# What is the name of these type of pictures? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 18, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015 "2003-05-18T05:08:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Second](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Second](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/1 "2003-05-18T05:08:14Z")
[Click Here](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0204/teapotsirds_winfree_big.gif) to see what I mean. I have seen plenty of these type of pictures but never a name for them. I would like to look up some more online, but “3-D Picture” does not quite do it for me in google. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/2 "2003-05-18T05:10:07Z")
[Stereograms](http://www.google.ca/search?q=stereograms&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&meta=) ---
**Author:** ![Second](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Second](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/3 "2003-05-18T05:12:12Z")
Thank you, that was very quick :). ---
**Author:** ![TaxGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TaxGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaxGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/4 "2003-05-18T05:28:37Z")
I have never ever ever ever been able to make this work for me. I stare and stare but the hidden 3-D image never pops out. Is there something wrong with my technique or are some people just not able to do these for some reason? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/5 "2003-05-18T05:32:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TaxGuy \* > \*\*I have never ever ever ever been able to make this work for me. I stare and stare but the hidden 3-D image never pops out. > > Is there something wrong with my technique or are some people just not able to do these for some reason? \*\* Hint: It’s a sailboat. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Sherbet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@Mr\_Sherbet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Sherbet)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/6 "2003-05-18T05:40:26Z")
…its a scooter. 🙂 can anyone tell me what the one in the example above is? I can see a circle, and some things popping out the sides but i cant make it out. ---
**Author:** ![lurker\_anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@lurker\_anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurker_anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/7 "2003-05-18T05:42:06Z")
you have got to let your eyes “unfocus”. have an adult beverage or two and then try it…😉 try this out in a contrast tiled floor. stare it with unfocused eyes and you will see the the contrast “lift” and you will think you will have to wade through a foot deep floor. or is it just me? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Sherbet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@Mr\_Sherbet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Sherbet)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/8 "2003-05-18T05:45:44Z")
i too do the unfocus thing. I think the point of staring and staring and staring is to make people just lose focus and then it’ll pop out. Because you see how the pictures seem like a repeating pattern? I just cross my eyes until two of the same parts in the pattern are on top of each other, then the image pops out. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/9 "2003-05-18T05:53:25Z")
I start looking “through” the monitor screen, letting my eye focus lengthen, while the picture loads. And I see a tea pot in the OP link. ---
**Author:** ![lurker\_anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@lurker\_anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurker_anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/10 "2003-05-18T06:01:42Z")
mr. sherbert, you hit the nail on the head about crossing your eyes. i assumed that not everyone could do that, so i just failed to mention it. thank you. ---
**Author:** ![lurker\_anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@lurker\_anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurker_anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/11 "2003-05-18T06:02:55Z")
sorry for misspelling your name, mr. sherbet. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/12 "2003-05-18T06:10:15Z")
[It’s a tea pot.](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html) I see them much easier in printed versions, it took me about 3 minutes to see it on screen where I can usually see it within 30 seconds with a printed version. The trick is to focus halfway between the screen (or priinted picture) and your eye. I don’t know how to expain the method behind this but stare at the picture and let your eyes drift. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/13 "2003-05-18T06:12:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lurker anonymous \* > \*\*you have got to let your eyes “unfocus”. have an adult beverage or two and then try it…😉 > try this out in a contrast tiled floor. stare it with unfocused eyes and you will see the the contrast “lift” and you will think you will have to wade through a foot deep floor. > or is it just me? \*\* I have to agree that the “adult beverage or two” helps quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Sherbet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@Mr\_Sherbet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Sherbet)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/14 "2003-05-18T06:48:58Z")
I think its harder using a moniter because when you cross your eyes slightly then the sides of the moniter interfer with the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/15 "2003-05-18T07:02:59Z")
I’m not trying to brag, but am I the only person who can see these things in about one second? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/16 "2003-05-18T11:59:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Achernar \* > I’m not trying to brag, but am I the only person who can see these things in about one second? After a little practice I can also see it in a second or two. As you will see I got a lot of practice with my experiments: For the image to work properly three things need to fall into place: (1) focus, (2) convergence and (3) brain. I believe the brain is easily tricked if the first two are in place. I am near sighted so if I take off my eyeglasses the focusing part is quite easy. It is the convergence part that is the most difficult and, for me, the trick is to look _through_ the screen at something farther away. Once you get the correct eye convergence the left and right eyes are looking at different parts of the graphic which superimpose in the brain to form a single image. It took me a while but [I have marked on that graphic two spots that correspond to the same spot in the stereo image](http://sailor.teemingmillions.com/images/teapotsirds_winfree_big1d.gif). If you look at that image you should see three arrows: You see two with each eye but two of them superimpose in the stereo image. I was somewhat surprised to find they were closer together than I expected as the distance between them is only 80 pixels. I can adjust the size of the image on my screen and I can see the effect best when the distance between those two points is between 20 and 35 mm. The distance between the center of my eyes I measured as 72 mm so the convergence of my eyes is such that I am looking at a virtual object placed between 30 cm (~12" for a 20 mm separation on screen) and 40 cm (~16" for a 35 mm separation on screen). This also surprises me as I would have guessed farther away. My question is this: How the heck do they _make_ such an image? Also: it seems one could make an animated movie with a sequence of such images. Has it been done? ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/17 "2003-05-18T12:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*Hint: It’s a sailboat. > > 😃 \*\* It’s a schooner ---
**Author:** ![Erroneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@Erroneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erroneous)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/18 "2003-05-18T12:56:43Z")
I don’t know if my eyes are just really floppy, but I can also see these things superfast. And I agree with what other people have said: just practice making the similar areas combine. If you’re a beginner, crossing your eyes can be easier, but keep in mind that most images are made to be viewed with the opposite, ‘wide-eyed’ technique of unfocusing, so objects will apear to sink away from you rather than bulge out at you if you go cross-eyed. The images are created by taking a greyscale image, where lighter shades of grey are to appear closer, and running it through a program that generates these images. Back when this fad was at its peak, I had the official Magic Eye CD rom, and I think it had a few animated examples on it, as well as software to make your own still images. Incidentally, I’ve also seen a few hand-drawn examples, which are pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/19 "2003-05-18T13:09:02Z")
You don’t _cross_ your eyes, you need uncross them - relax them, as if you’re looking into the middle distance. Then your eyes should “accidentally” lock part of the repeated pattern and its neighbour as if they’re one image, rather than two different ones. Then the subtle differentials that are made in the repeated pattern will build the 3-D image. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015/20 "2003-05-18T14:41:17Z")
What **jjimm** said, absolutely, the eyes are _uncrossed_. It can actually help viewing them on a monitor, focus through the image onto your reflection in the monitor screen (for the teapot image start with your head 6 inches from the screen). Relax. You get better with practice, the first I saw (a gazillion years ago) took several minutes, this teapot took several seconds. I understood them to be called _Auto-stereograms_ or _(Single Image) Random Dot Stereograms_ (but never the ugly, proprietary, _Magic Eye_). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-these-type-of-pictures/176015.md?page=2)