Optical Illusions Etc...: January 2004

Description Presented here is a vast gallery of many different forms of Optical Illusions. Whether these optical illusions are conveyed through fractals, photographs, architecture, art, or old fashioned pen and ink, they are bound to remind you that "seeing is not believing."

Caution!!!! Some of the optical illusions on this blog may cause dizziness or possibly epileptic seizures. The latter happens when the brain can't handle the conflicting information from your two eyes. If you start feeling unwell when using this website, immediately cover one eye with your hand and then leave the page. Do not close your eyes because that can make the attack worse.

Saturday

Verbal Illusions

Answer #4

Nunu? NONO! Of course not. The fifth daughter's name is Mary. Read the question again.

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Friday

Verbal Illusions

Answer #3

Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. Don't believe it? Check with your calculator! Today is definitely not your day.

Maybe you will get the last question right!

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Thursday

Verbal Illusions

Answer #2

If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST person?!

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Wednesday

Verbal Illusions

Answer #1

If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second! Try not to screw up in the next question.

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Monday

The Fishes

Febuary 20 to March 20

Traditional
Pisces Traits

Imaginative and sensitive
Compassionate and kind
Selfless and unworldly
Intuitive and sympathetic

On the dark side....

Escapist and idealistic
Secretive and vague
Weak-willed and easily led

Artist Unknown
For more info on Pisces click the picture.

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The Water Carrier

January 21 to February 19

Traditional
Aquarian Traits

Friendly and humanitarian
Honest and loyal
Original and inventive
Independent and intellectual

On the dark side....

Intractable and contrary
Perverse and unpredictable
Unemotional and detached

Artist Unknown
For more info on Aquarius click the picture.

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The Goat

December 22 to January 20

Traditional
Capricorn Traits

Practical and prudent
Ambitious and disciplined
Patient and careful
Humorous and reserved

On the dark side....

Pessimistic and fatalistic
Miserly and grudging

Artist Unknown
For more info on Capricorn click the picture.

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The Archer

November 23 to December 21

Traditional
Sagittarius Traits

Optimistic and freedom-loving
Jovial and good-humored
Honest and straightforward
Intellectual and philosophical

On the dark side....

Blindly optimistic and careless
Irresponsible and superficial
Tactless and restless

Artist Unknown
For more info on Sagittarius click the picture.

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The Scorpion

October 24 to November 22

Traditional
Scorpio Traits

Determined and forceful
Emotional and intuitive
Powerful and passionate
Exciting and magnetic

On the dark side....

Jealous and resentful
Compulsive and obsessive
Secretive and obstinate

Artist Unknown
For more info on Scorpio click the picture.

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The Scales

September 24 to October 23

Traditional
Libra Traits

Diplomaitic and urbane
Romantic and charming
Easygoing and sociable
Idealistic and peaceable

On the dark side....

Indecisive and changeable
Gullible and easily infuenced
Flirtatious and self-indulgent

Artist Unknown
For more info on Libra click the picture.

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The Virgin

August 23 to September 23

Traditional
Virgo Traits

Modest and shy
Meticulous and reliable
Practical and diligent
Intelligent and analytical

On the dark side....

Fussy and a worrier
Overcritical and harsh
Perfectionist and conservative

Artist Unknown
For more info on Virgo click the picture.

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The Lion

July 23 to August 22

Traditional
Leo Traits

Generous and warmhearted
Creative and enthusiastic
Broad-minded and expansive
Faithful and loving

On the dark side....

Pompous and patronizing
Bossy and interfering
Dogmatic and intolerant

Artist Unknown
For more info on Leo click the picture.

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The Crab

June 22 to July 22

Traditional
Cancer Traits

Emotional and loving
Intuitive and imaginative
Shrewd and cautious
Protective and sympathetic

On the dark side....

Changeable and moody
Overemotional and touchy
Clinging and unable to let go

Artist Unknown
For more info on Cancer click the picture.

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The Twins

May 22 to June 21

Traditional
Gemini traits

Adaptable and versatile
Communicative and witty
Intellectual and eloquent
Youthful and lively

On the dark side....

Nervous and tense
Superficial and inconsistent
Cunning and inquisitive

Artist Unknown
For more info on Gemini click the picture.

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The Bull

April 21 to May 21

Traditional
Taurus Traits

Patient and reliable
Warmhearted and loving
Persistent and determined
Placid and security loving

On the dark side....

Jealous and possessive
Resentful and inflexible
Self-indulgent and greedy

Artist Unknown
For more info on Taurus click the picture.

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The Ram

March 21 to April 20

Traditional
Aries Traits

Adventurous and energetic
Pioneering and courageous
Enthusiastic and confident
Dynamic and quick-witted

On the dark side...

Selfish and quick-tempered
Impulsive and impatient
Foolhardy and daredevil

Artist Unknown
For more info on Aries click the picture.

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Friday

Links

Optical Illusions

Blogs

Science and stuff

Web Tools and Programs

Miscellaneous

Optical Illusion Sites

Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena - an amazing illusion site put together by Michael Bach with explanations and interactive displays.

Amazing Optical Illusion Books- Give illusions as gifts, these books will amaze your friends and supply wonder and amazement to your children.

Visual Illusion of the Month- Amos Storkey's excellent page of unique illusions. He says, "The aim of this page is to provide visual and optical illusions which I think are not the sort that are seen in 101 books etc on illusions."

Archimedes' Laboratory - The visual illusions featured on this page are created by Gianni A. Sarcone and Marie-Jo Waeber. The illusions that the authors offer are, for the greater part, products of their own imagination, sometimes discovered by chance and in other cases they deliberately set out to discover new ways to view existing optical illusions and present them under a new light.

Optical Illusions 4 Kids - a kid safe zone with optical illusions for kids of all ages. Challenge your skills of perception. Is what you see, what you get? Will you ever be able to trust an eye witness account again? Remember seeing is not always believing.

Akiyoshi's Illusions - This site and the majority of optical illusions presented are the creation of Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka, Department of Psychology, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan.

Sandlot Science - features the world's most mind-boggling optical illusions including games, puzzles, and artwork! 100's of Original Exhibits, Real-time Demonstrations, and Live Interactive Illusions.

Planet Perplex - is a comprehensive collection of optical illusions, impossible objects, hidden images, puzzles and related images.

Eyetricks - Optical illusions, 3D stereograms and anaglyphs, fractals and brain teasers.

Skytopia - An intriguing selection of old, new and exclusive optical illusions.
Many pictures are enhanced via the use of 3D and animation.

Project Lite is a software, curriculum and materials development project located in the Science and Mathematics Education Center at Boston University.

Grand Illusions was originally designed as a way of sharing our enthusiasm for various science based phenomena, fun and games, and optical illusions.

Impossible World - A site devoted exclusively to the study of impossible figures. After gathering a big collection of impossible figures I decided to create a unique website about impossible figures where as much as possible information about impossible figures and impossible art will be published.

Motion Perception - An essential quality that distinguishes all animals from plants is their capacity for voluntary movement. Animals move to find mates, shelter, and something to eat, and to avoid being eaten themselves. But the ability to move brings with it the requirement to sense movement ...

NIEHS Optical Illusions - A set of optical illusions presented by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Puzzles.com -- Illusions - Special artwork, different patterns and pattern devices which show the complexity of the way your eyes works.

Perceptual Science Group - the Perceptual Science Group of the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT does research in human visual perception, machine vision, and image processing.

Museum of Unworkable Devices - This museum is a celebration of fascinating devices that don't work. It houses diverse examples of the perverse genius of inventors who refused to let their thinking be intimidated by the laws of nature, remaining optimistic in the face of repeated failures.

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Blogs

Conflusions - An optical illusion blog that attempts to source all of it's posts so most times you can go straight to the source for more information.

Daily Illusions - Presenting optical illusions from every corner of the world.

Visual Fun House - Bringing you some of the best illusions on the internet.

Walt's Brain

Academic Chaos

She Dreams in Digital

The Daily Poligraf

What Is It?

Grow-a-Brain

Neatorama

Optical Poptitude

Bibi's Box

North State Blogs

NC Blogs

Weight Loss Etc...

Credit Card Debt Help

American Flag League

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Science and stuff

Color mixing - A clear introduction to the basics of colour mixing. Also demonstrates why the subtractive colours of Cyan, Magenta & Yellow are better than the often used Red, Yellow and Blue.

Cool Physics movies - Animations of jets breaking the speed of sound, and what you would see if you travelled past Saturn at 99% the speed of light...

How Stuff Works - A very expansive site, giving the low-down on how everything works - the science behind the magic.

Ask Dr. Math - A giant archive of math questions for all levels and abilities. Search for a specific question or browse the online archives. Here's another great resource too.

Madsci - A brilliant site dedicated to answering all your questions about science. This one contains over 25,000 questions, a comprehensive search feature and a forum-style approach to the answers.

Magnet FAQ - Everything you ever wanted to know about magnets - and then some.

Pickover - A mega-vast resource of creative science, math, mystery, computer art, educational puzzles and much, much more from renowned scientist Dr. Cliff Pickover. Also visit his massive links page - you could spend a whole life-time going through this lot.

Powers of Ten - Universe zoom in - An interactive Java applet. "View the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth" ...and then gradually zoom in, passing our solar system, then Earth... a city... tree - all the way down until you reach a tiny atom's nuclei.

Microwaving random stuff - What happens exactly when you microwave a bar of soap or a light bulb? This site has all the answers and includes photos of the experiments. Also see this page which includes movies for download and this site which contains a FAQ on everything you ever wanted to know about Microwaves. Finally, for those who just can't get enough, visit this site for numerous links.

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Web Tools and Programs

Media Player Classic - Do you think the RealOne, Apple and Windows Media players are too slow, cumbersome, bloated and sluggish? Media Player Classic is an unofficial update from WMP 6.0 maintained by Gabest.org. It has many features missing even from Windows Media Player 9, handling real media and Quicktime files if the appropriate codecs are installed.

Edit Pad - A replacement text editor to Notepad. Features multiple documents (easily accessible via tabs), unlimited file size, undo feature and much, much more. Everyone should use it. The original 'classic' version is still available for free download at sites like this

Webmaster World - Excellent site featuring guides, articles and forums dedicated to every aspect of designing and maintaining your own website. Find out how to work your way up those rankings in Google or at least see the excellent Google FAQ.

Babel Fish Translation - A tool specially designed for translating web pages from one language to another.

Alexa - See any site's traffic in relation to other sites! Gives a rough indication thanks to the many Alexa toolbar users. Amongst many other stats, it supports the chance for every web site to be reviewed.

Wikipedia - A multilingual project to create a complete and accurate open content encyclopedia. An amazing accomplishment, especially considering any person can edit any page at any time.

Probert Encyclopaedia - "A British encyclopaedia of over 100,000 entries interlinked and illustrated, covering all world knowledge and complementing other encyclopaedias".

CoolText - Produce colourful fonts for your own site with this amazing realtime online text producing tool.

TG Google Browser - Visualise your site and its place on the internet. This site provides a graphical 'web' display of links to your site, and their links etc. Often, you can find sites leading back round in a circle.

Anfy - Amazing array of customizable effects that you can use on your site. Applets for your text, graphics, navigation and more.

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Miscellaneous

Anthony Art - Portraits created from your favorite photographs.

Classrooms on the Web - Teachers, schools, students, classrooms, and education professionals around the world show off their websites.

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Thursday

Site Map

Real World Illusions	Distorted Perception	Animated / Video	Optical Illusion Art	Akiyoshi Kitaoka
Illusions of Science	Visual Perception	Word Illusions	Sandro Del-Prete	John Pugh
Visually Amazing Photos	Color Perception	Illusions in Advertising	Kurt Wenner	Jim Warren
After Image Illusions	Impossible Items	Holiday Optical Illusions	Herman J. Verwaal	Bev Doolittle
Observational Blindness	Anomalous Motion	Body Paint Illusions	Miwa Miwa	Kelly M. Houle
Fractal Art Illusions	Apparent Motion	Auditory Illusion	Julian Beever	Larry Carlson
Trompe l'oeil Murals	Scary Optical Illusions	Funny Pictures	D.L. "Rusty" Rust	Mike Mayone
Do It Yourself Illusions			M.C.Escher	Rob Gonsalves

Optical Illusions in the Real World

Visually Amazing Photos

Illusions of Science

Scary Optical Illusions

Anomalous Motion Optical Illusions

Apparent Motion Optical Illusions

Trompe l'oeil (French for trick the eye) murals

Do It Yourself Illusions

Fractal Art Optical Illusions

Impossible Items?

Color Perception Optical Illusions

Observational Blindness

Optical Illusions In Advertising

After Image Optical Illusions

Word Illusions

Auditory Illusion

Auditory Illusion

Visual Perception, What Do You See?

Distorted Perception Optical Illusions

Holiday Optical Illusions

Optical Illusion Art

Akiyoshi Kitaoka

M.C. Escher

Sandro Del-Prete

Rob Gonsalves

Acrobats in Optical Illusions

Kurt Wenner

Herman J. Verwaal

Miwa Miwa

Julian Beever

D.L. "Rusty" Rust

Dream

John Pugh

Taylor Hall Optical Illusion

Jim Warren

Bev Doolittle

Pintos

Kelly M. Houle

Anamorphic Art of Kelly M. Houle

Larry Carlson

Ground Cover Optical Illusion Art

Mike Mayone

Holsteins Optical Illusion Watercolor

Video/Animated Optical Illusions

Body Paint Illusions

Funny Pictures

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Wednesday

Privacy Policy for Optical Illusions Etc...

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If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites.

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Sunday

Missing Hole Triangle Answer

This answer borrowed from The Scientific Psychic.

The area of a right triangle is computed by multiplying the base times the height and dividing by two. The pieces of the puzzle have an area of 32 square units. Although they can be assembled to form what appears to be a 13×5 right triangle, they actually form quadrilaterals that are slightly smaller or slightly bigger than a 13×5 right triangle.

The top figure has an area of 32 square units. The bottom figure, including the empty square, has an area of 33 square units. A real 13×5 right triangle would have an area of 32.5 square units. The distortion is difficult to see because one square of the picture is approximately 3% of the area.

The distortion can be seen more clearly when the empty square constitutes a larger percentage of the area, as in the figure below where 1 square represents 13% of the area.

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Monday

Pass the Ball

This is a two post illusion if you didn't read the first post go there now.

How many times was the ball passed? The answer to that can wait. Without looking again, what else did you see in the movie?

How many elevators were there?

What was the graffiti on the wall.?

Did you see any animal or animals pass through the scene? Maybe a kangaroo, a horse or a gorilla?

If you can't remember what animal passed through the set go back and watch it again, this time don't worry about the basketball. Once you figure it out don't tell your friends and spoil it.

Still wondering how many times the ball was passed or what animal did an Alfred Hitchcock cameo through the movie? Check out the comment section below.

Other stimuli from their studies of change blindness and inattentional blindness can be viewed at Visual Cognition Lab at the University of Illinois.

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The documents distributed here have been presented on this blog in the spirit of providing an entertaining venue to educate those interested in optical illusions.

All Flckr.com photos are presented here via Flckr's "blog this" feature. This feature is enabled by each artist on Flckr. If you find material here that belongs to you and you would like to have it removed or credited please contact me and I will gladly follow your wishes.

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