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Checkerboard - same shades of gray

Wow, we created another amazing one! I was playing around with different shades of gray and messing with the luminescence on the checkerboards and came up with this optical illusion to share with you, my loyal visitors.

Here's what you'll see: Two checkboards, each with a different shade of a gray square peeking through the center. Even thought these eye tricks are only a few inches apart, the illusion is still very amazing.

What to look for: The shades of gray are exactly the same. Don't believe me? Take a look at how we spelled out Cool Optical Illusions at the bottom, and you'll see how the effect of the background makes it even appear to gradually change shades, although it is also the same!

Does it only work in gray you ask? NO! Check out the visual trick below which is identical except that a light shade of blue has been added. It's almost even more pronounced on this one than in just the gray.

Explanation: The reason that this works is due to the surroundings. From an evolutionary standpoint, it would make sense that in the dark, when a dangerous predator is approaching us, and it doesn't blend into the background as well as it could, it would be good if we could quickly see them coming!

Biologically, our eyes and brain interprets them differently. Since the background on the left looks like the checkboard is in a darker area, by comparison anything that is lighter than the surroundings must be very light. On the right side, since everything looks very bright and washed out, the one area that is dark seems like it is even darker than it is! This would be a good illusion to print and try out on your friends.

Please rate this illusion/picture. Your ratings help us choose which new optical illusions to create:

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