Symmetry Explorer

August 4, 2008 5:22 PM

Symmetry Explorer grabs photos from Flickr on any subject you like (e.g. kittens, hamsters, whatever) and then presents them as pairs of mirrored halves. Other cool examples; Pencils, Owls, Babies. [via mefi projects]
posted by Effigy2000 (43 comments total)

Wow, dude, it's totally like that one scene in The Song Remains the Same.

I'M TRIPPING BALLS!!!!!
posted by Tube at 5:30 PM on August 4

Do not search for any theme/idea/thing/item that turns you on; there are things in this world that a person was never meant to see, and cannot unsee.
posted by Science! at 5:39 PM on August 4

Yeah, those baby ducks freaked me out too.
Creepy and disturbing, thanks!(?)
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:42 PM on August 4

weird, but good.
posted by not sure this is a good idea at 5:43 PM on August 4

*clicks on kittens link*

WELL HELL-O THAR NIGHTMARE FUEL I'LL BE SLEEPING UNSOUNDLY FOR MONTHS OH THANK YOU IS THAT A TWO HEADED KITTY WITH THREE MOUTHS AAAAAARGH IT HAS TOO MANY LEGS AND TEETH BURN IT WITH FIRE OH MY GOD
posted by loquacious at 5:51 PM on August 4

Looks like loquacious and I will be in therapy together. That kitten thing? yeah, fuck that. I mean, yeah, it's cool. HOLY HELL though, fucking TERRIFYING. I'm still trying to get up the courage to try other ones after that mental fiasco.
posted by Stunt at 6:18 PM on August 4

Cool, but it pegs the CPU in Firefox 3.
posted by greenie2600 at 6:18 PM on August 4

The burning man symmetry pics are pretty.
posted by mullingitover at 6:21 PM on August 4

OHGODHAMSTERSRUNRUNRUNRUN
posted by Stunt at 6:23 PM on August 4

greenie2006 - fine for me on 3.0.1 32bit (on 64bit linux).
posted by not sure this is a good idea at 6:25 PM on August 4

Some predictable but good results in both eyes and stare.

But I think this is my favourite so far.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 6:38 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

I was fully prepared to hate on this, but it's very oddly compelling.
posted by cmoj at 6:41 PM on August 4

Everything looks like a vagina.
posted by puke & cry at 6:42 PM on August 4 [3 favorites]

Whoa. You'd think pasta would be simple and easy on the eyes since it's, you know, pasta. But I'm never eating noodles again.
posted by Science! at 6:47 PM on August 4

Everything looks like a vagina.

Except the things that look like inappropriate cocks.

Like Science! indicated up above, don't search for "thong".
posted by yhbc at 7:02 PM on August 4

I had to do it.
posted by ooga_booga at 7:15 PM on August 4

sunsets were pretty safe. the kittens will give me nightmares though.
posted by desjardins at 7:49 PM on August 4

you know, the obama logo thing isn't treated kindly by the Symmetry Explorer
posted by thisisdrew at 7:53 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

So many dynamos!
posted by subgear at 7:57 PM on August 4

UNSEE! UNSEE!
posted by arcticwoman at 8:12 PM on August 4

life imitates art, art imitates 4chan
posted by kaytwo at 8:30 PM on August 4 [1 favorite]

Even "bunnies" is enough to invoke nightmares.
posted by konolia at 8:39 PM on August 4

Dude, my country is like, trippy.
posted by signal at 8:50 PM on August 4

What immortal hand or eye...

Obama poster

Graffiti

Favorite: Horse race
posted by hippugeek at 8:52 PM on August 4

This'll give you a black eye.
posted by subgear at 9:00 PM on August 4

MetaFilter. More MetaFilter.
posted by Sailormom at 9:10 PM on August 4

For some reason, this is terrifying.
posted by sonic meat machine at 9:14 PM on August 4

Yeah, erm....
posted by Jimbob at 9:18 PM on August 4

Well this is horrifying.
posted by xchmp at 9:18 PM on August 4

Whoa, that kittens link is trippy. Rorschach on DMT.

And fun to play with too.

The heart one is surprisingly interesting. Buddha. Blood. Geometry. Death. Papaya.
posted by nickyskye at 9:48 PM on August 4

Under the "baby" link, there are some photos from a mud-wrestling competition, and every single one of them looks like some horrific Lovecraftian god-thing. It's neat!
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:50 PM on August 4

In fact: http://mud.wrestling.symmetry.sytes.org/
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:06 PM on August 4

Blimey! Iä, Shub O'Niggurath
posted by fallingbadgers at 10:38 PM on August 4

Doh! I meant
posted by fallingbadgers at 10:40 PM on August 4

I didn't think much of this until I saw the white-furred kitten turned into a vulva.

AND NOW I WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN. The kittens have a vagina dentata! Oh god.

Seriously, though, this is cool. I like on the buddha link, posted above, how this kid's face becomes a (very thin) kabuki mask, on the left-hand side.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 10:57 PM on August 4

Things they don't teach in engineering school: 747
posted by salishsea at 11:35 PM on August 4

Symmetrical symmetry is boring.

(But this one is cool.)
posted by Knappster at 12:34 AM on August 5

Trippy, eh, not so much. HDR, though, is pretty neat. "Macro" has a few neat ones, but is kinda blah otherwise.

Oh, and Gaudi and Gehry.

I don't know, Science!. It's not so bad.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 1:33 AM on August 5

War and peace give interesting results.
posted by electricinca at 3:34 AM on August 5

I liked this bicycle.
posted by cccorlew at 8:17 AM on August 5

I expected this to be horrifying, just not in the way that it is.
posted by qldaddy at 11:24 AM on August 5

ooh Knappster, that Falling with Grace one is cool.
posted by nickyskye at 11:31 AM on August 5

Ultimate Reality may be of interest.
posted by zoinks at 12:45 AM on August 6