# What the heck am I seeing here? \[optical illusion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210 "2013-06-29T16:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/41 "2013-07-01T10:22:56Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > You’re looking through an aquarium (with plants rising above the water) placed in front of a window with a mountain view - notice the water color in the foreground No. The “lake” is a low white (probably plaster covered), garden wall, like **DCnDC** said. There is no real trickery. Once you see it, it is clear enough. I think the illusion is probably just an unintentional fluke that someone happened to notice. The sun is highlighting the top of the wall, and this is what looks like a beach on the far side of the lake. What looks like water is the nearer side of the wall, in shade. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/42 "2013-07-01T12:35:35Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > You’re looking through an aquarium (with plants rising above the water) placed in front of a window with a mountain view - notice the water color in the foreground There’s a clever little gif here that shows the wall to be a wall. I actually gasped and lol’ed. It’s amazing how much it looks like water until it doesn’t. 😃 [http://www.moillusions.com/2010/06/house-beside-the-lake-erm-wall.html](http://www.moillusions.com/2010/06/house-beside-the-lake-erm-wall.html) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/43 "2013-07-01T12:59:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > There’s a clever little gif here that shows the wall to be a wall. I actually gasped and lol’ed. It’s amazing how much it looks like water until it doesn’t. 😃 [http://www.moillusions.com/2010/06/house-beside-the-lake-erm-wall.html](http://www.moillusions.com/2010/06/house-beside-the-lake-erm-wall.html) And once you see that it’s a wall, it’s almost impossible to make it look like a lake again. ---
**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 1, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/44 "2013-07-01T13:15:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m more impressed by how the angle of the camera made two foxes look like raccoons. The illusion is uncanny. I actually typed “raccoon” originally and then second-guessed myself, thinking those were foxes. Oh well, looks like I should have stuck with raccoon. The color threw me off. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/45 "2013-07-01T17:46:36Z")
Here’s a different [stucco wall](http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/743/743,1172088090,1/stock-photo-adobe-home-with-stucco-exterior-and-privacy-wall-2732992.jpg) for [comparison](http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/13/F09B535B34473126251C592EC5F1_h316_w628_m5_cReFTyxEz.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/46 "2013-07-02T01:25:24Z")
Tell your eyes to stop color correcting the wall to be more the color of water. It’s not a natural color for water. Also, it’s not reflecting the mountains or sky. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/47 "2013-07-02T02:53:21Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > does anyone know French? in the globe illusion video, what did the guy say in the 4th second? he sounds like he just threw up a bit. “du l’herbe” = “of the grass”. The whole sentence is “On voit du l’herbe” = literally “One sees of the grass” , more smoothly translated as “people see the grass”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/48 "2013-07-02T04:28:23Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > Tell your eyes to stop color correcting the wall to be more the color of water. It’s not a natural color for water. Also, it’s not reflecting the mountains or sky. Another clue is the size of the trees. When you consider how large they would have to be in order to have their apparent size if they were on the opposite shore of the lake, you realize they can’t be as far away as they appear. So you realize what you’re actually seeing are trees that are just on the other side of a nearby wall. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/49 "2013-07-02T06:30:10Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > The dragon with the moving head is a wonderful papercraft… you should print one out (the link from crowmanyclouds post, above) and construct it. You’ll thank me later. You’re right. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4491bb/32.png) [@Ambihelical\_Hexnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambihelical_Hexnut)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/50 "2013-07-03T16:29:33Z")
What am I supposed to be seeing in picture #5? All I see is a towel draped over a rail. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/51 "2013-07-03T16:53:31Z")
> [@Ambihelical\_Hexnut](#): > > What am I supposed to be seeing in picture #5? All I see is a towel draped over a rail. The shadow on the wall looks like the silhouette of a face. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/52 "2013-07-03T17:26:54Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/53 "2013-07-03T17:42:18Z")
Try the Oregon Vortex on for size: ![Several pictures demonstrating the remarkable change of height that takes place anywhere in The Oregon Vortex. The House of Mystery rests almost in the center of the area.](http://www.oregonvortex.com/photographs/backyard1.jpg) At the Ohio state fair once they had a water company advertisement and a spout was susoended in air with water coming out of it. What it was , there was a clear tube in the middle and a spout on top and when the water rushed out (hiding the spout) it appeared as the spout was suspended in air, neat. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/54 "2013-07-03T22:42:29Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > At the Ohio state fair once they had a water company advertisement and a spout was susoended in air with water coming out of it. > > What it was , there was a clear tube in the middle and a spout on top and when the water rushed out (hiding the spout) it appeared as the spout was suspended in air, neat. I’ve seen that too at various county fairs in Ca. [Here’s a fountain in a public place](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-3260277/stock-photo-an-unusual-fountain-at-ieper-ypres-belgium-a-solitary-tap-suspended-in-mid-air-and-running.html) built on the same theme. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/55 "2013-07-04T03:37:28Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > [Here’s a fountain in a public place](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-3260277/stock-photo-an-unusual-fountain-at-ieper-ypres-belgium-a-solitary-tap-suspended-in-mid-air-and-running.html) built on the same theme. That is very cool. I’m kind of embarrassed at how long it took me to figure out how it was being done. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/56 "2013-07-04T07:02:33Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > That is very cool. I’m kind of embarrassed at how long it took me to figure out how it was being done. In the pic I linked, you can actually see the tube going up the middle. The one’s I’ve seen at county fairs (at a booth hawking some brand of bottled water, I forget which brand) did a better illusion. Maybe it all has to do with the ambient lighting. ETA: Gaah! They’re all over the place! [Here’s a page with a compendium of photos](http://armchairtravelogue.blogspot.com/2010/03/magical-floating-water-taps.html) of fountains like this from all over! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/57 "2013-07-04T08:01:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The most amazing audio illusion I’ve ever seen is the [McGurk effect](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-lN8vWm3m0). Again, even when you know what’s happening, you still see the illusion. Armed with this auditory illusion, now go listen to Lady Gaga’s _Poker Face_. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210/58 "2013-07-04T08:08:12Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > Try the Oregon Vortex on for size: > > [Back Yard - The Oregon Vortex and location of the House of Mystery](http://www.oregonvortex.com/photographs-backyard.htm) … A, well done, variation of an [Ames room](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames_room). CMC fnord! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-am-i-seeing-here-optical-illusion/662210.md?page=2)