Last week the Internet nearly exploded when a, then unknown girl, posted a photo online of what seemed like a white and gold dress. Or was it?

“Guys please help me – is this dress white and gold, or blue and black? Me and my friends can’t agree and we’re freaking the f*** out” – Caitlin McNeill.

The 21 year old folksinger from Scotland, Caitlin McNeill, had no idea the whole world would be talking about that dress when she posted the pic on Tumblr. And with the world I mean literally e-ve-ry-one! From students to teachers, from celebrities to news broadcasters. Even scientists debated over the colour of ‘The Dress’.

“What happened was two of my close friends were actually getting married and the mother of the bride took a photo of the dress to send to her daughter. When my friend showed the dress to her fiancé, they disagreed on the color.” – Caitlin McNeill.

So, is it ‘White & Gold’ or is the dress in fact ‘Black & Blue’? Here’s the scientific explanation of why some people see ‘White & Gold’ (yes, count me in!) and others see ‘Black & Blue’.

And while the colour of the dress was revealed that same day – it’s Black & Blue, in case you haven’t heard – ‘The Dress’ story continues. Roman Originals, the company behind the dress, have decided to create a white and gold version, of which one will be auctioned on E-bay to raise money for Comic Relief. Here’s what it looks like:

But, the best is yet to come! The South African Salvation Army have turned the “Dress Gate” into a powerful anti-domestic violence advertisement. The ad reads: “Why is it so hard to see black and blue?” Underneath that it says: “The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in six women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women”. See their Tweet below.

Wihan Meerholz, who’s the creative director behind the design, said; “We just thought it was so weird something so insignificant like that dress was getting all this hype while a true message (about) anti-women abuse was more deserving,”.

And so it seems that great things can come from such silly discussions. I do wonder though… did The Dress make it as a bridesmaids dress? After all, that’s why the whole “Dress Gate” started. I guess that is something we’ll never know.