The internet loves anything that is bizarre and you can bet it will go viral in a matter of time! In recent years, the online world has witnessed a variety of illusions both optical and audio that grabbed the attention of scores of people across the globe. Yanny or Laurel? Most of us are familiar with this question, which sent the internet in a tizzy of sorts. Here’s a list of illusions that got us scratching their heads trying to decode its mystery...
Yanny or Laurel?
This was the latest illusion to go viral recently and unlike the usual optical illusions, it was an audio one. This went viral after Cloe Feldman, a social media influencer and vlogger, posted the question on her Instagram story, and then cross-posted on Twitter: “What do you hear? Yanny or Laurel,” along a sound clip. The four-second audio recording features the word ‘Laurel’ which is clearly spoken. However, soon people took up the task and claimed they could hear “Yanny” while some others claimed they could hear both the names. This illusion spurned debates on audio frequency science.
White and gold or blue and black dress?
Who can forget this optical illusion that broke the internet in February 2015. It all began when a blogger went on Tumblr seeking help because the clothing — which later came to be known as #TheDress — gave rise to an argument among her friends. She wrote, “Guys please help me — is this dress white and gold, or blue and black? Me and my friends can’t agree and we are freaking the f*** out.” The illusion lead to the hastags #blackandblue and #whiteandgold on social media platforms, wherein the dress has people divided over which colour they saw.
Shiny legs
This picture of a woman’s legs went viral online in October 2016. The image appears as though the woman in question’s legs are covered in oil to some, whereas covered in white paint and just plain shiny to some others, making them give their theories. The picture that was posted by an art student Hunter Culverhouse, sparked a debate online.
Pink or green or teal shoe?
Just like #TheDress, in October 2017, this picture of a single shoe which appears to be either pink and white or mint and grey to different people went viral. This again led to people defending their views vehemently online. The difference in viewing is because our eyes have evolved to view colour in a world where the main source of light is sun. According to experts, the brain has learnt to register what colour the actual light source is and then deduct that colour from the actual tone of the object.
Strawberries are not red
After the #TheDress, the next optical illusion to trend online in March 2017, was a picture of strawberries placed on a tart and what seems to be filtered with a blue hue but things aren’t as they seem. Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a Japanese Professor of Psychology, who specialises in creating optical illusions and regularly uploads them on Twitter, uploaded this baffling illusion. He explained it saying, “Illusion of strawberry by the two-colour method. Although this image is (sic) all made of the pixels of the cyan (blue-green), strawberries appear red.” The illusion is created through a phenomenon called colour constancy.
Missing leg girl
December 2016 saw a bunch of six girls sitting on a couch with what appears to be just five pairs of legs. The girl sitting in the middle of the couch doesn’t seem to have legs. Truth be told, she does have her legs. It’s just that one of her legs is completely behind the other woman’s legs. You can see a hint of the missing leg, if you look carefully if you adjust the lighting of the image.
Everyone has the same head
A user by the name what047 uploaded this picture that went viral on Imgur and later on other social media platforms. The image was captioned, “It took me forever to find what was wrong here...” Well, there’s nothing wrong with a bunch of girls smiling and posing for the camera, but all the men in the background seem to have the same head. It’s not rocket science that somebody edited the image and all the men’s head was replaced by one particular man’s head.
Kendall Jenner’s missing leg
In January 2017, InStyle magazine posted an Instagram photo of Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, and Hailey Baldwin sitting together post the Golden Globes. You can see the killer legs of the beautiful lasses however, Kendall’s left leg appears to be missing. This sent people online in a tizzy. After much scrutiny, one should be able to spot her leg is obviously under her dress. The confusion arose from the manner in which Kendall twisted her upper body away from her legs, posing for the camera.
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