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By Soo Kim
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A startling hotel carpet design has taken social media by storm after a user shared an image that left viewers unsettled.
The Threads post, shared by @pencilmepretty, has amassed over 78,100 likes and more than 4,000 comments since it was posted on January 15.
In the caption of the post, the Threads user wrote: "My colorblind dad texted our family from his hotel and asked ‘Am I wrong to be horrified by this carpet?’"
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The image accompanying the post shows a patterned hotel carpet splashed with large, vivid patches of blood‑red coloring—an effect that immediately caught the attention of viewers and triggered a wave of commentary.
While it is unknown exactly what type of color blindness the Thread user's dad has, the post highlights how color blindness affects everyday perception, particularly when confronted with intense color patterns.
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"If you have color blindness, it means you see colors differently than most people. Most of the time, color blindness makes it hard to tell the difference between certain colors," the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI) explains. Colorblind individuals often struggle to judge brightness and subtle shifts in shade, which can dramatically alter how an environment looks.
There are three primary categories of color vision defects: red‑green, blue‑yellow, and a complete absence of color vision.
The most common is red‑green color blindness, which affects men more frequently than women and makes it difficult to tell red and green apart. Within that category, the NEI identifies four distinct types. Deuteranomaly, the most common, makes shades of green appear more red, though typically without interfering with normal activities. Protanomaly has the inverse effect, making reds look greener and less bright. The more severe forms—protanopia and deuteranopia—make it impossible to distinguish between red and green at all.
Less common are blue‑yellow color vision deficiencies, which the NEI says "make it hard to tell the difference between several different color combinations." There are two types of blue-yellow color blindness, one of which is tritanomaly, which affects the perception of blue versus green and yellow versus red. Tritanopia eliminates the ability to distinguish blue and green, purple and red, and yellow and pink, while making colors appear less bright overall.
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'This Is Terrifying'
The poster told Newsweek that the carpet was spotted at the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, where her dad stayed on January 8. “The place definitely has some very bold interior design choices. I honestly had no idea this post would blow up the way it did but my family has been highly entertained by it,” the poster told Newsweek.
Viewers on Threads were startled by the stark coloring of the hotel carpet in the post.
"I’m certain one of those is blood, they couldn’t get it out, and decided to just roll with it and put it everywhere," wrote @allisonmakesit, echoing a common sentiment among viewers who said the carpet resembled a crime scene cover‑up.
Another user, @lepingy, drew a comparison to hospital flooring, saying: “..... What in the crime scenes design is this??? Reminded me of the ones from the children hospital with the red streaks on the floor like blood trails."
Others focused on the design itself rather than the optical confusion it created.
"I have seen some pretty ugly hotel carpets and this one would rank right up there," wrote @pamelamicalizzi.
User @ca.pooii questioned the decision entirely, saying: "this is terrifying regardless of being colorblind…why would anyone in their right minds think this is okay???"
Some found themselves caught between horror and fascination. User @sillycalypso put it: "Lmao I have the ability to see colors just fine…and im horrified and also just creepy enough to love it…"
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