# Best optical illusion EVER! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 10, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834 "2006-07-10T07:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/41 "2006-07-11T03:35:46Z")
LCD monitor, I was able to look back and forth and continue to see the illusion for at least 15 seconds, at which point I closed the window. It didn’t seem to be going away. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/42 "2006-07-11T05:11:53Z")
15" LCD MacBook Pro screen. Stared at image for 30-40 seconds. When I clicked back, the color image appeared and stayed for 10-15 seconds. The trick is to keep looking at the dot in the center. The moment you avert your gaze, it becomes grayscale. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/43 "2006-07-12T11:48:12Z")
Oh great, **now** you tell me. What the heck. if I don’t avert my eyes, I won’t get to enjoy the colors over the entire photograph. What a lousy trick !!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/44 "2006-07-12T12:46:35Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I’m sure that’s how it’s done, in fact, because when I recombined the image based on the above assumptions, I got [this](http://www.gurman.co.uk/stuff/manzanarecombined.jpg). [/QUOTE] Nice! But where are the French taunters? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/45 "2006-07-12T13:47:59Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] It was a cool effect but it only lasted about a quarter second for me. [/QUOTE] Are you keeping your eyes focused on the dot? When I look elsewhere it goes back to b/w, but when I concentrate on the dot again, it becomes color, and this effect obtains for many seconds. Oh, and I have one of those big 'ole desk-top monitors. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/46 "2006-07-12T22:16:34Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] But where are the French taunters? 😃 [/QUOTE] I dunno about French taunters.. Two facts you should probably know about the castle in the images are:[ul] [li]It’s [Manzanares el Real](http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Western_Europe/Spain/Manzanares/), just north of Madrid.[/li][li]It was built by the Mendoza family in the 15th Century.[/li][li][One of the Mendozas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro%2C_Cardinal_Gonzalez_de_Mendoza) became a Cardinal, devoted to [Queen Isabella](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_of_Castile).[/li][/ul]Sorry, make that **three** facts you should probably know about the castle. It’s _just possible_ that if you look carefully at the image of the castle, you _might_ be able to see (but probably shouldn’t _expect_ to see) **THE SPANISH INQUISITION!** ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/47 "2006-07-12T23:13:52Z")
[QUOTE=Antonius Block] …It’s _just possible_ that if you look carefully at the image of the castle, you _might_ be able to see (but probably shouldn’t _expect_ to see) **THE SPANISH INQUISITION!** [/QUOTE] …I didn’t expect that. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/48 "2006-07-12T23:18:46Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] …I didn’t expect that. [/QUOTE] Nobody does. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/49 "2006-07-13T01:22:49Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] …I didn’t expect that. [/QUOTE] Brilliantly understated. I actually put an extra few hundred bucks into our new medical-savings account at work just so that I could get a prescription pair of flight goggles like this. Yeah, it’s nuts, but it must be done! Heh. (Heh, I had to make the text black so the link wouldn’t be so obvious, but the underline still shows up. C’est la guerre.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834/50 "2006-07-19T15:05:15Z")
Too cool! 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-optical-illusion-ever/363834.md?page=2)