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Awesome Optical Illusions

How an Omnidirectional Display Works

How an Omnidirectional Display Works

After seeing Mike Ando’s amazing omnidirectional Andotrope display, James from The Action Lab wanted to make his own. His DIY version of the display uses one or two phones set into a slotted cylinder and attached to a rapidly spinning motor. It can take any video or image and make it visible no matter where you stand around the cylinder.

WAVES Playing Cards

WAVES Playing Cards

This 1st Edition deck from 52Kards features a mesmerizing optical illusion on the back that produces a sense of depth as you move them, making them perfect for showing off your cardistry moves. The symbols and face card designs echo the wavy line design, and they come packed in a matching tuck box.

Squaring a Circle

Squaring a Circle

At first glance, this object looks like a square, but with a quick rotation it transforms into a circle. Physicsfun shows off this intriguing optical illusion created by Matt Enlow. When viewed from the side, you can see it’s actually madeup of four identical parabola segments. A 3D print of the model is available from Shapeways.

Drawing a Moiré Illusion

Drawing a Moiré Illusion

The moiré pattern created by moving a striped transparency over special images can create the illusion of movement. While we’ve seen the idea executed using printed images, this is the first time we’ve seen someone draw the patterns by hand. We’re guessing there’s some editing trickery going on here, but it fooled us.

Mezmoglobe Liquid

Mezmoglobe Liquid

This desktop plaything from the makers of the Mezmoglobe and Mezmotop tricks your eyes when you spin it. The mirror finish aluminum toy looks like a stack of coins, and its smooth spinning mechanism creates a wavelike illusion as you get it up to speed. Sold in standard and nano sizes, as well as a bundle with both.

Rotating Window Illusion

Rotating Window Illusion

Derek from Veritasium uses his body to demonstrate an set of windows that appear to start rotating in one direction, slow down, then change directions, despite constantly rotating in just one direction. He then goes on to explain how the Ames window illusion messes with our brains, and why it doesn’t work for everyone.

Best Optical Illusion of 2020

Best Optical Illusion of 2020

Mathematician Kokichi Sugihara of Meiji University shows off another brain-breaking optical illusion, taking home the prize of Best Illusion of 2020. While it looks like a simple design at first, the 3D Schröder Staircase looks exactly the same right-side-up and upside-down, its left end looking taller than its right.

Stationary Circle Optical Illusion

Stationary Circle Optical Illusion

We’ve seen lots of optical illusions over the years, so we’re always excited when we come across one we haven’t seen before. Twitter user jagarikin posted this mindbender, which makes it appear that the spinning circles are moving around, despite being stationary. Don’t believe that the circles aren’t moving? Check this out.

A Mind Sang

A Mind Sang

Animator and illustrator Vier Nev describes A Mind Sang as “a short film about perception, rebirth and transformation.” But it’s also a wonderful exploration of optical illusions and the phenomenon known as Pareidolia, or humans’ tendency to see faces and other body features in places where they aren’t.

Invisible Rube Goldberg Machine

Invisible Rube Goldberg Machine

When you place clear glass into certain kinds of oil, it can eliminate refraction and reflections, making it appear invisible. A few years back scientists from Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science decided to build a Rube Goldberg machine that takes advantage of this illusion, complete with invisible steps and ramps.

How Lenses Affect Speed Perception

How Lenses Affect Speed Perception

We shoot a lot of video inside of cars looking out the windshield. But the in-car footage often makes it look much slower than it felt zooming around the track. After watching this clip from Akiyoshi Kitaoka, we realize just how much of a difference having a wide angle lens makes when it comes to the perception of speed.

Ambiguous Garage Roof

Ambiguous Garage Roof

It might sound like the name of a punk band, but its a literal description of what you’re about to witness. Engineer and mathematician Kokichi Sugihara created this bizarre object which appears to take on a different shape when rotated or viewed in a mirror.

How to Draw a 3D City

How to Draw a 3D City

Circle Line Art School shows a relatively easy way to draw buildings that look like they’re going through the page. The optical illusion is simple enough for the most part. The finishing touch is quite tricky though.

Illusion d’Optique Playing Cards

Illusion d’Optique Playing Cards
Buy

Each of the 54 cards in designer Gianni Sarcone’s deck features an original illustration that will mess with your mind. Each image combines the card’s value and suit with a trippy optical illusion. The set comes packed in a rainbow-sheen holographic tuck case.

Circle in Circle Illusion

Circle in Circle Illusion

Take a look at the video, and you’ll swear that these balls are spinning in a circular orbit. But look more closely, and you’ll see that each ball is moving along a perfectly straight path. The mechanical model is based on a design by 16th century Italian poymath Girolamo Cardano.

TARDIS Optical Illusion

TARDIS Optical Illusion

Maladroit Modeller made a “dimensionally transcendental” diorama of the Twelfth Doctor’s TARDIS. The phone booth opens and you can see a model of the laboratory inside. The lab, which was made from scratch, is actually hiding in a space behind the phone booth.

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