Daily Times

According to a poll on X, a large number of internet users are perplexed about the true colour of tennis balls.

According to a poll by an X user, 43.2% of people believe that the colour of a tennis ball is green and 46.7% think that it’s yellow. Another 3.4% choose the other and 6.8% selected the “just show answer” option.

This incident served as a stark reminder of how widespread misconceptions can be, leaving us astounded by the extent of such erroneous beliefs among a sizable portion of the population.

If you had asked me yesterday about the colour of a tennis ball, I would never have guessed that there could be so many different interpretations. I would have assumed that the person inquiring was colourblind and needed confirmation that a tennis ball is unmistakably yellow.

Consider the iconic Wimbledon tennis tournament, where matches are played on lush green grass courts. The visibility of the yellow tennis ball against this green backdrop is clear and unambiguous.

It’s possible that these are the same people who claimed that the infamous black and blue dress was actually white and gold—an enigma that still baffles me to this day. Some people appear to have difficulty distinguishing colours, which, while understandable, is perplexing.

The thought of having people in my social circle who genuinely believe tennis balls are green is almost unsettling. This is an example of when blissful ignorance might be preferable.

However, it is undeniable that labelling the object in the image below as green would be a perceptual error.