have fixed this error.

UPDATE 2: The photo is still coming up as white and gold. I have re-uploaded the original blue and black photo one more time.

UPDATE 3: Oh God. It’s me. I see it as white and gold now. But I saw it as blue and black this morning. What is happening to me?! Do I have the tumor?!

UPDATE 4: I have tried blurring my eyes. I have tried standing far away from my monitor. I have tried printing it out. It’s still white and gold. I’m afraid this is it for me. Annabelle, you and the kids are the best thing to happen to me. I will miss you dearly.

UPDATE 5: Thought Potato has an opening for a new writer! Taking applications now!