11 Mind-Bending Optical Illusions That Will Totally Play Tricks On You

There are so many times I feel like my eyes are playing tricks on me, but when it comes to the optical illusions below, I know they're definitely trying to pull a fast one.

It's so freaky how something can morph right in front of our faces without really changing at all! Of course, it's a lot of fun too. I remember spending hours with my face scrunched up and staring at the Magic Eye books that were popular back in the day, eagerly trying to unscramble the hidden image.

The strange thing about most of the optical illusions below, on the other hand, is how little effort it takes for your eyes to adjust and transform the images in no time.

Have you ever been stumped by any of these tricky photos? Let us know in the comments which one is your favorite — or if we missed the best one you've found.

And don't forget to SHARE the fun optical illusions with your friends!

1. Distorted Lattice

distorted-lattice.png
Wikimedia Commons / Perditax

The lines are all straight, but because of the black-and-white marks on the edges, the image appears warped.

2. After Image

michael-jackson-after-image.jpg
Wikimedia Commons / Dimitri Parant

Stare at the white dot in the center of the portrait for 30 seconds, then close your eyes and you should see a picture-perfect image of a certain celebrity whose initials happen to be M.J.

3. Motion Blindness

motion-blindness.gif
Wikimedia Commons / Mlechowicz

As you stare at the blinking green dot in the center, your eyes lose track of the yellow dots despite their always being there.

4. Rotating Snakes

rotating-snakes.png
Wikimedia Commons / Cmglee

Nope, this isn't a GIF of moving circles — your eyes are doing that all on their own in this stationary photo. The more you look around from circle to circle, the more they appear to spin.

5. Swimming Red Seeds

red-seeds.png
Wikimedia Commons / Nevit Dilmen

Just like the rotating snakes, this peripheral drift illusion isn't moving at all, it just seems to be making waves as you move your eyes across it.

6. Silencing Hue

silencing.jpg
Wikimedia Commons / Jordan Suchow

After staring at the white dot in the center for a few seconds, you'll notice the brightly colored dots start to fade. If you can hold your eyes long enough, they might seem like they're disappearing completely.

7. Leaning Between Columns

people-columns.jpg
Wikimedia Commons / Diarb2008

Do you see the silhouettes between these columns? They look like people leaning in to share secrets with me!

8. Disappearing Pink Dots

disappearing-dots.gif
Wikimedia Commons / Jahobr

As you focus on the black dot in the center, the pink ones will appear to turn bright green before seeming to fade away altogether.

9. Dissociating Circle

dissociating-circle.png
Wikimedia Commons / Nevit Dilmen

If you're on a phone or a tablet, move the image on your device from left to right to see the circle dissociate from the surrounding rectangle.

10. Color Illusion

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA
Wikimedia Commons / Mike Young

The pink paper in the top image appears to be brighter than that on the bottom, but it's just the background colors throwing your eyes off  — they are both exactly the same shade of pink.

11. Blind Spot

blind-spot.gif
Wikimedia Commons / RobinH

Close your right eye and focus on the cross with your left, then move your head and see when the circle disappears.

Do the same with your left eye closed and focus on the circle to see the cross disappear.

Did we miss any optical illusions that have tricked you in the past? Let us know below and be sure to SHARE these fun images with your friends!