This article was originally published on Mako
Optical illusions can often be very interesting or very weird. Some are done on purpose such as paintings done backward to reflect a completed image, and others just happen by chance. You have to admit though, optical illusions can look really cool when they happen naturally, but they can also make you feel like you are in some Austin Powers trippy moment. Here we will see some of the most interesting and strangest optical illusions, as a force of nature or just created intentionally and all of them will have you feeling like you are left in a dazed trance.
Moon
Professional photographers have to take up a lot of time and effort to photograph the different moon lunar phases, but we guess they did not know that they can get exactly the same effect from blinds being pointed in the right direction, at the right time too. This optical illusion is most likely something this person will never see again, it literally looks perfectly like the phases of the moon.
Who would have guessed that this could ever happen? A complete force of nature and great timing. And the fact that they got a photograph of this phenomenon is a total eclipse of art!
Rainbow
Rainbow reflections are usually caused by refraction, which is a reflection of light through some sort of water source, even a droplet. This interesting occurrence was actually experimented with by Isaac Newton, and back then it must have looked way cooler without an explanation than it does now. But this stunning rainbow reflection was made even better by the gaps in the chair which allowed it to make beams of color.
Something like this is almost like the universe's way of showing its support for gay pride. Although it is more scientific than just that, everyone will make up their own perception.
Great Idea
Doesn’t this look like the next great idea for a kid's cartoon? Like Peppa Pig, but just Christopher Capybara. Just like most optical illusions they happen by chance and thank goodness for that. We are sure you had to look twice at this photograph as well and it would be terrifying if this capybara was actually wearing a yellow jacket as if he was on his way to school on a casual Thursday.
A photo like this one is actually quite cool as it gives animals a humanlike appearance and makes people wonder what they would be like if they were actually humanlike.
Northern Lights
If you can not go see the Northern Lights, then with a little bit of the right sunlight and a filled water bottle, you can bring the Northern Lights to you. This amazing reflection worked perfectly on this bottle because of the printed outline of pine trees which look like they are in the mountains, which was already on the bottle. Talk about the right thing at the right time.
Perhaps this water bottle was designed just like this. So when a light shines on it, it should look like the Northern Lights above a snowy mountain range. Regardless though, it looks pretty cool.
Glasses
We do not think that glasses are supposed to be looking back at you, so if this also made you look twice, just know it is an optical illusion. These glasses, which look like those mirrored aviators, were placed on the right spot to allow the lampshade to reflect what looks like eyes on it. These glasses give off that feeling that someone is watching you and we are not even mad about it.
This seems like another cool optical illusion that could be made into a cartoon character. Maybe Pixar can feature these in their next Toy Story movie as the lampshade-eyed glasses.
Morning Reflection
This reflection happens each morning when there is sunshine coming in through the window. It shines right on this person’s mom's urn and creates the urns pattern on the wall. Now we know some may think this is their passed-on moms doing, but it could also be a great way to trace the pattern onto the wall and paint it on as a feature as a reminder of how the urn glowed in the sun.
This illusion is also a nice way for this person to remember that their mom was the light of their life, and still can be through this wonderful morning occurrence.
Happy Face
We think that this optical illusion was surely done on purpose by the stove manufacturers. Making stoves all day must get tiresome so they probably created the plates on in such a way that when lined up with a mirrored pot, you get this cute happy face looking back at you. The stovetop grid covers even add in the finer details like eyelashes because of their raised points around them.
This probably would not look the same if square pots were used, so it must have been carefully designed for that odd chance someone used clean mirrored pots. And it is absolutely genius.
Dreamworks
Don’t you think this looks like a real-life Dreamworks moon? All that’s missing is the little boy fishing off the edge. Well, this is what it looked like when a photographer took a long exposure photo of the SpaceX launch in January 2020. The photographer did it in such a way that you would be able to see its reflection in the Atlantic Ocean as well. It's almost a full circle.
Photographers have such an eye for amazing shots and one like this won’t be taken every day. It was great that he managed to get something this cool from a rare occurrence.
Fairyland
This is not a little fairyland, although it really does look like one. This photograph which was taken was of the surrounding forest around this one water droplet on a branch, taken in front of the water droplet's perspective. It explains how fisheye lenses work, except this one comes free of charge from nature itself. This optical illusion is also a better example of what refraction means, as it is not a mirrored image.
If people just spent more time outside looking for these kinds of moments, we are sure that we would see more cool photos like this one. Views from water droplets should be an in-thing.
Sheshupe
This mural can be found in Russia on the edge of the river Sheshupe. The artist Ray Bartkus painted this purposely upside down so that it would reflect the real image on the water. He added in a few great features such as someone diving in, rowers, someone swimming, a boat, and some floating swans. It is an amazing sight to see and a great way to purposely create an optical illusion.
Art like this is truly amazing and more people should create illusions like this near water sources. They keep people curious when they don’t understand it and keep them amazed once they do.
Rock On
This looks like a sign from the guitar to just rock on! When the sun hits just the right spot on objects, you can never expect what reflections will come from it, just like this one from this guitar. The sun shined directly onto the guitar's tuners and created this beautiful feature on the wall. It almost looks like a star map or something that would make a great tattoo.
Now that we know shiny guitar tuners can create such awesome illusions, bands should use them to create these illusions while on stage. They can use what they have to make a statement.
Receptionist
We may find this a little funnier now since we’ve seen our fair share of people working from home with their top halves all dressed up and their unseen bottom halves in something more comfortable like pajamas or leggings. A mirrored desk at a hotel may seem all fancy but when something like this happens it has to make guests laugh. With all the different people coming through, the bottom half options must get interesting.
We just hope this hotel receptionist does have his fancy pants on behind that counter because if not, this situation could be even better. Nice legs though, they do suit him.
Art
Abstract art is so amazing and we can find it in nature all the time. This awesome photo just shows you how with a little bit of nature and water you can experience one of the coolest optical illusions by the power of reflection. Each stick creates a unique and strange shape in the water which can’t help but make us think, what does it actually look like underneath there?
This image would only look this artsy when the water is flat like it is there, but it surely wouldn’t have the same effect when the water had movement in it.
UFO
This is one of those double-take pictures where you need to keep checking just to make sure your eyes aren’t deceiving you. But sadly for our extraterrestrial believers, these are not UFOs. When the photo of the skyline was taken out of an office window and the reflection of the light covers came out in the photo, making it look like a line of UFOs floating in the sky.
This extra strange illusion is something we are sure that many people could recreate if they had the same type of light covers in their offices. We would see “UFOs” everywhere.
Flames
Sunsets are usually amazing sights to see, but when the reflection of sunset looks like this, it may not have the same reaction. The person who took this photo has to look twice each time the sunset shines onto their neighboring building because it looks like it is engulfed in flames when it really isn’t. And the fact that it doesn’t reflect on any of the other buildings just adds to the scare.
Luckily this situation here is not as bad as it looks and it is just a case of a reflection illusion. Sunset shining buildings are much better than burning ones.
Christmas Card
We are not sure what is more of the illusion here, the fire that looks real on the Christmas card or beer in a wine glass. But if it weren’t for the beer in the wine glass then we would not be able to see the fire come alive on the Christmas card. It is amazing to see how it made the reflection on the exact right spot on the card.
Hallmark should use this to create cards with experiences. Place the card here and something else there, add some water and light and voilá, you have yourself a card coming to life.
LCD
This image looks like stacked rows of LCD screens which are showing a scene from a movie with blue partly cloudy skies. But as misleading as we know illusions can be, it is not that. If you look closely, behind the blue sky scene there are really stormy grey skies. This was a reflection on a building of the almost clear sky on the opposite side of the stormy side.
Although this is just an illusion, the reflective sight looks a lot more inviting than the gloomy skies in the background. This illusion can stick around for a while while the storm behind it passes.
Galaxy
Mermaid metallic makeup bags are in and we are happy for them to stay, especially when they make these really cool reflections. This cool makeup bag was left in the car on the seat right where the sun could come in through the window and shine on it to make a really cool-looking nebula on the back of the seat. And by nebula, we mean that cool galaxy shining-looking effect.
Illusions just really have no chill, they come in the most amazing forms and they really can make your day with something amazing you just would not see anywhere else.
Alien
Well then, it seems like aliens could be real and they have smartphones too. Although we doubt they would take selfies in an iron. It is amazing how layered mirror parts can cause objects to stretch around them just like this lady's eyes did around the steam holes of this iron making her look just like an alien. And it looks so good, it may leave people wondering if she isn’t really one.
Without a doubt though, there will probably be so many more people trying to do this with their irons too. We can see it coming… the iron alien illusion trend.
Yoda
Cats always find the strangest places to lie down on, but when they can provide us with some entertainment it is way better to watch them do so. This cat lay with his head sideways on a counter which had a mirrored wall piece on it and with his reflection being perfectly lined up, he looked like a Baby Yoda, just with an extra headpiece coming out from the top.
Whether you want to see this lazy cat illusion as Baby Yoda or a kitty unicorn it does not really matter. What matters is that animal optical illusions are a thing.
Bender
Some of the best illusions come from glass reflections and this one has people conflicted as to what it looks like. Some say the sun's reflection through the glass has created an image that looks like Bart Simpson's head's skeleton, however, if you have ever watched Futurama, it looks a lot more like Bender. It is still really cool that the sun's reflection through glass can create different images that look like familiar faces.
Because we get different types of glasses with different shapes, patterns, and colors on them, it would be interesting to know what other kinds of cool reflections one could find.
Saturn
If you had to see this sight while driving, you would definitely think Saturn has fallen down or the earth has moved just a touch closer to Saturn. But because illusions like to trick our minds, we eventually click that is not the case. The photo was taken from the inside of a car and the steering wheel was reflecting onto the closed window, making it look like a planet rather than a steering wheel.
What does not help our minds to adjust to what is really being shown is the amazing rainbow in the sky which adds a nice little touch to the illusion.
Nanobots
Illusions allow our minds to see something without knowing what it is and allow us to make our own perceptions of it. Just like this strange image, which looks like a whole lot of nanobots or something that belongs in some computerware. However, it is not. This is what it looks like when your ceiling lights reflect into your black coffee and you get a really cool photograph of it.
If you have watched Squid Games, these little lit-up bubbles might even remind you of the helmets that they wore on the show. The ideas are endless as to what you may see with this.
Couch
This image may not have made its optical illusion very obvious, but that just means the illusion was really good. Take a close look at the computer screen, it looks like a normal screensaver of some sand dunes, doesn’t it? Well, it is actually a reflection of the couch against the wall across from it. The screen must be extremely shining for this to be so clearly reflected on the screen.
The angle of the screen allows for this to reflect the way that it does. If only a screenshot of reflections could be taken, because it wouldn’t make a bad screensaver.
Ghosts
If you did not believe in ghosts, maybe this illusion will make you think twice about your beliefs. Although we doubt a ghost could take a photo of themselves. This girl was sitting on a bench outside of her office and where she sat matched up perfectly with the chair that was inside the office. Her reflection fit almost perfectly into the black chair and was the perfect time to take the shot.
The office should start an illusion photo wall with people who have sat on that bench and see their reflection in the other chair. The illusions would make for some great artwork.
Dimensions
Doesn’t this illusion just make you want to take a leap of faith and jump straight into the portal to another dimension? Or are you normal and just see a trampoline bounce mat that has gone invisible? Water which was resting on the bounce mat was so flat and still that it created this illusion by reflecting the fence on it, making it look like the fence just continued on.
We are sure the owner double-checked the trampoline just to make sure superpowers weren’t really involved here. One jump on there would clear that out though, but one can always hope.
Fish Tank
Did this illusion just create a new funky-styled range idea for stoves? The rainbow stove collection would go perfectly in anybody's kitchen for a touch of color. What is amazing about this illusion is that the rainbow lined up perfectly on each knob. This rainbow feature was created by the sun shining through a fish tank which was also in the kitchen, which is an exact example of Newton's experiment.
This illusion is so cool that we’d suggest to the owners to never move that fish tank. Each sun shining day they can experience this beautiful rainbow to add a little joy to their space.
Leonard
What would you do if you looked out the window and saw Leonard from The Big Bang Theory sitting in our car with a creepy smile as if he is about to drive through the wall of your house? The TV in this house reflected perfectly at the right time to put Leonard in the driver's seat. Luckily this guy's wife spotted it and got a quick snap of the illusion.
We hope it didn’t take too long for his wife to realize what had happened and decided to rather close the curtains to avoid any further frights from TV characters.
Nuclear Bomb
We have seen an illusion similar to this one, but we aren’t too convinced that is it actually an illusion because it looks like there really is a fire inside that house. It is as if a small nuclear bomb went off inside that room. But, this is just a sunset reflection on a window. Perhaps the window is not very clean which has made the reflection look like a blazing fire.
The owners must have had quite a few concerned neighbors calling them just to make sure that their room wasn’t on fire. Perhaps putting up some blinds in that room can avoid further concern.
Unicorn
This is what it looks like when a unicorn poops in your toilet, or at least we would like to think that is what it would look like. This trancey pattern came from the reflection through the bathroom window which had a decal over it. The pattern does make the toilet look as inviting as a toilet could be. Just some added angelic music, these people have themselves the best toilet ever.
This amazing illusion does make us want to find someone who can wrap a toilet in funky patterns. It would make any person's bathroom experience just a little more interesting.
Dragon Galaxy
Once again, we are left conflicted with what this optical illusion actually looks like. Is this an old dragon's head with a shiny galaxy-type eye? Is it a small portal to an alternate galaxy far away? Or could it be a mini underwater city we are yet to discover? Well, what we do know is that it is just a very sharp reflection from the sun onto this puddle inside of a rock.
The soft snow which surrounds it does make our minds wander off to more majestic options this illusion can be. But it is just nature taking its chance to show off its abilities.
Inner Wolf
Cute dogs always have an inner wolf inside of them, that small part of them that wants to be powerful, but cuteness seems to prevail. This cute labrador named Tom showed us his inner wolf in the form of a reflection from himself on this wet court. The dried trees which also form part of the reflection add to it as it looks like the trees wolves usually run through.
Although Tom’s inner wolf can only be seen through reflection, we believe he does have it within him. And more of those cute dog types of illusions are always welcome.
Oompa Loompa
This actually looks like a scene from a real-life version of Willy Wonka, and this lady is playing the role of an adult size Oompa Loompa. But realistically it is just a different way of explaining or understanding tunnel vision. Her wide mirrored sunglasses were photographed with the reflection of a long underground tunnel in them, making it look like one of those illusions which are supposed to hypnotize you.
Her black and white striped shirt aids in making this illusion look more hypnotizing because as we know, black and white stripes can be an illusion on their own too.
Balloon
If some optical illusions, such as this one, could be photographed properly, they could actually make some really cool art. This is such a beautiful illusion that does take one some time to try and figure out. This lucky couple was on a hot air balloon for birthday celebrations and as they floated above a creek the girlfriend managed to get this shot of the balloon’s reflection in the water.
The beautiful forest around the creek matches well with the reflection and compliments the illusion. We can’t help but enjoy nature's illusions a whole lot more when they look like this.
Baked
Are boot bakeries something that we have missed somehow? It is like vending machines are out and baker's vans are in. But as we know, these optical illusions play with our minds and it is always more than meets the eye. A perfectly aligned mirage of the bakeries food shelf made it look like the boot of the car in the parking lot was the new outlet for their baked goods.
This illusion has actually presented a good idea though. Baked goods out of a van would be a great business idea. And they could call the business “A Bakers Illusion”, just to keep with its origin.