Shiny Legs Or White Paint? Here’s An Explanation For The Viral Photo Sparking Debate Online

Shiny legs or white paint?

The internet’s latest viral mystery is picking up where the dress debate left off, with arguments over whether a pair of legs are coated with oil or splashed with a bit of white paint (for those that don’t know the real answer, it can be found below along with an explanation).

The picture that sparked the shiny legs vs. white paint debate came from an Instagram user named Hunter Culverhouse, who uploaded a photo of a pair of legs that at first glance appeared to be glossy. As Us Weekly noted, the debate over the picture started when a Twitter user named @KingKayden retweeted the photo with a question, “Are these legs shiny and oily or are they legs with white paint on them?”

The photo has gone viral very quickly, with some heated debates over that exact question — whether the legs look oily and shiny or dabbled with white paint. It was reminiscent of the viral photo that spread across the internet in February of 2015 showing a dress that was seen as blue and black by some and white and gold by others.

The dress photo became one of the biggest viral phenomena in internet history, with millions of people weighing in on social media and the debates spilling over into real life. It got the attention of celebrities and late-night television, creating what social media experts call an unprecedented and still unmatched level of attention for a single image.

“We’ve seen other stories go viral, but the sheer diversity of outlets that picked it up and were talking about it was unlike anything we had ever seen,” Brandon Silverman, CEO of social media monitoring site CrowdTangle, told BuzzFeed. “Everyone from QVC to Warner Bros. to local public libraries to Red Cross affiliates were all posting links to it on their social accounts. That kind of diversity in who’s sharing a story pretty much never happens…and certainly never to that degree. Even in the year since and with a million different people trying to replicate it, nothing has come close.”

The dress photo actually had a correct answer — it was blue and black in real life — but experts would later explain that the lighting in the photo and the angle of the dress also made it appear white and gold to some viewers, while others were able to see both color schemes simultaneously.

Shiny legs optical illusion is the new 'blue and black dress' https://t.co/Rr90DP5sr9

— SFGATE (@SFGate) October 27, 2016

The answer of whether the legs are shiny or covered in paint is actually a bit easier to answer. Hunter Culverhouse, who originally uploaded the photo, explained that the photo actually shows legs dabbled in white paint, but that the contours of the legs combined with the spacing of the paint made it appear as if they’re shiny.

“I had some white paint left on my brush and put random lines on my legs,” Culverhouse told Insider. “[It] turned out to be a completely confusing picture for everyone on the internet. The first time I posted it, it didn’t go completely crazy. But then I reposted it again and other big accounts started to post it and share it. Then it took to Twitter and YouTubers started tweeting about it as well.”

Even with Culverhouse’s explanation and a definitive answer, the picture of shiny legs or legs covered in white paint still managed to spark plenty of debate online.

The answer of whether the picture shows shiny legs or ones covered in white paint is actually clear at a close inspection. Unlike the black and blue dress, which appeared at certain angles like it was white and gold, the photo of the paint-colored legs is easy to break down and note how the white splotches of paint create the illusion of shiny legs.

[Featured Image by Hunter Culverhouse/Instagram]