Awesome Optical Illusions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dolla dolla bill y’all. Visualize your financial gains or goals with Ikonick’s optical illusion print. The Rubberband Racks depicts a thick bundle of hundred dollar bills held together by a rubber band. Get it with the black frame for a neat floating effect.

Minimal artist duo Differantly spent months trying to figure out how to make the Nike Air Jordan look like a doodle. The result is this sick optical illusion that creates just that effect when the sneaker is viewed at the proper angle.

Here’s a fun and perplexing optical illusion. Physicsfun shared this clip of mathematician Kokichi Sugihara’s unique arrow design that looks like it’s always pointing to the right, regardless of how many times you rotate it 180º. In a mirror, it always points left.

DONG host Michael recently visited Sydney, Australia and noticed a strange optical illusion – the famed Sydney Opera House looks like it gets larger the further back you stand from a window looking out at it. Apparently, it’s related to the size and position of an object’s frame.

This fun placemat makes it look like your cutlery and plate are warping the space around them. A great gift for illusion, science or science fiction buffs. Available exclusively through Museum of Modern Art’s store. It comes in blue or white.

Anesis’ Rubika Bookcase can showcase even the plainest objects. Its overall shape, the shape of its compartments, and its color scheme make it look like it’s popping out of your wall like a giant Rubik’s Cube. Available in different colorways.

Scott Jarvie’s handmade rugs have an incredibly simple yet brilliant pattern. When viewed at an angle, the Void Rug looks like a literal black hole on the floor. It’s available as a circular or a rectangular rug.

Minutephysics talks about the “Mountain or Valley?” illusion – a visual distortion that can happen when we look at 3D objects (or illustrations of 3D objects) from an overhead view. It shows how much we rely on shadows to perceive our world.