Research has shown that presenting a food portion in a smaller bowl creates the illusion of a larger portion. Conversely, presenting the foot in a larger bowl creates the illusion of a smaller portion. The quantity of the food remains the same. This phenomenon is known as the Delboeuf illusion. This illusion forces your mind […]

This geometric optical illusion from the early 1900s is called the Ponzo illusion – named after Mario Ponzo, who was the first to demonstrate this effect. The illusion uses linear perspective to confuse the brain into thinking that two lines are of different lengths. In the image below, the red line at the top of […]

This optical illusion, designed by Victoria Skye, is based on the Cafe Wall Illusion.  Do the dark blue horizontal bars appear to be parallel or angled? If they look angled to you, have another look or grab something with a straight edge as they are straight and parallel.  The alternating black and white patterns where […]

The six thin strips within this circle, created by Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka, appear to tilt alternately.  In reality, each of the strips are all parallel with one another.  It certainly does not appear that way, but if you hold up a straight edge to the side of each of them, you will see that they […]

Happy New Year everyone! Proferssor Dejan Todorović of the University of Belgrade created this optical illusion that highlights the effects of two different illusions known as the Hering illusion and the Zöllner illusion.  The blurred orange lines (representing a Torii, a traditional Japanese gate located in front of a shrine) are identical in all three […]

In the spirit of the holiday season, today’s optical illusion features a series of red and white candy canes.  When you look at these seven pieces of candy, do they appear to be parallel to one another or are they askew?  If you want to be certain, grab something with a straight edge and hold […]

It certainly does not appear to be true, but the two monsters shown in this illustration are identical in size.  It looks like the monster in the background is significantly larger than the one in the foreground (maybe even twice the size).  This was originally published in Roger Shepard’s book “Mind Sights” in 1990.  In […]