# optical illusion **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 24, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759 "2008-01-24T02:07:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/1 "2008-01-24T02:07:06Z")
The pink dots/green dots illusion. I just saw this. It is found in multiple places and clearly has been known for a long time, but it looks pretty cool. This web site names names, but I don’t know where it started. [http://www.hemmy.net/2006/03/26/optical-illusion/](http://www.hemmy.net/2006/03/26/optical-illusion/) ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Mood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@Blue\_Mood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Mood)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/2 "2008-01-24T14:15:49Z")
Wow - that’s amazing. I even isolated one dot (by covering the others with paper) just to see if it was a trick and they really did change from pink to green. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/3 "2008-01-24T14:24:01Z")
The pink dots seem to disappear entirely if you keep your eyes locked on the crosshairs. It’s pretty amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/4 "2008-01-24T15:37:41Z")
It’s a fake. Just paste it into paint and the dot won’t move. Try it and see! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/5 "2008-01-24T15:46:54Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] It’s a fake. Just paste it into paint and the dot won’t move. Try it and see! [/QUOTE] This is a whoosh. Please tell me you understand why this doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/6 "2008-01-24T15:47:59Z")
This illusion reminds me of one I saw when I was a kid. It was a green & black striped, American flag with black stars on an orange field. You were supposed to stare at it for a minute, then stare at a white wall. You would see the American flag in the proper colors on the wall. I love that whole phenomenon. I have a game I’ll play sometimes if I catch myself staring off for a minute at nothing (there is actually stuff there, I am just not actually looking at it intentionally, or thinking about it consciously), I’ll shut my eyes and look at the negative image against my eyelids and try to pick out what the different stuff is. It’s harder than it sounds. That said, man, some of those comments below the animation are so stupid! “it’s fake” “it’s a scam” etc… Way to completely miss the point, guys. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/7 "2008-01-24T16:04:13Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] This is a whoosh. Please tell me you understand why this doesn’t work. [/QUOTE] Oh Jesus I hope it was a whoosh! I laughed when I read it but it never occurred to me that there was the possibility that he was serious… ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/8 "2008-01-24T16:14:40Z")
The dot turns green for me but doesn’t disappear. ??? I can never get those “stare at these blobby dots and watch a picture magically appear” things to work either. Edit: spoke too soon; tried again and the dots did disappear for a second and then there was suddenly a double circle, one of all pink dots on the outside and all green dots on the inside. Weird! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/9 "2008-01-24T16:15:13Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] This is a whoosh. Please tell me you understand why this doesn’t work. [/QUOTE] It wasn’t a whoosh, it was an illusion. Copy and paste his post into notepad, and you’ll see it really said Throat Warbler Mangrove. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/10 "2008-01-24T16:16:59Z")
[QUOTE=missbunny] The dot turns green for me but doesn’t disappear. ??? [/QUOTE] Keep staring at the + in the middle for, say, 30 seconds. Make sure your eyes don’t move even a little bit. Eventually the rest of the pink dots will fade away and you will be left with a blank gray square with an orbiting green dot. It takes a little while to happen (unlike the initial green, which happens right away). ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/11 "2008-01-24T16:20:27Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Oh Jesus I hope it was a whoosh! I laughed when I read it but it never occurred to me that there was the possibility that he was serious… [/QUOTE] I think he’s referring to this entry in the comments of the linked site: > [@Some bonehead named Rita](#): > > This optical illusion is a scam. The dots don’t naturally start turning green and disappearing because of your eyes. Check it out..this picture is a gif. If you copy and paste it into paint, the dots will NOT move. (I’ve tried it) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/12 "2008-01-24T16:27:34Z")
I hope that’s what it is, rather than quoting it in agreement. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/13 "2008-01-24T20:57:53Z")
I didn’t even need to stare at the +. I was reading the instructions and when I reached the right hand side of the first line, I noticed in my peripheral vision the dot below had turned green and all the others disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/14 "2008-01-24T21:05:28Z")
Sorry I haven’t been back earlier. Yes, I got a kick out of some of those comments by people obviously unclear on the concept. Thanks, guys, for at least _questioning_ whether I could actually be that stupid! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/15 "2008-01-24T21:46:28Z")
I’ve always liked this particular illusion and it frightens me that people think it’s some kind of computer trickery/fake image made to freak them out. Makes me want to strongarm them into a science class. (Glad to hear you aren’t one of 'em **Dinsdale**. I figured you weren’t.) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/16 "2008-01-25T01:12:35Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] This illusion reminds me of one I saw when I was a kid. It was a green & black striped, American flag with black stars on an orange field. You were supposed to stare at it for a minute, then stare at a white wall. You would see the American flag in the proper colors on the wall. [/QUOTE] It’s on [this album cover](http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gvfpxqugldae) if anyone wants to see it. Except that the star field is yellow on this one. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/optical-illusion/434759/17 "2008-01-25T02:16:27Z")
It’s pretty cool, but I can’t get my eyes to stay open and focused long enough to get them all to disappear. I get to the last three or four and then I have to blink.