12 Optical Illusions That Will Make Your Brain Hurt ( courtecy;-reader's digest )

12 Optical Illusions That Will Make Your Brain Hurt

From spinning circles to disappearing dots, these insane optical illusions aren't what they appear to be. Are you ready to have your mind blown?

BY MARISSA LALIBERTE

Parallel lines

BARSUKOV VLADIMIR/SHUTTERSTOCK

These lines appear to be angled up or down, but the horizontal lines are actually all parallel. Need proof? Try covering the top and bottom of one line of squares with a piece of paper. No slants to be found! Learn more about how this optical illusion works.

Spinning seeds

IULIAS/SHUTTERSTOCK

Your eyes will keep jumping to the spinning sunbursts of seeds—even though they’re all staying still. Find out which other everyday objects secretly mess with your brain.

Hidden message

LLLIIIOIIILLL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Lose your focus a bit (seriously—try to go a little cross-eyed) and you’ll spot a secret message hiding in the black dots. Take a closer look, though, and the words will disappear from sight.

All about perspective

IVA VILLI/SHUTTERSTOCK

Can you figure out which of these windows is bigger? Not only are they the exact same size, but their tops and bottoms are also directly in line with each other. Talk about a new perspective.

Innie or outie?

DE V/SHUTTERSTOCK

Is the smallest point of this black and white illusion pointing in or sticking out? It’s anyone’s guess. Check out this other optical illusion that makes squiggles look straight.

Disappearing dots

©MARK/SHUTTERSTOCK

An oldie but goodie. Your brain thinks there’s a black circle inside each white one—until you focus on that white circle. Then you realize it was never there at all.

Rotating circles

EUROVECTOR/SHUTTERSTOCK

When your eyes dart to one seemingly spinning circle, the others around them appear to start rotating. Your eyes don’t know where to look! For more pictures that bend your mind, see if you can guess these everyday objects based on close-up photos.

Large and small

PETER HERMES FURIAN/SHUTTERSTOCK

Which blue dot is bigger: the one on the left or the one on the right? Good for you if you guessed the same size! The left just looks smaller compared to the big circles and empty space around it.

New squares

COSID/SHUTTERSTOCK

At first glance, the four diamonds in this picture pop right out. But look closer—there’s not a single line creating those shapes. The contrast between the black and white makes your brain assume they exist.

Spinning colors

ANDREY KORSHENKOV/SHUTTERSTOCK

Optical illusions like this will leave you dazed and confused. The colors seem to be swirling around, even though it’s a still image.

Long and short

PETER HERMES FURIAN/SHUTTERSTOCK

Which horizontal line is shorter: the top or the bottom? Trick question—they’re the same size, even though your mind perceives the one with outward wings to be longer. Find out which famous American monument is actually a huge optical illusion.

Hypnotizing

MARK GRENIER/SHUTTERSTOCK

Looks like the background is spinning around a circle, but both are staying completely still. Don't miss this optical illusion carpetthat's equally mind-boggling.