Watch this video but get ready to hit pause at the 11-second mark, so the secret isn't revealed before you savor the apparent magic of a chessboard queen that appears only in a mirror reflection of a chessboard. What's more, the queen seems to move of its own volition. How is it done? Press play, and the secret is revealed. The way it's done is clever, but I was disappointed sorcery wasn't involved.
The Phantom Queen is an awesome optical illusion
Mark Frauenfelder
You can't believe your eyes: there's no red in this traffic light
Dean Jackson demonstrated how our brains "work overtime" to see colors that aren't there. He showed a photo of a standard traffic signal with red, yellow, and green lights. Then he placed a cyan filter over the image to block out all the red. But the "red" light still looked red. To prove it wasn't… READ THE REST
This optical illusion of spinning rings will mess with your mind
Master optical illusionist Akiyoshi Kitaoka tweeted this mindbending motion illusion below: Kitaoka is a professor of psychology at Ritsumeikan University in Osaka, Japan. His research focuses on visual perception and fortunately for us, he shares numerous examples of "anomalous motion illusions" and other optical curiosities on his website. front page illustrative thumbnail image: canbedone/Shutterstock READ THE REST
Straight lines look wavy in this striking optical illusion
This grid of green lines in the Twitter embed below looks wavy, but if you move your eyes along any one of the lines, you will discover that it's straight. If you want to play around with the parameters that make up the image, visit Michael Bach's website. READ THE REST
Cyber Monday Extended: Win big with two copies of The 2 Million Dollar Puzzle for $40
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. This year, instead of giving to others, it's time to think of yourself. You can't be reliant on your goodwill alone to feel fulfilled, and cash can usually fill that void… READ THE REST
It's not too late to score Cyber Monday savings on this refurbished MacBook Air
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Everyone needs a reliable machine for work, pleasure, or whatever else they do on their computer (your business, not ours.) However, with the holidays around the corner, we know cash is tight, and… READ THE REST
Didn't win Powerball? This Black Friday Doorbuster Deal might be your second chance.
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. If you're one of the millions of people who didn't win a Powerball, let us be the first to send our condolences. If you're anything like the rest of us, there's… READ THE REST
