As you approach this crosswalk, you might find yourself slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting Charlie Brown or Snoopy. Or maybe it’s Woodstock you notice first. Of course, Marcie is included in the gang, and you wouldn’t want to hit her, either. (And then there’s Lucy, but she’s kind of mean anyway.)
The crosswalk painting not only serves as adorable city street décor but also as a warning for cars to slow down for pedestrians. The 3D illusion falls apart when viewed from the sidewalk, becoming a normal 2D drawing. This particular work of art was pictured in Santa Rosa outside of an ice cream parlor.
A Movie Studio Building Façade?
This is the flattest building we have ever seen. It sticks into the air like a lost section of a 100-foot-high concrete wall. It looks like it’s the office building of someone from an episode of The Twilight Zone. It’s one confounding image.
How, then, is this building standing up? And why would anyone want to construct a building that is essentially one wall and nothing more? Well, the truth is, the building is a 3D structure just like any other building, except it’s triangular – with three sides. From another angle, you would see that it is a triangle-shaped building.
She’s Wearing No Pants!
Though to be fair, one needs to have legs in order to be following the social norm of wearing pants. It's a prerequisite. Wait a minute. Where are her legs? Has this woman found the secret to having one part of your body run errands for you as the other part is off at the races? Did she forget to disengage her invisibility power?
And why would she stay half-visible? Supernatural phenomena don’t usually happen in the light of day. See if you can figure this one out on your own. Once you see the placement of the jacket's hemline it becomes pretty obvious.
Oil Vs. Water
Here we have what seems to be a disappearing glass rod. It’s clearly visible entering the glass, but when it goes through the oil segment, it looks invisible. At the bottom section, which is made up of water, it’s visible again.
Why does the glass rod disappear? Well, first of all, scientists say that light slows down as it enters the glass. It also slows down as it enters the oil. The other factor is the glass rod. The refractive index of the glass rod is the same as the oil. So, the available light passing through the rod and the oil cancel each other out, so to speak, erasing the boundaries and making the outline of the rod seem invisible.
Yikes!!
It’s either a hairless tarantula or a spider species I’ve yet to come across. Oh, whew. It’s just his girlfriend’s hair clip. Did she leave it like that on purpose? And does he have arachnophobia? Looking for more optical illusions? Check out The New Book of Optical Illusions by Georg Rüschemeyer.
It contains over 150 examples of optical illusions with explanations that reveal the science behind the phenomenon. Optical illusions aren’t just found in leisure magazines or optometry textbooks. The world is full of visual trickery. Color, shape, perspective, and shadow can easily confuse our brains and make us question our physical reality.