This Doodle Is Mystifying The Internet - Can You Tell What It Shows?
April 19, 2016 9:37 AM Subscribe
This drawing is stirring all kinds of confusion on the Internet. It seems that many people can pick up what’s in the drawing within a few seconds. Others, however, seem to see nothing but a black blob or find all kinds of things that aren’t there, like a kind of Rorschach test.
Also, maybe no spoilers just off the bat?
posted by Pyrogenesis at 9:39 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Pyrogenesis at 9:39 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Also, maybe no spoilers just off the bat?
In that case, don't try opening the image in a new tab to zoom in. It has the answer in the file name...
posted by nzero at 9:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
In that case, don't try opening the image in a new tab to zoom in. It has the answer in the file name...
posted by nzero at 9:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's too big to be a space station . . . .
posted by pt68 at 9:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by pt68 at 9:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
I saw what it was immediately, but it turns out what I saw is not what it's supposed to be.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [35 favorites]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [35 favorites]
I saw what it was immediately, but it turns out what I saw is not what it's supposed to be.
Did you see an upside down winged T-Rex too??
posted by nzero at 9:41 AM on April 19, 2016 [264 favorites]
Did you see an upside down winged T-Rex too??
posted by nzero at 9:41 AM on April 19, 2016 [264 favorites]
I can't tell if it's a rabbit or a duck.
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by Doktor Zed at 9:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
I thought it was some sort of double ended winged caterpillar.
posted by like_neon at 9:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by like_neon at 9:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
I was quite sure it was a bug, maybe a beetle of some kind, and spent some time pondering what species it might be...I didn't figure it out my own and probably never would have.
posted by epanalepsis at 9:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by epanalepsis at 9:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Seriously people? It's BLUE.
posted by mayonnaises at 9:44 AM on April 19, 2016 [17 favorites]
posted by mayonnaises at 9:44 AM on April 19, 2016 [17 favorites]
Did you see an upside down winged T-Rex too??
Yes!
posted by meese at 9:44 AM on April 19, 2016 [19 favorites]
Yes!
posted by meese at 9:44 AM on April 19, 2016 [19 favorites]
It looked lobsteresque to me until I read what it was. Now that's all I can see!
posted by Dysk at 9:45 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 9:45 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Huh, I thought it was an upside-down bat. The brain, she is weird.
posted by suelac at 9:46 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by suelac at 9:46 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
Didn't see it, and then scrolled. The moment the image moved it became clear. Brains: weird.
posted by phooky at 9:47 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by phooky at 9:47 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
I actually felt my brain go "click".
posted by bstreep at 9:47 AM on April 19, 2016 [33 favorites]
posted by bstreep at 9:47 AM on April 19, 2016 [33 favorites]
Wow, I immediately thought "Dragon with a fishing pole" and honestly thought that was going to be the right answer.
Noooooooope.
posted by Bibliogeek at 9:48 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
Noooooooope.
posted by Bibliogeek at 9:48 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
Did you see an upside down winged T-Rex too??
Yes.
posted by telepanda at 9:49 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yes.
posted by telepanda at 9:49 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
dang, that was weird
posted by Zerowensboring at 9:49 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Zerowensboring at 9:49 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Seconding the upside-down bat.
posted by kimberussell at 9:49 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by kimberussell at 9:49 AM on April 19, 2016
I wish we had spoiler tags on MeFi.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:50 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:50 AM on April 19, 2016
I saw upside down poorly drawn dragon and then I saw the real thing about 5 seconds later. However, in the interest of full disclosure, I don't think I would have seen the real thing if I didn't know there was a "real thing" to look for and just passed the image by as a nonsense drawing if I found it in the wild.
posted by ill3 at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by ill3 at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
I did not see it, even after reading the file name. I puzzled over it for quite awhile. Brains are weird.
posted by sockermom at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by sockermom at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016
It looks like a person wearing a hat, why is this a thing
posted by clockzero at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by clockzero at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
HELLO NEGATIVE SPACE HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
posted by rmd1023 at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [30 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [30 favorites]
Well, there was no NSFW tag on the post, so I guess it CAN'T be wha t *I* saw.
posted by briank at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by briank at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
I wish we had spoiler tags on MeFi.
Oh, I get it- it's a pony.
posted by nzero at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
Oh, I get it- it's a pony.
posted by nzero at 9:51 AM on April 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
It's really hard to tell, but it's a plate of beans with a hamburger on it.
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:52 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:52 AM on April 19, 2016 [9 favorites]
It's dignity!
posted by SansPoint at 9:52 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 9:52 AM on April 19, 2016 [13 favorites]
All hat, no lobster.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:53 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:53 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
Bird? Dragon? Winged insect?
[moves back about 2 feet]
Oh...there it is!
posted by rocket88 at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2016
[moves back about 2 feet]
Oh...there it is!
posted by rocket88 at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2016
I know this one... it's a snake eating an elephant.
posted by samhyland at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by samhyland at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
Who is this Rorschach guy and why does he draw so many pictures of my parents having sex?
posted by HighLife at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016 [86 favorites]
posted by HighLife at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016 [86 favorites]
frog humping a lobster?
posted by Drinky Die at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by Drinky Die at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016
My mom has one of these in her kitchen only it says "Jesus."
posted by bondcliff at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 9:55 AM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
well, I'll be danged. Once I saw it, it was obvious, but I didn't see it right away.
posted by theora55 at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Took a couple of seconds, but I see it plainly.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016
I saw a parrot & an angry upside down penguin. Not good at this game.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's not a doodle. It's an actual photograph of a napping Pat McCrory.
posted by NoMich at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by NoMich at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I did have a brief period of seeing the drawing as a penguin, facing left, playing with some kind of flappy billowy cape thing. But then I saw the thing it was supposed to be.
It's just about whether you read the black areas as independent objects or as areas of shadow. If you somehow get stuck on the one it's harder to see the other.
The black areas are maybe harder to see as areas of shadow because they seem to have a lot of definition to them, hard edges but with "shading" within the forms, and that makes you want to see them as three-dimensional things rather than as dark areas of the two dimensional field of view.
posted by edheil at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's just about whether you read the black areas as independent objects or as areas of shadow. If you somehow get stuck on the one it's harder to see the other.
The black areas are maybe harder to see as areas of shadow because they seem to have a lot of definition to them, hard edges but with "shading" within the forms, and that makes you want to see them as three-dimensional things rather than as dark areas of the two dimensional field of view.
posted by edheil at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yeah, first thing I saw was a left-facing toucan.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Using this image as a google reverse image search was fascinating. It definitely went for "images in the style of" rather than "images of the same thing"...
posted by nzero at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by nzero at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016
i'm ninety-five percent sure that i never would have seen it correctly without being told what the drawing actually depicts. it just kept on not resolving into what my brain was trying to force it to be. those curvy lines at top left seemed aggressively meaningless. KYLO REN KILLS LUKE.
posted by Zerowensboring at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Zerowensboring at 9:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I didn't see it until I focused on the white space then, hey, there you go.
posted by Tevin at 9:59 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by Tevin at 9:59 AM on April 19, 2016
There's one that's been around for years that's just a field of black blobs until someone says "dalmatian" then BAM!
The brain is a weird place to live.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:59 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
The brain is a weird place to live.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:59 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's a picture of a Ferengi, the ears give it away.
posted by metaphorever at 10:00 AM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by metaphorever at 10:00 AM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
The neat thing about this is once I saw it it is impossible for me to not see it.
posted by bondcliff at 10:03 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 10:03 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I thought it was a variation on Gorey's Figbash, tbh. When I scrolled down to the answer, I was mad at myself that I didn't see it the first time.
posted by Kitteh at 10:04 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 10:04 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
I had the exact reaction as Greg Nog; the instant I thought of the traditional vase/two faces illusion I immediately saw the doodle for what it was.
That was real weird.
posted by selfnoise at 10:04 AM on April 19, 2016
That was real weird.
posted by selfnoise at 10:04 AM on April 19, 2016
When I draw things you can't tell what they are either. Because it is a clever optical illlluuuussssion. And I draw like shit.
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:06 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:06 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
Holy cow, can we get a NSFW tag?!?!
posted by klarck at 10:07 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by klarck at 10:07 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
I saw it immediately . . . And am now incredibly disappointed. There is so much I missed by seeing it "correctly".
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:08 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:08 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
I saw it. And then I looked deeper, and saw pictures within pictures, and a hand on the other side, drawing, and a voice said Dormammu.
posted by maxsparber at 10:09 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:09 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
Oh. crazy with stars's link explains it all. Trump's hair is a hat.
posted by Namlit at 10:10 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by Namlit at 10:10 AM on April 19, 2016
Took me about 30 seconds, during which I felt some level of, ah . . . truculence, and when it finally resolved, it made my stomach lurch.
posted by jamjam at 10:13 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by jamjam at 10:13 AM on April 19, 2016
When I first saw it, it reminded me of the internet-famous Charizard tattoo.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 10:13 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 10:13 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Took me about 30 seconds, during which I felt some level of, ah . . . truculence, and when it finally resolved, it made my stomach lurch.
Hah, this sounds like a line from a Coen brothers movie
posted by clockzero at 10:14 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Hah, this sounds like a line from a Coen brothers movie
posted by clockzero at 10:14 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I have been staring at this for three hours trying to figure out what it is please help
posted by anazgnos at 10:14 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by anazgnos at 10:14 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
It's a schooner!
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:17 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by OverlappingElvis at 10:17 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
Foregt the drawing, that linked video at the bottom about the kid with a snail embedded in his knee is the real mindfuck here.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:18 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 10:18 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
It's AMERICA. If it looks like a piece of nonsense bullshit that's only because ... Uhh ... oh. Ok.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2016
Hey, some of just just see T-Rexes in everything.
posted by sysinfo at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by sysinfo at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
A pretty butterfly.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:26 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:26 AM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
yo man, that's a space invader.
posted by boo_radley at 10:26 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by boo_radley at 10:26 AM on April 19, 2016
it's a butterfly-winged demon with a whip, just like all the other Rorschach blots
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:27 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:27 AM on April 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
I completely couldn't see the intended image until I saw the colored-in version.
Before that I could only see the inverted winged T-Rex of Al-Hazrad.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:27 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Before that I could only see the inverted winged T-Rex of Al-Hazrad.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:27 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
But I can't tell if it's rotating clockwise, or counter-clockwise.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:27 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:27 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
That dress is blue.
posted by xingcat at 10:28 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 10:28 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Something's wrong with me. I just saw what it was and didn't doubt what I was seeing or feel confused or uncertain for even a split second. Must be doing life wrong.
posted by saulgoodman at 10:31 AM on April 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by saulgoodman at 10:31 AM on April 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
At first it was puzzling, then I suddenly realized what it was.
Clickbait.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 10:31 AM on April 19, 2016 [34 favorites]
Clickbait.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 10:31 AM on April 19, 2016 [34 favorites]
What a great teaser! So stoked for Cowboys vs. Cthulhu.
posted by naju at 10:37 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by naju at 10:37 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Howdy, ma'am...
posted by jim in austin at 10:37 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by jim in austin at 10:37 AM on April 19, 2016
"You dumb bastard, it's not a schooner, it's a sailboat!"
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:40 AM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Everything on the internet causes confusion.
posted by srboisvert at 10:40 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by srboisvert at 10:40 AM on April 19, 2016
MetaFilter: the internet causes confusion.
posted by loquacious at 10:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by loquacious at 10:42 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Did not read the comments, my guess is some kind of bug, grasshopper? the head is at the bottom.
posted by mermayd at 10:50 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mermayd at 10:50 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Interestingly, I posted this to Facebook and the post came up on my wall with the photo cropped top and bottom. Everyone who commented basically said "Um, how could you see anything but [THING]?" so I suspect the fact that it's cropped ruined the illusion. I deleted the post because it seemed pointless if the cropped thumbnail just gave it away.
posted by bondcliff at 10:59 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by bondcliff at 10:59 AM on April 19, 2016
It's dignity!
It's late-stage capitalism!
posted by Foosnark at 11:00 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's late-stage capitalism!
posted by Foosnark at 11:00 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I just cannot see shadow when the contrast is so stark. My visual system says "Can't be shadow, must be its own thing!"
posted by Monochrome at 11:04 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by Monochrome at 11:04 AM on April 19, 2016
bondcliff, I couldn't see it and then I read your post, tried covering the top and bottom with my hands...
OHHHHHHHHHH. Oh my god. OK then.
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 11:05 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
OHHHHHHHHHH. Oh my god. OK then.
posted by HypotheticalWoman at 11:05 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think part of it is also the framing setting up expectations that it's going to be a poorly-rendered dinosaur or something, when the actual drawing is reasonably well executed. But when I went in looking for something like what I would doodle, that's exactly what I saw.
posted by Copronymus at 11:05 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by Copronymus at 11:05 AM on April 19, 2016
I couldn't see it even after I saw the answer. Had to scroll down the comments.
posted by MtDewd at 11:05 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by MtDewd at 11:05 AM on April 19, 2016
That's totally a hummingbird.
posted by Catblack at 11:11 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Catblack at 11:11 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Took me about 30 seconds, during which I felt some level of, ah . . . truculence, and when it finally resolved, it made my stomach lurch.
Hah, this sounds like a line from a Coen brothers movie
I found myself saying under my breath "well fuck you, pal" and boom, there it was.
posted by jamjam at 11:17 AM on April 19, 2016
Faint of Butt: "I wish we had spoiler tags on MeFi."
Use the ABBR tag. No one will see the text without hovering over.
posted by Mitheral at 11:21 AM on April 19, 2016
Use the ABBR tag. No one will see the text without hovering over.
posted by Mitheral at 11:21 AM on April 19, 2016
I actually felt my brain go "click".
Call your doctor.
posted by The Tensor at 11:24 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Call your doctor.
posted by The Tensor at 11:24 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
My internet humor meter is broken or something - are people seriously not seeing that the picture of a cowboy is a picture of a cowboy or is this one of those things?
posted by Artw at 11:32 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 11:32 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
It's a schooner!
It's not a Schoonah!
posted by pattern juggler at 11:33 AM on April 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
It's not a Schoonah!
posted by pattern juggler at 11:33 AM on April 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
Interestingly, I posted this to Facebook and the post came up on my wall with the photo cropped top and bottom.
You can make posts to FB and take out the associated image by clicking an "X" on the top right corner of the image before you press "Post". I do that all the time if the image spoils the post or is just some random thing not associated with it.
posted by numaner at 11:33 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
You can make posts to FB and take out the associated image by clicking an "X" on the top right corner of the image before you press "Post". I do that all the time if the image spoils the post or is just some random thing not associated with it.
posted by numaner at 11:33 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Weird, there wasn't even a moment of non-recognition there. Weird given that my brain is generally quite bad at facial recognition. I'm not faceblind but I have a good deal of trouble remembering and telling apart faces of people who have vaguely similar characteristics. Wonder if that's a factor.
posted by Ferreous at 11:35 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by Ferreous at 11:35 AM on April 19, 2016
I wonder if setting it up as a "doodle" makes people more likely to expect something crude and gets in the way of seeing it properly. It felt a bit like that to me...I mean, my doodles don't look like *that*.
posted by uosuaq at 11:37 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by uosuaq at 11:37 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
are people seriously not seeing that the picture of a cowboy is a picture of a cowboy or is this one of those things?
Nope, not an extended joke - some of us are really seeing some weird upside-down moth-like creature. It's delightful.
posted by naju at 11:47 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Nope, not an extended joke - some of us are really seeing some weird upside-down moth-like creature. It's delightful.
posted by naju at 11:47 AM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I definitely saw the moth-thing first.
posted by maxsparber at 11:48 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by maxsparber at 11:48 AM on April 19, 2016
Well, it took me a minute during which I thought, no you can't eat that bat that you left out on the counter, but then...
posted by Namlit at 11:52 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Namlit at 11:52 AM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
So, wait, am I the only one who thought this was a picture of Putin? Because it completely looks like Putin.
posted by phooky at 11:55 AM on April 19, 2016
posted by phooky at 11:55 AM on April 19, 2016
"It's a schooner!"
you jest, but ...
Initially I saw it as the upside-down bat/dino creature, but I knew that wasn't correct. It was too crude and vague for anyone to get an "OH SHIT" reaction once they saw it. I decided to stop thinking about the abstract and instead just assume it was a simple orientation puzzle. I mentally rotated it
[okay so I turned my head]
I mentally rotated it 90 degrees clockwise and it became a sailboat in full sail. In the back is a man with a pole, and you can clearly see the handlebars of the bicycle he has brought on board. Someone else is working to get the sail under control, and some rope has come loose and is flapping in the wind near the bow. The sail is leaving a huge shadow in the water in the foreground.
...
and then I read what it was and the sailboat went away forever.
posted by komara at 11:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
you jest, but ...
Initially I saw it as the upside-down bat/dino creature, but I knew that wasn't correct. It was too crude and vague for anyone to get an "OH SHIT" reaction once they saw it. I decided to stop thinking about the abstract and instead just assume it was a simple orientation puzzle. I mentally rotated it
[okay so I turned my head]
I mentally rotated it 90 degrees clockwise and it became a sailboat in full sail. In the back is a man with a pole, and you can clearly see the handlebars of the bicycle he has brought on board. Someone else is working to get the sail under control, and some rope has come loose and is flapping in the wind near the bow. The sail is leaving a huge shadow in the water in the foreground.
...
and then I read what it was and the sailboat went away forever.
posted by komara at 11:57 AM on April 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
The dinosaur may be heavy metal singing. While being eaten by a pitcher plant. That left hand is def's doing the devil horns.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:05 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:05 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Frog Fractions 2 is a bit of a disappointment so far.
posted by duffell at 12:05 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by duffell at 12:05 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Cthulhu GONE FISHIN'
posted by benzenedream at 12:08 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by benzenedream at 12:08 PM on April 19, 2016
The flying death-banana shoggoth was the first thing I saw because it was drawn as a black figure against a white markerboard, but the image quickly resolved into the shadows on the cowboy head after only a second or so. Kinda weak sauce as far as optical illusions go.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:09 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:09 PM on April 19, 2016
Mirab, his sails unfurled
posted by Ber at 12:20 PM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Ber at 12:20 PM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I gave up after ten seconds and scrolled down to read the answer an now I wish I hadn't.
posted by clorox at 12:23 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by clorox at 12:23 PM on April 19, 2016
Who is this Rorschach guy and why does he draw so many pictures of my parents having sex?
It all started with a dead dog in the alley, tire tread on burst stomach...
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:26 PM on April 19, 2016
It all started with a dead dog in the alley, tire tread on burst stomach...
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:26 PM on April 19, 2016
I saw an upside down freaky butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. Evolutionarily it's because I'm a reptoid human hybrid that used to thrive on proteinaceous delicious butterflies
posted by aydeejones at 12:29 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by aydeejones at 12:29 PM on April 19, 2016
It's a “no fucking way to store a spirit level”, is what it is.
posted by scruss at 12:30 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 12:30 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yo, it is probably in contravention of certain international treaties to just post pictures of the Mi-Go on the open internet.
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:31 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:31 PM on April 19, 2016
And yep when I hear doodle there's an unconscious bias that says "the black part is the drawing, there will be no use of negative space or seemingly intentional illusion involved"
posted by aydeejones at 12:31 PM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by aydeejones at 12:31 PM on April 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Team "Right side up parrot". We seem to be a minority.
posted by Omnomnom at 12:35 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by Omnomnom at 12:35 PM on April 19, 2016
Did you see an upside down winged T-Rex too??
This looks strikingly like the image that appears on the menu of my favorite local Mexican place, Emiliano'z (Medford, MA). I've always said it was odd they had a laughing T-rex on their menu... and I STILL didn't see this as anything but an upside-down T-rex with wings. Brains: They never learn.
posted by maryr at 12:36 PM on April 19, 2016
This looks strikingly like the image that appears on the menu of my favorite local Mexican place, Emiliano'z (Medford, MA). I've always said it was odd they had a laughing T-rex on their menu... and I STILL didn't see this as anything but an upside-down T-rex with wings. Brains: They never learn.
posted by maryr at 12:36 PM on April 19, 2016
My theory is that our penchant for pareidolia leads us to look first of all for faces / heads. That's why it's easier when you block top and bottom: you eliminate two potential candidates.
posted by Omnomnom at 12:37 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by Omnomnom at 12:37 PM on April 19, 2016
Cthulhu GONE FISHIN'
I thought Cthulhu dined on souls, not sole...
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:39 PM on April 19, 2016
I thought Cthulhu dined on souls, not sole...
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:39 PM on April 19, 2016
You have to stare at it without blinking for 60 seconds to burn the image into your retina and then look at a white surface to see the hummingbird moth who's acting like a bird that thinks it's a bee.
posted by straight at 12:39 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by straight at 12:39 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I saw a winged shrimp-thing too. It's probably grilling something, but the grill is invisible.
I immediately saw what it was supposed to be when I read the answer, and my brain keeps snapping back to that, but the winged shrimp is cooler.
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:56 PM on April 19, 2016
I immediately saw what it was supposed to be when I read the answer, and my brain keeps snapping back to that, but the winged shrimp is cooler.
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:56 PM on April 19, 2016
upside down t-rex in a tutu what.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:13 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by dinty_moore at 1:13 PM on April 19, 2016
the tutu kind of flaps because the t-rex is upside down, obvs.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:14 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by dinty_moore at 1:14 PM on April 19, 2016
Seriously? People didn't recognize what it was immediately? Weird.
posted by tdismukes at 1:27 PM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by tdismukes at 1:27 PM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
So what I am hearing is that it is not an optical illusion, it just looks like one.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:29 PM on April 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
I totally got the upside down T Rex first, then saw the real thing about 30 seconds later. Agree that the T rex was way more fun.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 1:30 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 1:30 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I saw this drawing for what it was instantly, and I also saw that the dress was blue, and I can see the vase and the faces, as well as both the duck and the rabbit, and now I'm starting to think that maybe I have a imagination deficit that leaves my life dull and without magic. Because I mean, T-Rexes are cool.
posted by BlueJae at 1:34 PM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by BlueJae at 1:34 PM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
tdismukes: "Seriously? People didn't recognize what it was immediately? Weird."
Yep. Knowing what it is I can see it but I have to concentrate on making it out. Without concentrating on the outline it just becomes upside down attack moth.
posted by Mitheral at 1:38 PM on April 19, 2016
Yep. Knowing what it is I can see it but I have to concentrate on making it out. Without concentrating on the outline it just becomes upside down attack moth.
posted by Mitheral at 1:38 PM on April 19, 2016
Two bears high-fiving.
Actually, I did think it was an upside down dragon taking a screaming head dive with his short little t-rex arms sticking out, but then when I read what it really was, I could see it immediately.
posted by SpacemanStix at 2:03 PM on April 19, 2016
Actually, I did think it was an upside down dragon taking a screaming head dive with his short little t-rex arms sticking out, but then when I read what it really was, I could see it immediately.
posted by SpacemanStix at 2:03 PM on April 19, 2016
I just want to know what's up with that axe and spirit level
posted by metameat at 2:23 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by metameat at 2:23 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Slake moth from Perdido Street Station.
posted by rhythm and booze at 2:26 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by rhythm and booze at 2:26 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
"This looks strikingly like the image that appears on the menu of my favorite local Mexican place..."
Wait, what is that supposed to be? All I can see is something vaguely laughing T-Rex-like, too.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:28 PM on April 19, 2016
Wait, what is that supposed to be? All I can see is something vaguely laughing T-Rex-like, too.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:28 PM on April 19, 2016
From the "This doodle is mystifying the Internet" framing I was so positive it was dickbutt but then I remembered this isn't Reddit 18 months ago.
posted by yellowbinder at 3:31 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by yellowbinder at 3:31 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wow, what did that dragon eat last night?
After getting it, I hope he got a deal on that hat because distortion on the shaded side is what really throws it off I think..
posted by raider at 3:47 PM on April 19, 2016
After getting it, I hope he got a deal on that hat because distortion on the shaded side is what really throws it off I think..
posted by raider at 3:47 PM on April 19, 2016
I saw a cowboy right away but when I came here to see what everyone else was saying the existential crisis set in and now I'm not sure that anything I'm looking actually is what I think it is
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:03 PM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:03 PM on April 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Are you sure you're still commenting on Metafilter?
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:21 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:21 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I rotated it 90 degrees around its horizontal axis and stopped thinking about it.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 4:50 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 4:50 PM on April 19, 2016
I didn't see it at first, so I started reading the comments and decided "hard for people to see = negative space trickery" and immediately it popped into clarity. I'm glad I got to experience the upside-down T-Rex.
Also, that T-Rex Nativity is fucking hysterical and I really want one of my own for next Christmas.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 5:40 PM on April 19, 2016
Also, that T-Rex Nativity is fucking hysterical and I really want one of my own for next Christmas.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 5:40 PM on April 19, 2016
Nobody has mentioned seeing a garden gnome with wings, wearing Dutch shoes and carrying a whip in its right hand facing left in three-quarter profile—
so I thought I'd mention that.
Ah, prize bull octorok mentioned 'whip' and 'wings' so clearly we both have enhanced cognition of some sort
posted by sylvanshine at 5:44 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
so I thought I'd mention that.
Ah, prize bull octorok mentioned 'whip' and 'wings' so clearly we both have enhanced cognition of some sort
posted by sylvanshine at 5:44 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Favoriting for extra awkwardness!
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:02 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:02 PM on April 19, 2016
The setup ("this doodle is mystifying") creates some preconditions. In the first few seconds I saw a few possibilities similar to those mentioned, but none of them were complete enough to produce satisfaction. And then at about the 5 sec mark, as I tipped my head to the right a little and let my eyes follow the lines down, the face went -pop-, and the rest resolved quickly from Ferengi ears to stetson.
posted by Artful Codger at 8:31 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Artful Codger at 8:31 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Stolen art from the LBJ library.
posted by clavdivs at 9:39 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 9:39 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
My internet humor meter is broken or something - are people seriously not seeing that the picture of a cowboy is a picture of a cowboy or is this one of those things?
Are you fucking with me? I can't see it even when I know what it is!
posted by atoxyl at 10:21 PM on April 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Okay now I can see it but I had to get help. Should... should I be worried?
posted by atoxyl at 10:29 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by atoxyl at 10:29 PM on April 19, 2016
I was like... so those his boots at the bottom? Is that a whip? Is that a fucking bindle or what? Just knowing what it is doesn't help if you're trying really hard to see an idea of what it is that isn't actually there.
posted by atoxyl at 10:35 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by atoxyl at 10:35 PM on April 19, 2016
Now I'm wondering if you could make a sculpture that makes use of the inverse of this effect; it seems very abstract, until you shine a bright light on it in a dim room at the right angle, and then look at it from a different specific angle, and the illuminated or shadowed surface makes a 2D image. I know people have done sculptures where their shadow makes shapes, but I haven't seen any that have the image on the surface of the sculpture itself.
posted by NMcCoy at 10:40 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by NMcCoy at 10:40 PM on April 19, 2016
Even after I knew what it was, I couldn't see it. And then I tipped my head way, way, way down, and stared at the bottom of the picture from a higher height. And now I can't see anything but what it is. Which is what always happens when I get these things. "Blob. Blob. Ohhhhhhh. So obvious." Stupid brain.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 10:56 PM on April 19, 2016
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 10:56 PM on April 19, 2016
"It's a schooner!"
I saw this doodle correctly right away, but I've still never been able to see what a magic eye picture is supposed to be.
posted by ctmf at 11:05 PM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I saw this doodle correctly right away, but I've still never been able to see what a magic eye picture is supposed to be.
posted by ctmf at 11:05 PM on April 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
crazy with stars I thank you.
But it was pretty obvious it was pazuzu before the spoiler.
posted by bukvich at 12:17 AM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
But it was pretty obvious it was pazuzu before the spoiler.
posted by bukvich at 12:17 AM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Cthulhu GONE FISHIN'
I thought Cthulhu dined on souls, not sole...
Cthulhu is a fisher of men
Learning Kid Rock drew the doodle gave it away for me.
posted by TedW at 1:12 AM on April 20, 2016
I thought Cthulhu dined on souls, not sole...
Cthulhu is a fisher of men
Learning Kid Rock drew the doodle gave it away for me.
posted by TedW at 1:12 AM on April 20, 2016
Lots of awkward jokes and amusement at how weird brains are, but no neuroscience so far, so ...
There's actually lots of research on how this stuff works. Heres a link to the scholarpedia page on Figure-Ground organization, which has some of the cues we know the brain usually uses to assign figure and ground.
We also know that there's one area of the brain mostly involved in this pretty low-level grouping, visual area V2, which, it turns out, is probably the largest brain region, which may give you an indication of how important this is to us.
My graduate research was specifically studying this. I recorded activity from macaque V2 while the monkeys did a figure-ground task. We found some scientifically interesting things, but the most fun was designing experiments for the monkeys, messing with their perception just like this pic did for me.
One thing we did was test the monkeys ability to use completion. If you put some occluding blocks in front of a picture of a face, for example, our brains "complete" the face behind the occluders, making face recognition typically easy. If you reverse the depth order tho, move the face segments to the front, our brains dont compute the completed face so its much much harder to recognize. Here a link to an example figure of what Im talking about (I think its not paywalled). Anyway we did this with the monkeys, and after months of training they got really good at recognizing the face in front, which was, after all, their JOB. And the cool thing was in brain area V2 their figure-ground signals were all reversed too! Their brain reprogrammed how they perceive figure and ground. I bet those monkeys would be better than me at seeing the cowboy! For those perhaps concerned, they were otherwise unchanged, and showed no problems with other types of depth cues, and eventually their signals reversed; that is, the monkeys were just fine.
Oh, I just realized one other thing - my name! The cowboy has an illusory contour on his right side. Once you see him, the right side of his face probably seems a little lighter than the background, and you may even see a distinct edge along his cheek or jaw even though there's nothing drawn there. Thats an illusory contour =)
posted by Illusory contour at 5:16 AM on April 20, 2016 [8 favorites]
There's actually lots of research on how this stuff works. Heres a link to the scholarpedia page on Figure-Ground organization, which has some of the cues we know the brain usually uses to assign figure and ground.
We also know that there's one area of the brain mostly involved in this pretty low-level grouping, visual area V2, which, it turns out, is probably the largest brain region, which may give you an indication of how important this is to us.
My graduate research was specifically studying this. I recorded activity from macaque V2 while the monkeys did a figure-ground task. We found some scientifically interesting things, but the most fun was designing experiments for the monkeys, messing with their perception just like this pic did for me.
One thing we did was test the monkeys ability to use completion. If you put some occluding blocks in front of a picture of a face, for example, our brains "complete" the face behind the occluders, making face recognition typically easy. If you reverse the depth order tho, move the face segments to the front, our brains dont compute the completed face so its much much harder to recognize. Here a link to an example figure of what Im talking about (I think its not paywalled). Anyway we did this with the monkeys, and after months of training they got really good at recognizing the face in front, which was, after all, their JOB. And the cool thing was in brain area V2 their figure-ground signals were all reversed too! Their brain reprogrammed how they perceive figure and ground. I bet those monkeys would be better than me at seeing the cowboy! For those perhaps concerned, they were otherwise unchanged, and showed no problems with other types of depth cues, and eventually their signals reversed; that is, the monkeys were just fine.
Oh, I just realized one other thing - my name! The cowboy has an illusory contour on his right side. Once you see him, the right side of his face probably seems a little lighter than the background, and you may even see a distinct edge along his cheek or jaw even though there's nothing drawn there. Thats an illusory contour =)
posted by Illusory contour at 5:16 AM on April 20, 2016 [8 favorites]
Oh and I should have mentioned - I saw an upside down T. Rex ;)
posted by Illusory contour at 5:34 AM on April 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Illusory contour at 5:34 AM on April 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
I scrolled down to see what it really was and saw the link to an article:
Deep Sea Explorers Stumble Upon A Creature They Can Hardly Believe Is Real
I thought that was the answer.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:48 AM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Deep Sea Explorers Stumble Upon A Creature They Can Hardly Believe Is Real
I thought that was the answer.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:48 AM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
I get it. But why is he hiding his testicles under the table cloth?
posted by mule98J at 7:29 AM on April 20, 2016
posted by mule98J at 7:29 AM on April 20, 2016
My first reaction: it's Michael Gira! Good work, brain!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 8:03 AM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 8:03 AM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
At first I thought it was a parrot, but then I realized it's a Langford Basilisk.
posted by webmutant at 12:09 PM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by webmutant at 12:09 PM on April 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
I didn't spot what it was to begin with it, but now I know what it represents I'm going back to it trying to see something different, but I can only see the thing it is, and thus can't make a funny comment about what I am pretending to think it looks like :-|
This is a new and unique feeling I have not previously experienced.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:40 PM on April 20, 2016
This is a new and unique feeling I have not previously experienced.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:40 PM on April 20, 2016
All I could see for several minutes was a deformed caterpillar on a branch, and then I got distracted by something offscreen for a few seconds and when I looked back, I literally flinched because I could what it was supposed to be.
posted by Alnedra at 5:34 PM on April 21, 2016
posted by Alnedra at 5:34 PM on April 21, 2016
Seriously, spirit levels are precision instruments. Can you ever really trust that level again?
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:46 PM on April 25, 2016
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:46 PM on April 25, 2016
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posted by miyabo at 9:38 AM on April 19, 2016 [77 favorites]