Optical Illusion Pictures: All The Best Mind-bending Images ... - 9Honey

Connect with us Search latest latest

• Royals
• Honey Loves

1. Nine
2. 9Honey
3. Latest

Optical illusion pictures: All the best mind-bending images from around the world1 of 183Attribution: Supplied

By 9HoneyJanuary 28, 2025 - 5:53am

Optical illusions have been challenging the human brain for hundreds of years, with mind-bending images proving testing for many.

From two-headed cats to artworks hiding multiple pictures, each is fascinating if not a little frustrating.

Here we showcase some of the best optical illusions from around the world.

Read on to see more.

For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.

• Viral Stories
• Optical Illusion
• Career
• Work
• Link In Bio

2 of 183Attribution: X

If you've read or seen Harry Potter, you'll be familiar with the (mythical) concept of a three headed dog – but what about a real-life two bodied dog instead?

Well, not really, but it does look like it!

While this image may look like some cruel experiment gone incredibly wrong, we promise you it's not.

If you look really close at the dog's faces you'll be able to see the dog on tops chin almost perfectly aligned with the other's nose.

So, in fact, what you're looking at is not a Harry Potter creature come to life, it's just two silly dogs having some fun when a photo was captured at the perfect moment.

3 of 183Attribution: Saban Productions

Who doesn't love Mario's Nintendo? An optical illusion of one of the world's favourite gaming characters is breaking the internet, with viewers left wondering what he is up to.

The image is from the Super Mario Bros Super Show that aired in 1999.

The screen shot of a Mario video shows him on a set of circular stairs.

What is confusing most is whether he is going up or down the stairs.

Experts have weighed in on the dilemma, and concluded he is... going up the stairs!

4 of 183Attribution: Reddit/ @netter666

Optical illusion

This single photo has people on Reddit seeing three different animals.

The person who posted the snap on the opticalillusions community board started a debate in the comments with their caption, "cat or bird".

While the tail appeared to give away the animal was indeed a black cat with its head tilted to the side, if you mistake its ear for a beak it closely resembles the side profile of a bird.

"Cat but damnnn that got me," one person responded in the comments.

Another said that their brain kept "flipping between the two" animals.

"Clearly cat but looks a bit like a bird from another angle," a third agreed.

However, some threw a spanner in the works by suggesting they could see the similarity to another animal altogether.

"I kinda saw it as a rabbit for a minute," someone said as others commented the same.

One person even said they could see a duck.

5 of 183Attribution: Supplied

Grid Illusion

This Grid Illusion tricks the brain into seeing black dots in the centre of each square, but they don't exist.

And they don't seem to stay stationary.

This is called the Scintillating Grid Illusion and was created by E and B Lingelbach and M Schrauf in 1994.

This is yet another example of how the brain can trick you into seeing things that simply aren't there.

6 of 183Attribution: X/@bluemupp

One person spotted a heart-stopping sight in the middle of meal service on their flight.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the user shared their vision and added, "I ALMOST LANDED THIS PLANE MYSELF".

In the corner of their eye, they spotted an alien-like creature seemingly peeking directly at them from the seat in front.

But after their heart skipped a beat and they had a moment to inspect closer, it turned out to be another passenger who had put their hoodie over their face.

7 of 183Attribution: X/@the_punking

Ear plane optical illusion

As one helpful user shared in a labelled photo, the hoodie failed to cover their ear, which held a wireless ear pod that gave off the illusion of a large uncanny eye, and her hair bunched up at the back seemed to look like nostrils.

"Swear it looks like an alien creature bro," the poster wrote.

Many others on X were also shocked at the sight.

"I would leave my body if I saw this," said one commenter.

"On god I'd vomit excessively if that [sh-t] was on the same plane as me," said another.

"It's his ear with some headphones in it but geeez took a minute," said one relieved user.

Some drew comparisons to ET, with the eyes looking remarkably similar.

8 of 183Attribution: Twitter

If this optical illusion looks fuzzy and you can't seem to make out the numbers in the middle, we have some news for you.

A picture posted to X, formerly Twitter, by user @benonwine, shows a black-and-white striped circle with some numbers barely visible in the centre.

"Do you see a number? If so, what number?" the illusion is captioned.

"45,283 … and what's the catch? Should I book an appointment with my GP," one person wrote.

"3,452,839, but to be honest the first 3 is a bit of a guess. Can't get a fix on it," another noted.

The entire number, which might not be visible to the naked eye for some people, reads: 3452839.

The ability to see the number in full, according to the NZ Herald, shows you have a heightened sense of contrast sensitivity.

A low level of contrast sensitivity could result in issues seeing properly in real-life scenarios, including driving during the rain.

It could also prevent you from full vision when there is low-light, fog or glare.

9 of 183Attribution: TikTok/hazelannm

1.7 million people have been captivated by the sight of his inconspicuous home that is familiar to many Sydney-siders – and for good reason.

As drivers pass the corner of Milperra Rd and Henry Lawson Drive on their way to Bansktown, they will come to see the quaint cartoon house.

But as they continue driving, something interesting happens.

10 of 183Attribution: TikTok/hazelannm

As drivers come parallel with the house, one of the walls disappear!

But you must keep driving to unlock the secret to the optical illusion...

12 of 183Attribution: TikTok/hazelannm

The wall appears again, though now it is obvious that the house is "2D" in a sense, being made up of only two panels.

Commenters were bamboozled by the installation, which is an artwork known as 'Camofleur', designed by western Sydney artist Regina Walters in 2009.

It is meant to be a recreation of a disguised airplane hanger, styled as a 1940s home.

The piece is black and white and uses camouflage 3D optical illusions and is a nod to the use of camouflage tricks used during WWII with visual tricks such as this protecting military locations.

One commenter wrote, "I need to go to sleep."

"I would simply crash every time," another joked.

"I literally drive past this every day," said one unimpressed South-West Sydney local.

"It's so cool but why put something that distracting that you know drivers are going to stare at," one pointed out.

13 of 183Attribution: Reddit/confusing_perspective

This ordinary household sight had thousands doing a double take after it took "melting into the couch" a little too literally.

The fluffy white cat was relaxing on the black sofa, but it's realm seemed to expand all the way over the leather sofa.

In reality, the cat was sitting upon a fluffy white throw that just happened to match exactly with it's fur.

The cat had Reddit users in shock and enthralled.

"I scrolled back to make sure this wasn't some abnormally large cat," admitted one.

"I thought you were joking when you told me your cat likes to lay around the couch," another joked.

"Hide in plain sight!" another added.

14 of 183Attribution: @Legal-Elevator92 via Reddit

An optical illusion has sent Reddit users into a frenzy.

The flat image appears to be three-dimensional, popping out of the screen like a real-life target.

There is a scientific explanation for this illusion called the Doppler Effect, which simply describes the increase or decrease of any wave phenomenon, such as sound or light.

The colour red has the shortest wavelength, so red light moves towards you, and blue light moves away, allowing this image to truly pop.

"Cool optical illusion where a flat image looks 3D," the post was captioned.

Surprisingly, this illusion doesn't work for everyone: "I can see this. My partner can't. Weird," one user wrote.

"Might be different for everyone. For me it really looks like the rings have depth. I'm trying to see a 2D picture and I can't, it really looks 3D," another wrote.

One user asked: "Am I broken or is everyone else? It looks like a flat image to me."

Does the optical illusion work for you?

15 of 183Attribution: Reddit/@CoercionTictacs

Hundreds were puzzled by this building in Sydney, which seemed to look two-dimensional.

The brown building stood tall against the evening sky, seeming like there is no scope for anyone to enter, let alone reside.

"Is it just side on, or is it a facade?" one confused person questioned.

16 of 183Attribution: Google Maps

It turns out it is a facade!

The building – located along the continuation of Darlinghurst and Macleay St in Potts Point – may have an aged exterior, but from the back it is completely flat and white, with the building seeming to be in a rhombus shape.

While two of the outer sides of the building boast the aged exterior, the other two have a flat, white, modern exterior.

17 of 183Attribution: @snugglekittys via Reddit

Reddit users have been shocked to realise these balls are actually all the same colour.

This optical illusion was created by David Novick, a professor of engineering education and leadership at the University of Texas, El Paso.

The levitating balls appear green, blue and red at first glance, but if you look closer, you will notice they are all beige.

The illusion works because "our acuity (the ability to hear, see, or think accurately) for shape is better than our acuity for colour, which means that we perceive the shapes with more detail and the colors with less detail," Novick said.

"I love/hate this illusion because it always looks like 3 colours no matter how hard I focus. I have to zoom in pretty much to the pixels before my brain believes it," one Reddit user commented under the post.

"This will always be my favourite illusion," another added.

18 of 183Attribution: Facebook/Death Stairs

Just a picture of these stairs alone is enough to have people feeling dizzy and queasy.

A picture of the stairs in a hotel in Wroclaw, Poland have been shared online, with the head-spinning reaction causing some extreme reactions.

"I have a headache and feel drunk. These stairs tackle a whole evening out and the next morning all on their own," said one commenter.

"Just looking at this picture is making me feel queasy. Nope. I [hate] to think about what it's like after a night out," added one.

"What kind of sadist designed this carpet?? It would be bad on flat ground, to put it on the stairs is homicidal!" added another.

"So, these would be used in an evacuation, right?" one pointed out humourously.

"Would actually be easier to climb them in the dark!" another said.

The original poster wrote in relief, "Fortunately the elevator was working."

19 of 183Attribution: Reddit/jr0d7771

This casual photo of six girls sitting on a sofa at a sports bar may seem ordinary, but one tiny detail – or lack thereof –has people doing a double take.

Though there are six girls in this picture, there seem to only be five pairs of legs.

You can rest assured that this isn't some kind of trick – all six ladies have their legs intact, and all are featured in the picture.

Take a close look and see if you can identify whose legs are whose.

Can't figure it out? Continue to see the answer.

20 of 183Attribution: Reddit/jr0d7771/Nine

A number of features of the photo make it hard to see every woman's respective legs.

All of the women are leaning some way, making it seem like their legs are someone else's.

And it's no wonder they're friends - they even share the same fashion sense, with all of them wearing almost identitical outfits.

In particular, the first two ladies on the left are both wearing black jeans, which have blended into each other.

On first sight, it seems that the first lady on the left has crossed one knee over the other, showing off her kneecap in her distressed jeans.

But that exposed knee in fact belongs to the second woman from the left, whose other leg is hidden behind the first women's jeans.

The first woman's top leg can be indicated by the position of her beer, which is resting on her lap.

And finally, the third woman from the left is leaning aggressively to the left, making it seem like her legs belong to the second lady.

Some may have thought the third lady's legs are the ones that are outstretched, but those legs actually belong to the fourth lady.

One thing is for sure, this image is simply mind-boggling!

21 of 183Attribution: TikTok/@mooremads

One mum received a huge fright after taking a casual glance at her baby monitor, only to discover an unlikely visitor in her living room.

Mum Maddy shared the incident on TikTok, recalling she was, "Just checking my baby monitor to find a huge gorilla in my living room?! I never moved so fast to go and see."

View More