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Optical Illusion - Which Way is She Moving?
moillusions.com — If you look at the spinning girl's silhouette below, you will think it is spinning clockwise, probably. When you check her shadow below, momentarily the spinning direction changes in your mind, and now the girl is spinning counter-clockwise.
msaleem- 2553 diggs
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- DariusMonsef, on 11/01/2007, -3/+129It would be fun to create and animated GIF like this, but just switch the direction in the animation... just to mess with people.
- msaleem, on 10/11/2007, -16/+5That's what I thought was happening at first. But after staring at it for 30 minutes I'm pretty sure that's not what's happening.
- Azimuth1, on 10/11/2007, -1/+55"But after staring at it for 30 minutes"
Dude...
- Azimuth1, on 10/11/2007, -1/+55"But after staring at it for 30 minutes"
- sonochamp, on 10/11/2007, -9/+12I'm pretty sure that's what's happening.
- joel8x, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3It definitely changes direction - when she is going clockwise she is bouncing on her left leg, and counterclockwise she is bouncing on her right leg. I call shenanigans.
- jmp478, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4Actually, you're right! it is switching in the animation. I placed the mouse right below her foot sticking up in the air, and every time she went counter-clockwise, her foot was above the mouse. Then, when she started turning clockwise, her foot was below the mouse.... It's not an illusion. it's just a trick.
- Menzo, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0Yep, you can also watch the leg she's standing on. After 40 cycles it changes to the other.
I have no idea why some people here actually believe they can "Change" her direction at will.
Stare at the freaking leg. The other illusion with the circle and dot also changes too after a few seconds. My goodness its just a load of tricks. No illusions at all. - detalubo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2"After 40 cycles it changes to the other."... I saved the file and opened it in ImageReady to make sure I was always viewing the same few frames... and I could still control her direction. I have no clue what you are talking about. The limbs switch when she changes directions because your brain sees her front as her back.
- joel8x, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3After spending way too much time looking at this I came to the conclusion that I was in fact wrong - it is an illusion because you never know which way she faces since she is a silhouette. It really is a good illusion.
- Menzo, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0Yep, you can also watch the leg she's standing on. After 40 cycles it changes to the other.
- jmp478, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4Actually, you're right! it is switching in the animation. I placed the mouse right below her foot sticking up in the air, and every time she went counter-clockwise, her foot was above the mouse. Then, when she started turning clockwise, her foot was below the mouse.... It's not an illusion. it's just a trick.
- joel8x, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3It definitely changes direction - when she is going clockwise she is bouncing on her left leg, and counterclockwise she is bouncing on her right leg. I call shenanigans.
- asuraci, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3It is, but it's not built to do that. That's just essentially how it works and why it's a silhouette.
- DontEatTheFish, on 10/11/2007, -0/+37this really is a great illusion... I can totally see her nipples!
- CMiYC, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9My girlfriend and I were watching together. We started to notice we were saying "she switched" at the same time.
It seems a little odd that we both saw the girl switch directions at the same time.... especially since we were looking from different angles.- dmgctrl, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Yes, I know what you mean. When she appears to be spinning clockwise, she is facing you as her head tips to the left side of the image. When shes spinning anti-clockwise she is facing away from you as her head tips towards the left hand side of the image. Hmmm.
- joel8x, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Ok, I think I get it now - it is an illusion because you don't know when she is facing you since it is a silhouette. It just clicked when someone down below took a freeze frame of the 2 supposed alternate views and they really can be taken either way.
- imdeanlabouty, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4How odd! Especially considering I just opened it in Imageready and can indeed confirm that it's only one revolution looped over and over. No changes.
- themastersb, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3I'm pretty sure it's clockwise. The lighting tricks you
- Prod1gy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5She never faces front, she just goes from left side to right side. I added something to the animation to help:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f270/ivegonesane/20072.gif
The red (left) leg always stays planted while the blue (right) leg swings from left to right in the back, but never coming to the front.
if that makes sense.- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Wow, that's one way to see it.
Pretty cool observation.
Props.
- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Wow, that's one way to see it.
- esac, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I just did a test with 9 other people. It was spinning counter clockwise to me, and while i continued to watch it spin counter clockwise, i asked different people the direction she was spinning in. Of those 9, 6 said clockwise, and 3 said counter clockwise (agreeing with me). Without giving information that it was an optical illusion or prompting to indicate that there was something weird about the picture, 1 lady told me that it changed direction while she was looking at it. However it still continued to spin counter clockwise for me.
- withincontext, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I wonder how many thought you were a creep because she was showing nip.
- zach99998, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/6039/1182903906913oa9.gif
also, it randomly changed on my and totally minef-ed me. just cover the silhouette and look at the shadow to make it change direction, then it becomes very easy. - modex, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This is impossible. I can't stop focusing on her nipples >.<
- msaleem, on 10/11/2007, -16/+5That's what I thought was happening at first. But after staring at it for 30 minutes I'm pretty sure that's not what's happening.
- sdrawkcaB, on 11/01/2007, -19/+284I can only see her spinning counter-clockwise...
- Tamriel, on 10/11/2007, -6/+35The trick is to look at the shadow. Since the doesn't seem to appear to have much depth, just try and tell your mind which way her leg is rotating around her body. I know it sounds strange, but if you focus on the shadow and just sort of think of which way the girl is spinning by just slightly focusing on her foot, then it'll change. At first it'll seem like her leg is on the same plane as her body, then it kind of switches direction. It's really strange, but I can manage to get her to switch directions by just focusing on the shadows and paying attention to the feet out of the top of my vision.
*****. Did that make any sense at all?- asuraci, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The best way is to imagine what you think is her foot facing you, and think of it facing away from you, in the background
- Rodalli, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I found that looking at the shadow didn't work for me, because the image of the female was still too close to the point on the screen where I was focusing. If you focus your vision on a point further down the page, or off to the side, etc., the woman will be in your peripheral field of vision rather than near your focal point. This allows the mind to more easily accept a suggestion concerning the direction the figure is spinning, as it's not receiving as much visual information on the figure as it would be if it were focused on a point closer to the figure.
Or to summarize, look away from the figure to allow your mind to "reset." Then look back to see if your mind changes it's interpretation of which direction she's spinning. You may have to do this a few times to get it to work; I suspect some people are more prone to seeing her moving in one direction over the other. - hulk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@ Tamriel, Yes it did. Thx.
- wildfire, on 10/11/2007, -5/+51I still can't see it going clockwise.
- spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8I didn't to start with, so I tabbed away then looked back a minute or so later and did, then I looked at the silhouette, it changed, and now I can't see it clockwise again
Argh!- deadeye823, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Exact same thing happened to me. I then scrolled down the page, which slowed the animation down, and she changed back to clockwise. Weird!
- spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Okay I've figured it out
As she spins, imagine her raised foot to be tracing the circle that makes up the 'clock', with the clock being almost parallel to the floor but with the edge nearest you raised so it's tiled towards you, with 12 on the clock being at the top, like this: http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitled5tu2.jpg
The figure rises and falls, if the figure is rising as one leg passing behind the other then she will look like she is spinning anti-clockwise (according to the clock as it is in my ***** diagram)
If she is falling as one passes behind the other then she will appear to be spinning clockwise.
you might get to the point where if you're starting at where my hypothetical clock face is you can't stop her flipping every time, if this happens look up at the rest of the figure the split second one leg passes behind the other
My theory is that depending on whether she is rising or falling the clock face is tiled away or towards you, and this changes your perception of it, if you don't see low enough down to see the silhouette then she isn't rising and falling, so she can't flip direction, glancing down at the silhouette at the right time will cause her to flip, which is why some people can't see it, they're just not looking down at the right time
sorry for being so unclear, but I hope this helps some people see it, this is a really cool illusion :) - BruceBogtrotter, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The way i do it is i look at it in my peripheral vision and think about it moving in the opposite direction. I think this works because your brain isnt trying to figure out the depth perception of the woman, so your brain doesnt have a fixed vision of it.
- bobcatred, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6me either. She's clearly going counterclockwise to me. None of the suggestions from other comments have made that any less apparent.
- crazybrit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Maybe if it wasn't going so damn fast...
- spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8I didn't to start with, so I tabbed away then looked back a minute or so later and did, then I looked at the silhouette, it changed, and now I can't see it clockwise again
- chocobomog, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4For me, to see her go clockwise I would stare at the foot on the "ground" and imagine it was her left leg. The toe would point towards you when the body is moving down.
To see her going counter-clockwise, I would stare at the reflection of the foot in the ground. Once I see the shadow turning counter-clockwise, I look at the torso. For some reason, looking at the actual "grounded" foot messes me up and causes me to only see a clockwise turn. That foots toe would be point towards you when the body is moving up.
Once you've mastered this, try staring only at the stretched hand and convince you mind it is spinning the other way. The trick it to imagine the arm is behind the body when you think it is in front of it. . - grumpyrain, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17I was about to give up, even looking at the shadow wasn't helping, then I read the text above it and it changed direction while I was reading. I guess things really are upside down here in the Southern Hemisphere.
- twigboy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1thanks!
now im having trouble trying to make her go back to the way it was before!
- twigboy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1thanks!
- chocobomog, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Another trick:
Imagine you are looking up at her at a 30 degree angle, she is going counter-clockwise.
Imagine you are looking down at her at a -10 degree angle, she is going clockwise. - brimg87, on 10/11/2007, -4/+48I can only see it going clockwise....
- spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Fancy swapping? I can't even imagine it any more
- mozzep, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I too can only see it clockwise
- mozzep, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1*****, I can see it both ways now. after you finish convincing yourself she's spinning clockwise, look at her shadow and imagine it going counterclockwise. You can see it more easily that way.
- BigSax, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Ditto.
Maybe its some sort of right brain, left brain thing. Are you guys who can only see clockwise left handed?- DevilDriver, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I only saw it spinning clockwise, and I happen to be (mostly) left handed.
- M4tt3r, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Click on the image itself to open it in a new window and if you have Firefox, stare at the little icon in the tab, and try to "sink" it up with that. You'll eventually notice she's swinging counter clockwise.
(left handed, btw.) So it doesn't matter for me at least.
- Kallstar, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2If you are having trouble seeing it spin counter clockwise, keep putting your head at steeper and steeper angle towards your lap till you have to strain to see the bottom of the image. Do the reverse to see her spin clockwise. Once you do it a few times it becomes easier to make her "switch" direction. On a side note, Which way is she freaking spinning?
- Bondrake, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Try tilting your head more than 90 degrees with your eyes closed and looking at it again. If it doesn't work, close your eyes and tilt your head further the other way.
(I hope this gets dugg a lot... both because it works and because I will have fun imagining a bunch of people looking at their monitor upside-down thanks to me... don't blame me if your wife looks at you funny)- cyclopsface, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This worked for me. I turned my laptop through 360 degrees slowly and by the time it was back upright, she was spinning clockwise. Looking at the shadow makes it switch back to couner-clockwise. Then I have to turn my monitor again to switch it again!
- crazybrit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2lol, diggers don't have wives.
- nubboi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0worked for me, thanks
- Lion9, on 10/11/2007, -0/+21) cover the body with your hand so you see only the head.
2) picture that going c-clockwise
3) move your hand down a little bit at a time.
4) enjoy
It's weird once you get it, it's just as hard to go back.- Nipsey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This worked for me very well.
- EzarKun, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3she is still spinning counter for me.
th shadow is going out in out from right to left. - gcnaddict, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I see her stationary foot switching direction with each turn while her body turns in one direction (either way works)
Is my head screwed? :s (looks cool though) - SuckMyDigg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I see her spinning clockwise right off the bat. Imagining her arm pulling her slightly in the opposite direction each time she spins causes her to change to counter-clockwise for me. To get her to spin clockwise again I just have to look where her foot touches its shadow and she flips back.
I think if you watch the arm you can imagine if it was spinning faster than her leg and that seems to make her go counter-clockwise. - doniguan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9i know this may seem batty- but twirl your finger in the direction you wish to see her spin. i can get her to change direction almost immediately. just hold your finger up to the screen and twirl it in front of her.
- powatom, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Ha, nice method, this works for me too!
- Tiak, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Wow, that works really well, I noticed I don't have to see my finger, I just have to have it synchronized with the foot being on the left/right.
- Tiak, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'd recommend starting out by staring at her foot really close (possibly while covering her body) and thinking about her foot in the shadow moving back and forth without spinning... From there, it's easy to switch directios... The funny thing is, even if you look away for a long while, she doesn't switch back unless you try to do it again.
- FuriousGopher, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I also tried this trick, having only her foot in my view. I was able to get so good at making her switch directions that I could have her dance back and forth on command
- krasht, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I saw her going clockwise, looked away for 5-10 seconds and then she was going anti clockwise. Now I have a headache.
- beatmonger, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2This was driving me crazy at first because I first saw her spinning counter-clockwise, then it switched to clockwise and I spent at least 5 minutes trying to change it back. I tried every technique mentioned here and still no luck.
Then I found a technique that lets me switch her whenever I want. I pay close attention to when her legs line up and then I choose which direction I want to see her spin when her 2nd leg emerges. Now I can make her change directions every half-turn.
Try it! - thirdeyeopen, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It took me a couple minutes, I eventually had to squint at it and imagine that it was just a pole with an attatchment (the leg) spinnng. Then I was able to switch direction. But then when I tried to switch it back, it got stuck, going back and forth right then left, like the dancer was kicking out right and left alternately. My head started to hurt at that point and I gave up.
- Shelby69, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I did exactly that! Her leg was swinging right then left out towards me, she never completely turned around and yeah my head hurt started to hurt too!
- commitone, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Ok, here's an easy way see it. Look at her stationary foot. Imagine seeing the top of her foot, she then is spinning clockwise. Now imagine seeing the bottom of her foot. She is now spinning counter-clockwise. The real image is spinning clockwise, because in perspective, we would naturally see the top of the foot rather than the bottom.
- hexr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Move the other way, bitch!
Wow, first time a woman does what I say... *sigh* - DIAF, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I couldnt get it to work for 10 minutes. I tried all suggestions and nothing worked. Then I started blinking really fast, basically slowing the framerate down. If the blinks started to land when the legs crossed past each other, all of a sudden she switched and only went back when I did the blinking again. Weird.
- benlindelof, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Not a very good optical illusion if you have to trick your mind to see it a different way.
The shadow and the movement are counter clockwise. The shadow gets deeper when she moves. So unless the shadow gets SHALLOW instead of DEEPER, it's not going to 'switch'.
Dugg down as the epitome of lame.
- Tamriel, on 10/11/2007, -6/+35The trick is to look at the shadow. Since the doesn't seem to appear to have much depth, just try and tell your mind which way her leg is rotating around her body. I know it sounds strange, but if you focus on the shadow and just sort of think of which way the girl is spinning by just slightly focusing on her foot, then it'll change. At first it'll seem like her leg is on the same plane as her body, then it kind of switches direction. It's really strange, but I can manage to get her to switch directions by just focusing on the shadows and paying attention to the feet out of the top of my vision.
- DudeTheNerd, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2My head hurts thats crazy looking
- kitguyy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0This just shows how stupid our brain really is. Whats happening is this; you might notice a little break in the movement just as her legs overlap. If you could split the image in half what you'd see is one half with her right leg going in the screen and the other with her left leg coming towards you. So basically every time her legs overlapp, the image gets mirrored. Now your brain will not pick up this 'small detail' since her body is relatively in the same position (shape) all the time, only the legs are changing. Therefore if you look at the whole image, our brain will fill in the blanks and create the impression that shes moving in only one direction with the same leg up. If you scroll down the page and remove the rest of the body and only look at the legs, with enough practice you can easily tell that she is moving in only one direction but her legs switch every rotation.
Awesome illusion, must've been hard to make.
- kitguyy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0This just shows how stupid our brain really is. Whats happening is this; you might notice a little break in the movement just as her legs overlap. If you could split the image in half what you'd see is one half with her right leg going in the screen and the other with her left leg coming towards you. So basically every time her legs overlapp, the image gets mirrored. Now your brain will not pick up this 'small detail' since her body is relatively in the same position (shape) all the time, only the legs are changing. Therefore if you look at the whole image, our brain will fill in the blanks and create the impression that shes moving in only one direction with the same leg up. If you scroll down the page and remove the rest of the body and only look at the legs, with enough practice you can easily tell that she is moving in only one direction but her legs switch every rotation.
- RioGangsta, on 10/11/2007, -9/+6I'm dumb... can't see it
- CantonDog, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I found it easier to see if you look with your peripheral vision... see the girl in the corner of your eye and you'll get it.
- sylentmode, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0i found it easy to focus directly on her pelvis, you'l notice that the thy position is ambigous...and you will figure out how to switch it quickly
- resplence, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Yes, this is how I managed to get it "working" every time:
1. Focus at the sidebar at the right and just acknowledge and get used to her movement with your peripheral vision.
2. Scroll the page down a bit, while turning to focus on the other side of the page.
3. Around the exact moment you are done scrolling, your sight should be totally focused on the page again, to the left of the image. With your peripheral vision you should see that she's now spinning in the other direction.
4. To get her to spin the other way again, just scroll up again while swiftly passing your eyes above it, then focusing on the sidebar again.
With seconds of practice I got her jumping back and forth. If I keep my focus on her, though, nothing happens.
- shifty2, on 10/11/2007, -6/+121all i know is, in reference to her nipples, she is indeed spinning counter-clockwise.
- wushi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1dugg for the nipples reference
- smittyfree, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Nipples ftw.
- meshman, on 10/11/2007, -5/+60"Now, be honest - how long did it take you to see it spin in both directions? "
Hang on... Still trying. What day is it?- 1337freek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1try to imagine her playing with a basketball in her hand and shes switching the ball hand to hand and moving the ball behind her back like a star player and you'll see it change directions pretty quickly
- tjanson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I was thinking damn, this is stupid, she's definitely spinning ccw after a couple of minutes, looked away (incidentally) and when I looked at the screen again she was spinning cw. Now she's spinning ccw again. Whoa. 8D
- horrorpunk, on 10/11/2007, -3/+25I saw her spinning counter-clockwise...
took about a minute, minute and a half to make my mind "make her" go the other way.- Darkhacker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15"took about a minute, minute and a half to make my mind "make her" go the other way."
Giggity-Giggity! - m3mn0n, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I've got to the point now where I can control it at will.
Look at her for a second, close my eyes, tilt my head right, open them and she's clock-wise.... do the same but tilt my head left, and she's going counter-clockwise... I did that 10 times with only a few seconds apart and she changed directions every time
this isn't an animated gif... this is obviously the workings of the invisible pink unicorn - lewikee, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I finally found the method that works best for me.
I concentrate on her legs, and I say "back" outloud whenever the legs join and I want the spinning leg to be behind her other leg. Then when I want to switch, I say "back" at the other interval.
- Darkhacker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15"took about a minute, minute and a half to make my mind "make her" go the other way."
- Darkhacker, on 10/11/2007, -2/+29hint: if you see her moving in one direction and want to flip her, close your eyes for 0.5 to 1.0 seconds and during this time imagine her spinning in the opposite direction and then open your eyes.
Does anyone have an explanation for how this works?- spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3I've got a theory, give me a second and I'll make an image to show what I'm thinking, can't describe it with words
- Darkhacker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Okay, I figured out how it works. The reason your mind sees it in different directions is because the image is parallel. The line of symmetry is located vertically in the middle when the the image shows her leg at the farthest right point and the farthest left point. The fact that it is a silhouette is very important because since she is all black you cannot determine depth perception accurately. Your mind has to form it. When the image "changes directions" what is really happening is that you are determining on which cycle in the swing is the leg in the front and which is in the background. It appears as though the woman is turning a full 360 but really she is just like a pendulum swinging back and forth and your mind determines which leg is in front during a swing and which is in back. It is your mind trying to figure out the depth of the image.
- woofers07, on 10/11/2007, -10/+1the reason your mind sees it change directions is because THE ANIMATION IS CHANGING DIRECTIONS. Simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Pay close attention to to her head, very close.
- stratdog25, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Youre wrong. I took apart the .gif using IRfanview. It's all a left brain/right brain thing. if you watch her leg at the hip, you can make it change direction on command. It only works for me on the right side though. I can make her change direction by watching the right side, but not the left.
- patik, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1Yep. Those of you posting that the animation is simply being switched are being dugg down, but that's what it is. Just gaze at her head for a while, eyes a little unfocused (like looking at a magic eye image) and you'll notice the blip every ~20 seconds when it changes. You could also open it in an image editor that supports animated gifs (Firewords, ImageReady(?), Flash).
- TheSabre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3No it isn't. The animation goes one way and one way only. The simplest explanation is that your mind can't tell which way it is going. So it picks one and if you try hard enough, you can tell your mind to choose the other way. That's all. No trickery involved.
- joel8x, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1He's right, the leg she is bouncing on changes when it changes direction - she is on her left leg when she is going clockwise, but her right leg when going counterclockwise.
- Nougat, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Okay that was freaky.
First, clockwise, then I saw counterclockwise. Then back again.
Then counter again, and no matter what I did I couldn't switch it back. So I tried your suggestion, closing the eyes. Didn't work.
Tried again, and again. Didn't work. Feh, I glanced away for a split second and back again --
Clockwise. - DoubleMike, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8The trick is in the reflection/shadow. When she's spinning one way, it's her shadow, and when she's spinning the other way, it's her reflection. Your mind uses both shadows and reflections to help judge shape and motion, so the direction you think it's spinning depends on whether your mind interprets it as a shadow or a reflection. There are many different ways to trick your mind into seeing things one way or the other, but they're not directly related to the way it works. A lot of people have trouble seeing it both ways because the mind has a good ability to lock on and follow something it sees. A very useful talent is the ability to "break" this "locking" mechanism and see things the way they are instead of the way your brain interprets them. Unfortunately, it's a difficult talent to master, but, as soon as you've mastered switching directions in this illusion you've covered the first step. That's the purpose here, to illustrate this quirk of the mind with an example. Of course, the fact that it's a naked girl means it's even more difficult for half the population to break the "lock."
- obliviousfool, on 10/11/2007, -2/+11It took a while, but that is crazy cool. You don't have to look at the shadow, just look at the text above the image. I think having the thing more in your peripheral vision is what does it.
- 2012, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12At first I saw her spinning clockwise. Then it took about 45 seconds. I briefly looked away almost just an eye blink. Then I saw it going counter clock wise. For several minutes I could not get my brain to shift it back to clockwise. I got aggravated when the motion was stopping and starting and I double clicked on the image. It opened up in a new tab. It was smooth then and I can make my brain shift back and forth by covering the image with my hand then reveal the image and cover it back up again. I had little success with just staring. Only two times did it change back and forth with me just staring at it. My brain and eyes thank you.
- RunawayElf, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6I wonder if you can tell something about a person by which direction they see it spin first. My co-workers (non-technical people) saw it clockwise first. My roommate and myself saw counter first. Very curious
- jiub, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2CCW here and still can't get it to flip
- suman78, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4Crap.....I still cannot see her spinning anti-clockwise
- Silthrim, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1hahahaha... wow
- SonicBoom1000, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I think you mean counter-clockwise.
- Mast3rDigg3r, on 10/11/2007, -12/+1the image changes it is not an optical illusion. If you watch, her left leg will be up, then it will change and her right leg will be up.
- shyner, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3No.. she doesn't change at all. You just described the optical illusion. The leg which is spinning never changes, your mind just makes it look like it changes.
- Kbennett, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1*wrong reply*
- Kbennett, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Saved the .gif image and opened it in Adobe ImageReady. The .gif never changes directions. Your brain does this.
- shyner, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3No.. she doesn't change at all. You just described the optical illusion. The leg which is spinning never changes, your mind just makes it look like it changes.
- control98408, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3Damn..that is crazy. I kept examining the legs and trying to remember exactly how I see it spinning one way, then she turns around and it looks just as plausible.
- DragonGirl724, on 10/11/2007, -4/+31helloooo nipples!
- sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -2/+108She lost her iPod.
- crazybrit, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I don't get it. :(
Never mind. I'm an idiot.- Akronos, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2You mean iDiot.
- crazybrit, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I don't get it. :(
- SaII, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23she has no bra on
- dchomper, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1She has nothing else on either.
- gingerbreadcat, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2Shenanigans. She starts out with left arm and leg raised, spinning counterclockwise, then switches to the other side and spins the other way. Pay attention and don't look away.
- DarkReign16, on 10/11/2007, -11/+3What's the illusion? Minor attention to detail makes it quite clear which way she's spinning. I guess this illusion only works if you have a low I.Q. or something.
- Sun.Surfin, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4Then you didn't see the illusion. That doesn't mean everybody else has a "low I.Q.". Your mind just failed to interpret it as everybody else's is.
- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2DarkReign16 = Troll.
(But if the troll insists on being fed...)
IQ has nothing to do with an optical illusion. Since she is TOTALLY black and there are no highlights to indicate when she's facing forward or backward you're mind makes it's own decision which way she's going. And if your bullheaded or narrow minded enough not to be open to the possibility, then you WON'T see it differently.
It's like this VERY SIMPLE illusion:
http://www.designboom.com/history/inversionimages/1.gif
These 12 lines can either be seen as as cube as viewed looking UP at the bottom, or as if you were looking DOWN at the top of the cube.
The girl is just harder to switch perspectives since it appears to also be spinning. - DarkReign16, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1My comment was supposed to be sarcastic, jesus! Lol.
- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1You were being sarcastic? Really? Then I apologize for the abrasiveness, if you REALLY were being sarcastic.
And if so, that's some VERY subtle sarcasm. o_O (Possibly even a better illusion than the girl! :-/ )
- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1You were being sarcastic? Really? Then I apologize for the abrasiveness, if you REALLY were being sarcastic.
- DarkReign16, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1You people watch the office right? Guess which character my sarcasm represented.
- HubbertWins, on 10/11/2007, -1/+19Ok, this is frustrating. I can only see her spinning clockwise.
- SuckMyDigg, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2So brainiac which direction is she spinning?
Now look again - itling, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0Try watching the shadow. Imagine that her spinning leg is going in front of the stationary leg. Then look at it again, and tell yourself the spinning leg is going behind the stationary leg. She should switch direction.
- dagooh, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1What I did was to not focus on the girl itself and try to look at the rest of the page, then I imagined her spinning in the other direction, it took me quite a while but now I can control her spinning on every turn.
- SuckMyDigg, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2So brainiac which direction is she spinning?
- joseywales, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9Just as I was about to call ***** she started spinning counterclockwise, as if she knew her scam was about to be exposed. Truly great illusion and I have no idea how/why it works, but for those who've yet to see it stick with it, it's pretty trippy.
- JoeB4ever, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14Is it cold in here or are you just happy to see me?
- gingerbreadcat, on 10/11/2007, -10/+13Shenanigans. She starts out with the left arm and leg raised, spinning counterclockwise, then switches to the right arm and leg raised and spins the other way. Watch closely for a while and don't look away.
- gashad, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6I second that. Open the link in two separate browsers side-by-side. after a few second, hit "refresh" on one (to re-load the animation from the start)... I definitely see a girl with her right arm/leg raised in one browser, with a girl with her left arm/leg raised in another... I think we might be duped.
- spudnic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Open it with a gif editor, it's not a trick
- liberalrowan, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2sorry mate, but im pretty sure its real. i can make her switch from one direction to the other pretty much at will, after looking at it for a while. doubt its a fake.
- bairy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2The gif is only 200k, so far as I know you can't say "show this set of frames x times, then show this set of frames", so they'd have to map out the entire lot wouldn't they?
Having said that, I thought "spiked gif" first time I saw it. - woofers07, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2nope, one line of code can randomly reverse the animation at will.
- bairy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1One line of code in a .gif file?
I dragged it to it's own tab so that no javascript or anything could interfere. Watched for about 3 mins and saw it change direction 15 times or so. I geniunly believe it's optical.
The easiest way to solve this is to decompile the frames of the gif then recompile them fresh. - Septimus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Definitely does change legs though... can't work out how either.
ImageReady me thinks to have a look.
- gashad, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6I second that. Open the link in two separate browsers side-by-side. after a few second, hit "refresh" on one (to re-load the animation from the start)... I definitely see a girl with her right arm/leg raised in one browser, with a girl with her left arm/leg raised in another... I think we might be duped.
- Kickboy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I managed to do it many many times, and noticed her spinning one direction, then the other, and back again. Amazing illusion
- IllBeBack, on 10/11/2007, -1/+34Only clockwise for me. Wife said clockwise too. We give up. Illusion wins.
- jhuebel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I have a headache now. I hate illusions. My brain is too old and set in its ways to change. :-D
- tvpopstar, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3optical illusions are fun.
- Bondrake, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2If you have trouble seeing her turn the opposite direction, try closing your eyes and tilting your head more than 90 degrees then looking at it
- eckmann, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0This is what finally worked for me
- cogitocogito, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Here's a way to get the perceived direction to change at will without taking your eyes off the picture:
When you imagine her leg swinging behind her body, just imagine that she swings it immediately back the other way behind her body.
I can switch it in my mind at will now doing this.- lusid, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Yeah, that works for me too... although, for some reason, it's easier for me to imagine she's facing the opposite direction when her legs come together... the change in rotation is fairly automatic when I do this. Strange how the brain works.
- sjspiehler, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Thanks - that worked for me too, and getting her to flip back around was driving me nuts. I can do it at will now too.
- cyburdine, on 10/11/2007, -1/+75who cares WHAT direction she's spinning! she's naked!!! turn on the lights!
- SonicBoom1000, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1It's all about the foot she is spinning on. The shadow of that foot always looks like it is turning counter-clockwise to me, while the foot itself always looks like it's turning clockwise. Focusing on either the foot or its shadow will make her change direction accordingly.
- lusid, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I'm able to flip her at will every 180 degrees. First, see her moving in whatever direction you want... then, when her legs come together, instantly imagine her facing away from you, even if it doesn't make sense, and imagine her spinning in the opposite direction at the same time. I'm able to do this consistently every time. For anyone who is curious, I'm staring at her knees when I'm doing this. Very cool illusion.
- ameba, on 10/11/2007, -16/+2you guys can't be serious, can you? its two different animations. at one point it stops and goes the other way...
- HubbertWins, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Exactly right. She goes from holding her left arm out to holding the right one out.
- masterskill, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I'm going to have to go ahead and say that no, it's not two different animations. I spent quite a while trying to get it to switch, covering up upper body, looking at shadow, etc. to no avail. Still clockwise. The animation does not change, you're just seeing the illusion.
- ameba, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1actually yeah nevermind it just seems like that but i'm actually wrong, i can make it switch directions any time.
- masterskill, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1To add to my previous comment, I went ahead and opened up the gif in an animation program. Its the same 34 frames over and over. One Spin cycle.
- vajra918, on 10/11/2007, -0/+133 frames :)
http://bayimg.com/album/kAAKlaaaa - nerd05, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It's not. It's just drawn so that your mind can interpret it either way, kind of like an ambiguous cube.
- automidnight, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1The same optical illusion happens when you stare through a fast moving ceiling fan or hub of a car. This is stupid... a real silhouette may be more impressive, depends how the headlights stack up...
- vajra918, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3totally different illusion.
- grean, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3GOT IT!! took me about 60secs, just keep staring at her outside leg! it's awesome!
- nubnub, on 10/11/2007, -6/+2She is spinning clockwise. The shadow does nothing. Its not even a real shadow. Its just a reflected version.
- rtell, on 10/11/2007, -15/+3this is stupid.
i stared at it
and saw it switch directions on me.
this isn't an optical illusion.
someone made the gif so that it spins both ways.
-2 diggs from me.- Sedjet, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4The GIF only has 1 rotation in it.
- GorfTron, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5This bitch looks good but spins one way and the other until I threw up. Typical woman!!
- Lion9, on 10/11/2007, -0/+121) cover the body with your hand so you see only the head.
2) picture that going c-clockwise
3) move your hand down a little bit at a time.
4) enjoy
It's weird once you get it, it's just as hard to go back. - UCFmethod, on 10/15/2007, -13/+10its not an optical illusion, it changes part way through.
- TheSabre, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2No it doesn't. THAT is the illusion. As others have said, the GIF only has one rotation in it. There is no trickery involved, if you see it change part way through, then your brain interpreted the illusion correctly.
- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3It doesn't change, this is a variation on this simple illusion:
http://www.designboom.com/history/inversionimages/1.gif
These 12 lines can either be seen as as cube as viewed looking UP at the bottom, or as if you were looking DOWN at the top of the cube. The girl is just harder to switch perspectives since it appears to also be spinning. - conscioussomber, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Agreed. It DOES change part way through.
- Kronos6948, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I like to call this the Crow T Robot effect.
Any MST3K fan knows this effect by watching the silhouette of Crow in the theater. Sometimes it'll look as if he's turning his head toward the viewer when he's actually turning it towards the screen. It's the same idea as the cube illusion (which way is the cube facing?)- conscioussomber, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0YES! Exactly!!!
That's the first thing I thought of when I saw this.
- conscioussomber, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0YES! Exactly!!!
- lolage, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Wait a minute, THERES A BODY ATTACHED TO THOSE BREASTS. God DAMNIT. No wonder my woman gets upset often ...does she even have a face?
- titlesaysitall, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Inaccurate, Digg users are incapable of female interaction.
- Kookami, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Hey look, it's a schooner!
- TheSabre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Hahaha you dumb bastard. It's not a schooner, it's a sailboat.
- jaysengsr, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2a schooner IS a sailboat, stupid head.
- TheSabre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1YOU KNOW WHAT? THERE IS NO EASTER BUNNY! OVER THERE, THAT'S JUST SOME GUY IN A SUIT!
- thatvietguy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1For me, if I follow the outside leg, it turns counter-clockwise and it turns the opposite way if I follow the hips. That's tremendous!
- ezekiel72, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1That ***** tripped my balls, enough said...
- controltheweb, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Switch directions quickly: Block everything but the knees & upper thighs with your hands. Tell yourself the leg going from one side to the other is either passing in front of (clockwise) or behind (counterclockwise) until you see it. Lift your hands.
- grubwort, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Thanks - couldn't see it until I tried this!
- sedawk, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5Looks clockwise to me -- but the bitch has crashed Safari twice now!!!
- withincontext, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Yeah, an animated gif did that. You must be ***** when you go to Disney.com.
- linkin1, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1here is the best tip:
after you look at the shadow..slowly move your eyes to her and you will able to see here anticlockwise, you brain will lock! then blink!- digger99999999, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0I slowly moved my eyes up and realized she wasn't wearing panties!
- splughsplort, on 10/11/2007, -10/+0It's NOT an optical illusion. It switches directions about every 30 seconds. Even if you look away, it still switches.
- tim507, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1i opened it up in "preview" on osx. its 1 full "walk cycle" if you would call it that. 1 loop. the begining is the end point. no tricks here. its your mind.
- vajra918, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1the entire amination is only 1 second long...
http://bayimg.com/album/kAAKlaaaa - TheSabre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Wrong. It IS an illusion.
- woofers07, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0I'm losing a lot of confidence in the digg community 90% think it's 'magic' The animation IS SWITCHING DIRECTIONS, face the fact, 'you were fooled.' the length of the animation, or 'it only being one loop' means absolutely nothing at all if you know anything about scripting. I really don't understand how so many people do get it yet.
- TheSabre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0You're an idiot. Apparently, YOU don't know anything about scripting.
- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Similar illusion to this cube. Nothing changes except for your paradigm.
http://www.designboom.com/history/inversionimages/1.gif
It's just harder to switch perspectives since the animation appears to also be spinning.
- SuckMyDigg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Wow. I stared at that way longer than was necessary just to make sure it wasn't a trick. I noticed she changed directions sometimes within just seconds and sometimes it would take a minute or two... that is CRAZY
- hobophobe, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1If you play with looking at the shadow and up at her a bit you can get to the point where you can change her direction with your mind similar to if you can go from seeing two faces to a candlestick and so on.
- ch3570r, on 10/11/2007, -7/+2she switches hands:
left: http://bayimg.com/MaclFAabF
right: http://bayimg.com/iaCLiAaBf- tim507, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2no. they are 2d solid images. they could be precieved as both directions.
- 1b2a, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The hands are purposely ambiguous because depending on your instant perspective, her right hand can easily be her left hand.
- djdole, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Both of your stills illustrate the illusion nicely.
You can interpret either as the girl facing forward or backward.
(The spinning animation just makes it harder to switch between paradigms.) - mattx, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0.
- MisterFlaut, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@ch3570r
Just FYI - your post makes no sense whatsoever.
-
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