You stand in a doorway with your arms straight down at your sides. Keeping your arms straight, you spread them and push ourward hard with the backs of your wrists against the doorway. You do this for about 30 seconds and then step out from the doorway. If you just relax your arms, you find them floating up, on their own to an almost horizontal level. We used to do this at parties and in school, etc. but although it seemed to work for everyone, no one knew what was really happening. Is there a clear description someplace that more or less explains the phenomenon? Not looking for WAGs here. tx, C.
It’s hard to see how this could be a “tactical” illusion. “Tactile” perhaps?
It would be tactical if a Navy Seal showed the illusion to a Gurkha.
I don’t know what it’s called, but I still do it from time to time just because it’s almost creepy how well it works. I would make my friends push outward almost as hard as they could for a full (we watched a clock) 60 seconds and not tell them what was going to happen so they didn’t know what to expect.
I learned it on Mr Wizard.
I always figured it had something to do with your muscles cramping up, but it’s probably a chemical thing.
I have always wondered about that. Neat! I love the Internet!
:smack:Of course I meant tactile. I knew it was wrong when I wrote it, but I didn’t exactly know why, so I kept it.
Wonderfully informative explanation (and I’m a former science teacher). Recent advances in science have provided this understanding. The future is not so dim!
Though for an interesting read on tactical illusions, I’d suggest the story of how magician Jasper Maskelyne made a battleship appear on the Thames, moved Alexandria three miles to confuse German bombers, and made Erwin Rommel think he was being attacked from the south, while the actual attack was coming from the north. (Although I think nobody’s quite sure how much exactly is true about these stories…)
fascinating stuff, thanks very much for posting this. i’d never heard of him 
great story, true or not
Hey, I used to do this, but while twisting my arms (rotate your arm so your palm faces back, then against the door frame, then push). It made my arms rise to the front instead!
Sort of related - when I was 11 I broke my left leg and was in a cast from mid-thigh to toe for 2 1/2 months. When they cut it off, my leg rose involuntarily and I had to purposefully hold it down for awhile. It felt really creepy and I just about puked.
I figure my leg muscles just got used to holding up the extra weight and didn’t immediately adjust when the cast came off. BTW, there was a ton of nasty dead skin and long black hair on that leg. I was blond and had no hair to speak of on the other leg. Weird.
“Tactical Illusion” could be a good name for a prog rock band.
A ball gag works on the same principle.