# Fine, so I don't know what color the dress is. But at least I can read this. Can you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499 "2015-03-08T03:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499/21 "2015-03-09T20:05:25Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > It’s a spoof of an old advertising campaign for secretarial school: “f y cn rd ths, y cn gt a gd jb.” My favorite comment on this – according to one report someone put the following graffiti on that old ad (which shows you how far back it ran): fk nxn ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499/22 "2015-03-09T22:59:49Z")
This looks like a variation of this: > [@](#): > > Aoccrding to a rereasch at Camgridbe Urivensity, it deosn’t mtater in waht odrer the lertets in a wrod are. The olny irpomtant tihng is taht the frist and lsat leettr be in the rgiht palce. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wtihout a proelbm. Tihs is besauce the hmuan mnid deos not raed eevry lteter by iteslf, but the wrod as a wlohe. Spoiler: [not true](http://www.brainhq.com/brain-resources/brain-teasers/scrambled-text). ---
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499/23 "2015-03-09T23:04:04Z")
No problem ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499/24 "2015-03-09T23:38:07Z")
0 my g0d w3 4r3 n0w f4c3800k. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499/25 "2015-03-10T00:10:30Z")
You don’t read letter by letter, you read word shapes. That’s how it works. I’m still working on the question my son asked when he was four: “How come we understand what Blue [the cartoon dog] is saying?” ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499/26 "2015-03-10T00:17:47Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > You don’t read letter by letter, you read word shapes. That’s how it works. > > I’m still working on the question my son asked when he was four: “How come we understand what Blue [the cartoon dog] is saying?” Brain Games did an episode explaining that. (Not Blue specifically but speech recognition.) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499/27 "2015-03-10T01:10:10Z")
I could read it easily as long as I didn’t try to. Soon as I actually looked at it, it was gibberish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-so-i-dont-know-what-color-the-dress-is-but-at-least-i-can-read-this-can-you/714499.md?page=1)