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See the original image at well.blogs.nytimes.com

Cracked: The truth about the spinning dancer

well.blogs.nytimes.com — The popular circulating email with the spinning dancer, asking readers to tell if she's spinning clock-wise or anti-clock-wise and hence determining the more dominant side of your brain. The mystery behind it has been cracked.

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  • edborden, on 04/30/2008, -0/+16Wild. I saw it flip several times, and after a while it just kept happening. At first, nothing, though.
  • JMSantos, on 04/30/2008, -0/+6I knew it took a while for images and the like to circulate on the "forwarders" email lists, but I never knew it took nearly this long...
  • robotto, on 04/30/2008, -3/+5"well it's an optical illusion, not a brain test"

    more optical illusions here: http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/index.html
  • goerg, on 04/30/2008, -0/+10my brain...explodes...
    • passedoutghost, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3*asplodes
    • yahoofrom, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3Exploding Head Syndrome?
      • teh_techie, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Nope, that's just hearing a sudden loud sound, completely benign to health...
  • jeffmon, on 04/30/2008, -4/+6That's ***** mind bottling.
    • mindsnare, on 04/30/2008, -1/+5bottling?
      • Callidus, on 04/30/2008, -0/+9Mind bottling, you know when your mind gets trapped like in a bottle.
        • yellowfish04, on 04/30/2008, -1/+2oh man...I JUST saw this..aw man....blades of glory? something will ferrel..
    • happytedium, on 04/30/2008, -4/+3boggling*
      • passedoutghost, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3*whoosh* watch Blades of Glory
    • Murdats, on 04/30/2008, -2/+3boggling?
    • itsgotyou, on 04/30/2008, -1/+4mind blotting?
    • aladrin, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2I'm amazed... Apparently nobody else watched Blades of Glory.
      • xtrench, on 04/30/2008, -0/+5Are you really that surprised?
      • Murdats, on 04/30/2008, -0/+5so am I, apparently people have watched Blades of Glory.
  • DickyT83, on 04/30/2008, -1/+41I'd hit it.
  • sn0w, on 04/30/2008, -0/+10Here's an article by clinical neurologist Stephen Novella about the spinning dancer, and why it doesn't say anything about your so-called dominant side: http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php?p ...
  • MikeXpop, on 04/30/2008, -0/+8I just can't get over the fact that she's jumping (watch the shadow).
    • darou, on 04/30/2008, -2/+0Actually, doesn't the shadow just turn ONE way?
  • pinkSocks, on 04/30/2008, -0/+9This isn't "cracking" it. Cracking it would be figuring out which way it was rendered. Clockwise or counterclockwise? I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT!!
  • cyberghost232, on 04/30/2008, -6/+1"anti-clock-wise". I thought it was count clock-wise.
    • AntzNZ, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3You learn something every day then, don't you?
    • aladrin, on 04/30/2008, -0/+6And here I thought it was 'counter clockwise' or 'widdershins'.
    • Goldbricker, on 04/30/2008, -1/+1I have never in my life heard "anti-clock wise
  • Incosian, on 04/30/2008, -1/+27When I read the title I thought this was an article from Cracked.com about the spinning dancer and was expecting hilarity.
    Needless to say, I'm disappointed.
    • teh_techie, on 04/30/2008, -1/+1In order to avoid future disappointment, you should look underneath to see what website it's going to link to....
  • tetsuwan, on 04/30/2008, -0/+4Ha, it's pretty funny to figure out how to flip the rotation direction intentionally. I do it by looking at the foot and it's reflection and "forcing" it into the new direction.
  • Gizza, on 04/30/2008, -6/+2This is stupid. No matter how hard I concentrate on it I can see it spinning anything but clockwise. Which according to that suggests I use more of my right side and are more creative than logical. Funny seeing as how I'm a programmer without a creative bone in my body.
  • ryancalderoni, on 04/30/2008, -0/+6I think I see the crack!
  • TEHxINTERWEBS, on 04/30/2008, -0/+23She waved at me... What does that mean?
    • containimated, on 04/30/2008, -0/+8She was in a closet making babies and one of the babies looked at me.
  • poopdigger, on 04/30/2008, -1/+3If you look at the shadow of her raised foot, it actually makes more sense for her to be spinning clockwise. If she is upright, you should only see that shadow pass across the screen when her raised foot is closest to you- which indicates clockwise spin. If you see a counterclockwise spin and take the shadow into account, you will notice something is not quite straight. Nevertheless, the first time I look at it I always automatically see her going counterclockwise, and can only change her direction by forcing myself.
    My conclusion is that the so-called "right-brained" people generally have more artistic training, and thus are better at taking things like shadows into account automatically. And to be honest, this article cracked *****, although it was interesting.
    • myshl0ng, on 04/30/2008, -1/+2Reflection, not a shadow.
    • erictheturtle, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2Hai Nguyen in the article's comments says "She is definitely spinning counter-clockwise. The shadow (or reflection) of her feet on the floor is a dead give-away. Look at the shadow of the raised foot. It’s making an ellipse on the floor, only with its bottom half cropped off the frame. Can you see that this ellipse is rotating counter-clockwise?"

      My conclusion is that the so-called "left-brained" people generally pay more attention to details, and thus are better at taking things like shadows into account automatically.
    • 12340987, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1I agree, the reflection only works if she's turning in one direction.
  • Pentagarn, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1If you're having trouble seeing it the other way, concentrate on her foot at the bottom. Scroll the rest of the image off the page if you have to. It might help you see the dual nature of the image so you can see it rotate the other way.
  • CarStan, on 04/30/2008, -0/+28You spin me right round, baby, left round, like a... WTF?
    • Hangly, on 04/30/2008, -3/+3like a stripper baby right round round round.
    • wastedlife, on 04/30/2008, -1/+1I can't get the image of a spinning ***** out of my head.
  • happytedium, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3At first I see clockwise, but as soon as I start reading the text below it in my head she starts moving counter-clockwise. :O
    • okgaz, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3Same here! If I look at the text above her she spins one way and below her the other! Ha, we're the ones who cracked it ;D
  • yellowfish04, on 04/30/2008, -2/+10I can't see her go counter-clockwise!! All I can see is clockwise!! gah, halp!!
    • yellowfish04, on 04/30/2008, -1/+2ho-ly .. *****

      I have to say that was the first thing that actually made me ***** bricks online. ***** crazy.
    • linagee, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Do you use an apple computer too?
      • Falldog, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1I just brought up my laptop in order to see if it was because of my Mac, wasn't the case.
    • Falldog, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1You and me both :(
    • creepydarkwurm, on 04/30/2008, -0/+0Watch the shadows/reflection, for me thats the key to the illusion and being able to flip the "rotation".
    • squaat, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Try scrolling the page down so you can only see her legs. That worked for me
  • mohsenxp, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1It depends largely at what time you first look at the animated image.
    If you close your eyes and try to open them at the exact time her legs are directly over each other, then it will be easier to decide yourself which direction she is moving in.
    If however you are looking at her mid-motion, then you will constantly see her leg going one direction, and it is very hard for your brain to change what it sees because you are following her direction already. Your brain is being told she is moving in x direction.
  • geffo, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1to me it all seems to be in the shadow of the feet if i blink as the shadow disappears i can pretty much flip the perceived spin every time.
    mind that if you look at something long enough you will probably see what ever you want anyway.
    • CarStan, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2I read your comment several times to think about what you said and
      WOAH, BOOBIES!! OGC
  • kungfumaniac, on 04/30/2008, -1/+15I'm more concerned with the silhouette nipples
  • itsgotyou, on 04/30/2008, -0/+5The ***** whore made me dizzy looking at her spinning.
  • baconz, on 04/30/2008, -1/+2It depends entirely on where you first see the sticky-outy leg.
  • jakobmakob, on 04/30/2008, -1/+7Gah, the promise of a Cracked.com article in the title, and it's the NY Times. Thanks a lot.
  • CyberStriker, on 04/30/2008, -2/+3When you see it, you'll ***** bricks.
  • gangxue, on 04/30/2008, -7/+0I only come to look
    http://www.huohua001.com.cn
  • hydehk, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Digg this if you are tried of people sending this picture to your facebook
  • Hangly, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1I can't make it go counter-clockwise, try as I might.
  • diggstown, on 04/30/2008, -0/+7You dumb bastards. It's not spinning clockwise or counterclockwise.

    It's a Sailboat!
  • tylerni7, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2The mystery behind it is cracked? Since when was this ever a mystery?
  • lucutus, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2I opened three windows with the rotating image and re-sized each window so I could only see from the hips up. Quite odd to see them appear to constantly change direction. Sometimes two would appear counter clockwise while one appeared clockwise and vice versa. I think without the shadow (which indicates clockwise) it is easy to see both directions.
  • TKardinal, on 04/30/2008, -3/+1I'm having difficulty with the idea of "truth" and "Cracked.com" in the same Digg.
  • CressCrowbits, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Maybe i'm being dumb but I cannot possibly fathom how it could be seen as rotating counter-clockwise. Despite it being in silhoutte you can still clearly make out when she is facing towards you and when she is facing away. I don't get it.
    • Vuredel, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1That's how I thought at first, too (though I saw it counter-clockwise first). I could only see it clockwise after using the line cheat link. It was weird when I first used it, too, because it really screwed with my head for a few seconds.
      After a bit of practice, I was able to switch back and forth at will.
  • groone, on 04/30/2008, -0/+4Dugg for the use of "anti-clock-wise" and those against the clockwise movement.
  • Yage2006, on 04/30/2008, -1/+2The popular circulating email ?
    Who the ***** forwards crap like this ?
    Anyone forwarding crap like that. "witch is often dangerous i might add" Deserves to get blacklisted.
  • bemenaker, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2and if you look inside yourself, you will see, it is not the dancer that is spinning, everyone knows that's impossible, but it is yourself that is spinning.
  • parliboy, on 04/30/2008, -1/+0When I observe her ponytail, it becomes clear to be that it is rotating clockwise. Same with her foot. There are definite references for me. But when I look at her shadow, it moves from right to left on the screen. This is only possible if she rotates counterclockwise.

    From this, I surmise that the person who made this is just trying to screw with us. I move on with my life.
  • MrFurious2k, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3All I see are nipples and perky boobs.
  • PixelD, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2Yep. Looks like a sailboat to me.
  • microbefox, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Wow, it flips several times for me like the first comment. Awesome illusion!
  • AROERS, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1lame, just an animated gif. Took a look @ the frames a while ago
  • Ouroborus69, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Spinning? Was she spinning? I was just looking at her nipples!
  • daGUY, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Anyone else read the comments from that Ed Pischedda guy? He's convinced that the animation actually does change direction, but it does so randomly so that the viewer thinks it's an optical illusion. Of course, if multiple people look at the image simultaneously, they'll each see it change directions at different times, which clearly makes his theory impossible.

    Never mind the fact that (AFAIK) there's no way to create a single GIF image that rearranges its frames at random intervals every time you load it...
    • getbuzy, on 04/30/2008, -0/+0um...but you can have a different gif load each time you refresh the page and they could have been made to change direction at different times.
      • daGUY, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1Okay, still, if two people are looking at the same image at the same time, and they each think it's spinning in a different direction...
    • OlGriz61, on 05/31/2008, -0/+0None of you seem to realize that both are possible: the video clip contains an optical illusion, and it's programmed/"filmed" to really change directions.

      That the image really does change directions is obvious to me - I use a lap-top and my lack of much in the way of video acceleration makes the dancer's pause and change of directions quite noticeable. So I'd say that Ed Pischedda guy is a borderline genius.
  • dcshiderly, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1there's a problem here, and that's the fact that the reflection actually does give clues about depth. The model is spinning counterclockwise, as if she wasn't the CW-spinning right foot would be visible in the reflection at the foot's perihelion to the viewer. Since it obviously disappears from the bottom of the frame, the model is spinning CCW. Q.E.D.
  • dslartoo, on 04/30/2008, -0/+2I hate this damned image. I can only see her spin clockwise unless I use the "cheat" images provided.....whereupon my brain locks into THAT perception and I can't see her spinning anything but counterclockwise. I give up.

    Great article, though. At least now I can finally see it going the other way round. I was convinced everyone else was out of their heads.
  • missanthrope, on 04/30/2008, -0/+1Try as I may to see it spinning CCW, all she does is go CW for me so, illusion, test, or whatever, something's not working up there...
  • jedcred, on 04/30/2008, -0/+0I'm wondering if this is happening for others who can see both images:
    does she seem like she's rotating slower clockwise than she is when she's rotating counter-clockwise?
  • diggenerate, on 04/30/2008, -2/+2this isn't even a ***** challenge it is quite obvious that the bitch is spinning clockwise. that isn't even an optical illusion. wtf
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