Starbucks has become known for the creative names its baristas write on the drinks they give to customers. Is your name Melanie? Don't be surprised when you get your iced mocha back and you see the name “Belly” scribbled across your cup.
Well, the coffee giant struck again when a barista wrote either “Greg” or “Corey” on comedian Greg Dorris’ cup. Greg (naturally) took to Twitter to share this name confusion with the world, and the people of the Internet, as they do, immediately called Greg/CoreyGate the new “The Dress.”
We probably don't need to remind any of you of “The Dress” fiasco, as it took hold of social media in a way that can only be described as viral. But ICYMI: “The Dress” fiasco resulted from a vague photo of a dress being posted on the Internet. People couldn’t tell if the dress was white and gold or blue and black, but opinions were polarizing and hilarity ensued. Eventually, the store selling “The Dress” kindly let the world know that the dress was, in fact, blue and black, leaving those in the “white and gold” camp extremely frustrated and confused.
Now, society has taken to calling any social media post resulting in a minor polarized argument “the new ‘The Dress.’” But guess what, guys: This isn’t the new “The Dress” at all. And the weird pinkish-purple shoe/nail polish issue that surfaced a month ago was also not the new “Dress.” What made “The Dress” so captivating was the science behind it. The blue/black vs. white/gold disagreement resulted from the way some eyes reflect and interpret light. People were so sure they were correct, because they could only see the colors their eyes allowed them to see (save some who transcended human existence and could see it both ways — we applaud you). The shoe/nail polish conflict is not a new “The Dress” because neither of those shades of nail polish match the shoe. This coffee situation is not a new “The Dress” because it can be read either way, and because we know it was intended to say “Greg.”
Move on, world. Stop getting so hung up on every little disagreement, because when you do, you’re taking away from the significance of the original “Dress” — an actually interesting scientific phenomenon.