It’s official: The Dress is blue and black

William JordanUS Elections Editor
February 27, 2015, 5:27 PM GMT+0

A poll by YouGov UK delivers the verdict on the dress that’s divided the internet: 74% blue and black, 16% white and gold

What color is this dress?

Tumblr user swiked posted the image on the social media site, and it later went viral and divided the internet between those who say it’s blue and black and those who say it’s white and gold.

Science suggests that – at least objectively – it’s blue and black. That’s also the view the British public, according to a new survey.

It’s actually not even close. 74% of British adults say the dress is blue and black. Only 16% see the dress as white and gold.

7% say they see some other combination and 4% just don’t know.

Blue and black wins across all demographics and political groups. It wins regardless of eye color or whether the viewer wears glasses, contact lenses or neither.

But the dress is especially divisive among younger generations. A third of adults ages 18 to 24 say it is white and gold, while only 56% say it is blue and black. In comparison, Over 60s split almost unaniomously 85 to 6 in favour of blue and black.

This might explain some of the intensity of the debate online, as Twitter users tend to be younger (under-18s – many of whom use social media – were not included in this poll).

See the full poll results