First #TheDress, now this: How should a dog wear pants?
If you've been anywhere near social media in the last 12 hours, it would be hard to miss the debate that's suddenly driving America to distraction: How should a dog wear pants?
— Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) December 29, 2015
The comic illustration went viral after Maxim editor Jared Keller spotted it on Facebook and shared it with his thousands of Twitter followers.
"It exploded to more than 11,000 retweets in two hours," Keller wrote in a Maxim post about his sudden Internet dominance. "As of Tuesday morning, my Twitter mentions are a war zone."
A Washington Post reporter traced the original Facebook drawing to a 19-year-old in Belgium who identified himself Norbert K. and said he was inspired after seeing a dog wearing a pair of pants on its back legs. "I made [the drawing] for this page so people can give their opinion," he told the Post via Facebook Messenger. "I really didn't expect it to become viral."
Even though it's doubtful most people had ever before given this question a moment of thought, it turns out Twitter users have passionate opinions on the subject. Front and hind legs, or hind legs only? You might as well be asking, "What color is #TheDress?"
My wife, half asleep: "The second one, because you don't wear pants on your arms." https://t.co/GHWFY3q9q4
— David A. Arnott (@ArnottACBJ) December 29, 2015
Some responded with photos proving their point:
@jaredbkeller pic.twitter.com/1Khw8GN6ky
— Melissa Bowman (@CeleciaKitty_) December 29, 2015
@Dan_Curtin @jaredbkeller pic.twitter.com/4irFstz3cy
— olivia dejesus (@OliviaDeJesus17) December 29, 2015
While opinions were just as forceful on the other side:
@jaredbkeller how can so many people be so wrong? you wear PANTS on your LEGS, no matter how many of them you have. period.
— Matt Popovich (@mpopv) December 29, 2015
On Reddit, the debate dove into a whole new level of detail:
"Well pants are a human invention so if they were to wear them like humans it would be like the ones on the right. However, if dogs invented dog pants it would be like the ones on the left, leaving the a*** freely available for greetings and ice breakers," wrote Redditor postapocalyptictribe.
That answer "completely failed to address the problem with the pants on the left," responded Matthevv2. "There is no way you could keep them on the dog unless they had suspenders. So more likely you would get work dogs wearing the left pants with suspenders while the fancy city dogs would wear the pants on the right."
Keller posted a poll on Twitter and said so far, the responses are running in favor of two legs.