# Just like LSD, but without the drugs. A really neat optical illusion. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2010, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532 "2010-05-15T11:13:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/21 "2010-05-17T14:04:53Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > That one didn’t work. I mean, the page worked – but I didn’t get the promised effect from it. ☹ It works better with a larger image, but I couldn’t find one. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/22 "2010-05-17T14:08:50Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I find that if I play Rock Band or Guitar Hero intensely for a while, the same effect happens. If I turn my head towards my front window, it looks all “watery.” > > Anyone else notice this? Not watery, but everything does constantly look like it is moving slightly upward for a couple minutes, due to looking at notes moving downward for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/23 "2010-05-17T16:42:55Z")
I clicked on the first one, and I have to admit, it was the second-trippiest optical illusion I’ve ever seen (it only affected a couple object in my vision for some reason. Trippier was the part when I was looking at it and it seemed to stop!) The first-trippiest? [Lilac Chaser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilac_chaser). ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/24 "2010-05-17T17:52:23Z")
Thanks for this. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/25 "2010-05-17T18:26:16Z")
I like [these](http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html). They seem to be moving, but they aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/26 "2010-05-17T18:40:31Z")
Hmm, migraine sufferer taking an anti-epileptic which causes myoclonic twitch… dare I click the link? _ponders for a brief moment_ Yes, I dare click the link. 😃 Whoa!!! > [@Nancarrow](#): > > I’ve also seen optical illusions with a purely black and white strobing image that somehow differentiate into red and green bands. I read about these and played with writing a VB program that does this! I can’t remember what it’s called, but the effect is named after its discoverer I think. Supposedly if you have an on-off cycle divided into 6 parts, with a different shade of lightness for each part, you can get red by flashing gray-white-white-black-black-black, green from white-gray-white-black-black-black, and blue from white-white-gray-black-black-black. Seems to have to do with the response times of retinal cone cells to rapidly changing light levels. To me the “blue” was the strongest whereas the “red” seemed more of an orangish-amber hue. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/27 "2010-05-17T18:48:05Z")
[Found it](http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/col_benham/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532/28 "2010-05-18T10:18:31Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Yup, but then there’s a whole bunch of other neat stuff on the page to keep you away from real life for a little while. I’ve come across the [planetarium](http://www.neave.com/planetarium/) page before. It’s a great way to waste an hour or so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-like-lsd-but-without-the-drugs-a-really-neat-optical-illusion/539532.md?page=1)