This Reddit-found disappearing paint illusion could be 2018’s “blue dress”

If you’re looking for a way to while away the next few hours by staring intently at your computer without actually working, have we got a story for you: A Reddit user posted a picture that is incredibly hard to stop looking at. Not in a Ringu can’t-look-away sort of way, but because as you stare at it, the entire image disappears. One minute you’re looking at a pastel watercolor-esque picture and then you’re looking at nothing. Blink and the whole process starts again.

It’s mesmerizing, but based on an informal survey, it doesn’t seem to work the same for everyone. Some people see a disappearing image, while others see morphing colors. This is exactly how the Great Dress Controversy of 2015 started, when a picture of the dress went viral as people argued over whether it was a white and gold dress (wrong) or a  black and blue dress (correct). The Verge has an explanation for the eyeball science behind the disappearing image, but it’s fun to just ignorantly stare at it, too.

And to any editors reading this: I have definitely been working for the last hour and not just staring at an image on Reddit.