Optical illusions

How old is your hearing?
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As we get older our ability to hear high pitched sounds decreases. The younger you are the higher the frequency you can hear. Take this test to find out if your hearing is older or younger than you are!

3D Swivel Heads
3D swivel head illusions

Cut out and print our incredible 3D swivel head illusions and they will appear to follow you around the room! There are many characters to choose from and you can even colour your own!

The spinning silhouette illusion
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This staggering illusion will blow your mind! Some see the ballerina spinning clockwise while others see her spinning anti- clockwise. How can this be?

The rotating mask illusion
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This amazing illusion is so strong that even when we are aware that we are looking at the concave, reverse side of the mask we cannot stop ourselves perceiving it as a convex, protruding face!

My stupid foot
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So you think you can control your foot? Take this challenge and you'll find out that your foot has a mind of its own! Admittedly this isn't an optical illusion but it's fun all the same.

Motion induced blindness
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A truly astounding visual effect that demonstrates how we can be 'blind' to real objects under certain conditions.

After Images: music stars
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An after image is an image that you are able to see after you have stopped looking at the object. These amazing illusions leave you with an image of three famous music stars: Amy Winehouse, Bono and Michael Jackson.

Colour perception
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Quite simply these are some of the most staggering optical effects I have ever seen. I guarantee you will not believe your eyes. These astounding illusions were created by R. Beau Lotto. Why not visit Professor Lotto's lab to find out more about these wonderful curiosities.

Coloured text mind masher
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Are you ready for your left brain to battle with your right brain? Sounds bizarre. Try this classic mind boggler if you're brave enough.

Double meanings
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Four 'word within word' illusions. There are two words in each shape but can you find them? Take your time and look carefully and they will appear.

How many 'F's?
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Count all the Fs in a piece of text. You'd think it should be simple!

Reading test
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Read a simple piece of text out loud. What can go wrong?

Colour perception 2
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More incredulous effects to bamboozle your eyeballs.

Mona Lisa
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An astounding optical effect. Things look fine until you turn the images the right way up. Now you see that one Mona looks terrible. Why is it so difficult to recognise the ugly Mona when the paintings are upside down?

Spiral pinwheel illusion
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Stare at the centre of the pinwheel for about 30 seconds then look at the back of your hand. You should see a scary flesh creep effect. Ych a fi!

Pseudo motion images
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These amazing patterns confound your brain into imagining a rotating motion that just isn't there ... utterly amazing and a little unnerving.

After image
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An after image is an image that you are able to see after you have stopped looking at the object . This optical illusion leaves you with a colourful after image of the 'Union Jack' .

The breathing shapes illusion
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When our view of reality is obscured it isn't always easy to see the wood for the trees.

Dimple or pimple
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Pre-conceptions and assumptions are important ... they even affect the way we see the world around us.

Jumbled words
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If the first and last letters of a word are in the correct order we can usually read it quite happily. This activity sheds some light on why most of us find 'French Connection UK' t-shirts so offensive at first glance.

Rotating gears
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As you move your eyes around the image you'll see the pseudo motion of the gears rotating in the periphery of your vision. Very macabre. WARNING: don't look at this for too long ... you'll start to feel sick.