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I love optical illusions and weird visual tricks. So I’ve collect some fun ones here, for your Late Movies enjoyment! Sit back, turn out the lights, and prepare to be amazed….
The Union Jack
This is fun. Watch this flag closely (fullscreen is best). Eventually the image will disappear, and you’ll see the proper color version of the Union Jack!
The Ames Room
Similar to the The Ames Window shown yesterday, this room uses bizarre perspective tricks that cause the human brain to misinterpret what it’s seeing.
Turn on the Lightbulb
Keep your eyes on the filament inside the lightbulb (works best in fullscreen, but still works if you just keep your gaze steady on the small video). After a little while, the lightbulb is removed, but you’ll see an afterimage against the black background, as if the lightbulb was illuminated.
The Hollow Head Face Mask
In this illusion, a hollow Charlie Chaplin face mask appears not to be hollow, when rotated (when you view the back part of it). The brain tries to make sense of what it’s seeing, and in so doing, tricks the viewer.
It’s Che!
Very straightforward (just an inversion trick), but still neat!
Relative Color Perception
In this video, it helps to have some way to zoom in (either by going fullscreen, or doing CTRL-scroll-up on a Mac).
A Blue Circle
This one was very effective for me. I can still look at white portions of my screen and see the circle!
Watch Lots More
Most of the above are from one YouTube user, MariaGarcia281
Comments (9)
Comment
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5 minutes later, and I’m still seeing the Union Jack, a lit light bulb and a blue circle!!! HA!
posted by R6corey on 6-10-2009 at 10:09 pm
I have been nervous to stare at any video ever since those videos where you supposed to stare at something for a while and then something scary would jump out at you.
And now I can’t stop seeing this blue circle, lol.
posted by Jordan on 6-10-2009 at 10:22 pm
Haha Jordan me too. I was leaning in to the screen and just thinking in the back of my mind “when is the face going to pop up?”
Am I just not seeing the “secret” part of the first one?
Also there was a man at Dollywood, as I’m sure there are other places, but he made wood carvings that did the same effect as the Charlie Chaplin mask. It was pretty awesome. Especially after talking to him and finding out he used to be a stuntman in Hollywood.
posted by Brett on 6-10-2009 at 10:59 pm
Is the octagon supposed to look like a circle? It looks very clearly like a blue octagon when the image disappears.
posted by John on 6-11-2009 at 12:59 am
John – the octagon left me with a circular afterimage. Maybe it has something to do with the resolution of your vision? (Mine isn’t great. :)
recaptcha: imaging 67
posted by Chris Higgins on 6-11-2009 at 2:00 am
Like the others I’m relieved that there were no screaming faces in these.
I love optical illusions and I think the Ames room is awesome. I wonder if that’s how Lord of the Rings was filmed?
posted by Tricia on 6-11-2009 at 9:09 am
If you’re waiting for a face, watch the inverted facial one and then watch the blue circle. The entire time I was staring at the octagon, that face was still staring back at me…ugh, that was creepy. Great post though! Loved the Charlie Chapman mask!
posted by Hastings on 6-11-2009 at 9:17 am
Tricia – yup, according to Wikipedia the LOTR movies used Ames rooms!
posted by Chris Higgins on 6-11-2009 at 4:40 pm
Huh, the blue circle one has caused me to have not just the blue circle in my vision, but an entire inverted projection of my monitor’s frame, my monitor, the video window, the circle, and half of the video window above it.
[Reposing mackerel?]
posted by Aemi on 6-11-2009 at 5:37 pm