optical illusion

6 Stories

Study: Mona Lisa's Gaze Doesn't Live Up to Legend

The 'Mona Lisa Effect' is a 'misnomer,' researchers find

(Newser) - It's a "scientific legend": that Mona Lisa's eyes follow you wherever you go, a phenomenon so well known that it birthed the term "Mona Lisa Effect." Except it's not true, at least in the case of Leonardo da Vinci's painting. That's the...

Studies Pour In to Finally Shed Light on 'the Dress'
 Scientists' 
 Latest Craze: 
 'the Dress' 
NEW STUDIES
May 17, 2015 6:50 AM CDT

Scientists' Latest Craze: 'the Dress'

Blue and black? White and gold? Assumptions about lighting are key

(Newser) - Not one, but three new studies emerged this week in a scientific journal seeking to explain the still-puzzling Internet phenomenon that is the Dress . "There will be dozens and dozens of papers about it over the years. This is just the beginning," Wellesley professor Bevil Conway tells the...

Behind Georgia Highway Crashes: an 'Optical Illusion'

Drivers appear to be tricked by a curve from I-285 southbound to I-20 eastbound

(Newser) - Between November and January, five trucks rolled over on a single highway ramp in Georgia's DeKalb County. "I'm not an engineer," says a WSB-TV traffic reporter, "but common sense says there's something wrong there." Now experts may be able to explain it. There...

This Dress Is Breaking the Internet

People are deeply confused about what color it is

(Newser) - Is it white and gold—or blue and black? A picture of a dress uploaded to Tumblr has created what Gawker calls "an Internet schism that may never be healed," with the opposing sides unable to fathom each other's view of the dress. At BuzzFeed , the white...

Optical Illusion to Slow Down Florida Drivers

Closer road lines may get drivers to brake in pilot program

(Newser) - If you can't get drivers to slow down on their own, why not trick them into it? That's the idea behind a pilot program in Florida that will give drivers the illusion they're driving faster than they are. How exactly? With road "hash marks" painted gradually...

'Mystery Missile' May Be a Jet
 'Mystery Missile' 
 May Be a Jet 
theory No. 2
Nov 9, 2010 4:37 PM CST

'Mystery Missile' May Be a Jet

At least one skeptic is positive

(Newser) - Well, this could take the fun out of it: The "mystery missile" might not be a missile after all, just a regular old jet combined with an optical illusion. "It is obviously an airplane," an analyst with GlobalSecurity.org tells Wired . “The aircraft is flying towards...

6 Stories