The Internet is divided over THIS photo of someone's legs

Another day, another viral optical illusion.

Is there anything the internet loves more than a good old optical illusion that divides opinion?

Last year we had the dress, which sent everyone up in arms as to whether it was blue and black or white and gold (it's totally blue and black, guys). Then came this Kate Spade bag which had everyone arguing over whether it was blue or white (apparently it is actually blue). And now? Well now we have these seemingly shiny legs.

On Monday, Instagram user leonardhoespams innocently uploaded a photo of someone's legs. As is often the way with the Internet, it wasn't long before Twitter users picked up on the image and the whole thing spiralled out of control.

The majority of users initially saw what they mistook to be a pair of extremely shiny legs, leading many to question why someone would choose to cover themselves in THAT much oil.

However, it turns out the legs aren't shiny or oil covered at all.

In reality, the legs are simply covered in streaks of white paint that gives the illusion of shine. And sadly once you realise this you'll never be able to see the shine again (bad news for those of us who have seen the paint from first glance).

According to psychologist Tom Toppino, there is a scientific reason behind why you won't be able to unsee the paint once you've spotted it.

'When the scene is encountered again, sensory clues will again identify high information areas, but this time the prior knowledge needed to complete the perceptual act is readily available, and the perceptual interpretation is achieved in a way that seems automatic and perhaps inevitable,' he told The Metro.

And for those of you wondering why someone would choose to cover their legs in white paint?

'I was finishing off some art homework and had some white paint left on my brush and just decided to draw random lines, I had no intentions of making it look shiny,' Culverhouse (whose legs we are assuming are the question of debate) told BuzzFeed News.

Given that they have the whole of the internet believing their legs are unnaturally shiny, we think they should definitely get an A on this project.

What do you see when you look at the photo? Tweet us @MarieClaireUK.