Optical illusions play tricks on your brain and can make you see things that aren't really there, from static images swirling around the page to images that stay with you even after you look away.

We here at Bored Panda have compiled a list of times when people got freaked out by everyday things and while some of them are understandably scary, others are just plain hilarious. Scroll down below ...

How optical illusions work has been long-debated among scientists and philosophers, who wonder whether these illusions stem from neural processing in the eye or involve higher-level cognitive ...

Chances are you’ve encountered some version of the “Ebbinghaus illusion,” in which a central circle appears to be smaller when encircled by larger circles and seems larger when surrounded by smaller ...

An innovative anamorphic illusion has taken the top prize in the annual Best Illusion of the Year contest. Twisting minds for 17 years the contest highlights the ways our brain can be tricked using ...

When I was in high school, my friend switched sodas on me one day. I thought I was taking a swig of Coca Cola, but he had replaced it with cream soda. I immediately spit it out, thinking it tasted ...

Visual illusions remind us that we are not passive decoders of reality but active interpreters. Our eyes capture information from the environment, but our brain can play tricks on us. Perception doesn ...

An curved arrow pointing right. For more, visit: Perceptual art 3D street art Body art Zoetropes Paper sculptures Disappearing sculptures Shadow-art drawings Face illusions Trash illusions More from ...

Even computers can get tricked by optical illusions, a new study finds. Such research may help shed light on how vision works in the brain, and lead to better computer recognition of images, ...