Two freaky optical illusions.

[riverdeep]

You might have seen these before, but they're good 'uns.

The first is the spinning lady silhouette illusion:

http://www.maniacworld.com/Spinning-Silhouette-Optical-Illusion.html

Click, and you see a woman spinning in silhouette. But in what direction? Most people see her spinning clockwise (if she were viewed from the top of her head). But can you make her spin the other way? It's frustrating at first, and then it just happens. Try looking away for a bit, at another part of your monitor, or look at the shadow beneath her (reading the text below helped me).

Here is one that reveals how important context plays in what we see:

http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/02/what_illusions_tell_us_about_t.php

At the top are two, for lack of a better word, donuts. The center of the donuts appear to be flashing on and off in an alternating pattern. But if you remove the 'donut' and just leave the hole, you'll see something quite startling.

Oh, what the hell. One more. Say OUT LOUD the COLOR of the words you see below. Quickly.

[Orrex]

1. Get that spinning lady a sweater--she looks chilly!

Calling Temeah! Calling Tememah!

[zanne]

2. The donuts were freaky!

I love optical illusions. Thanks.

[Dr. Strange]

3. Here's two more: