Our eyes are constantly sending our brains signal, which our brains process to form an image in our minds. But sometimes, those signals can get a little jumbled, creating an optical illusion that’s different from actual reality.
Have you ever noticed something in a photo that wasn't there in reality at all? To that end, here are some unedited photos that will totally mess with your perception of reality and make you question what your eyes are really seeing.
The Headless Subway Rider
Ever heard of the headless horsemen? Well, how about the headless subway rider? This passenger has his head against the glass, but to the untrained eye it looks as though this guy doesn’t have a head at all!
A Brood of Chicken?
Is that a brood of chicken on the back of that 4x4? Nope! Those are actually gallons of milk. The color of the top combined with the color of the milk bottles are tricking our brains into seeing chickens.
Half and Half
Initially, it appears as though this guy is ready to go to a drag race show in his incredible high heels, but take a closer look and you’ll see that the feminine body belongs to the head of the woman with the long hair and the head of the guy belongs to the person sitting in the chair.
Head-Squeezing Statue
The angle of the statue versus the distance of that woman walking behind it makes it seem as though this Roman statue is squeezing her head. But it’s really just a photo snapped at the exact right time.
The Cat Mat
This one’s kind of scary because it looks like that black floor mat has a pair of cat eyes. Well, in a sense, that’s true. You see, there’s a black cat sitting on the black mat. It just blended in so well that all we’re able to see are its eyes.
Kentucky Fried Puppies
Admit it! They look just like fried chicken. The only difference is that they’re in the shape of puppies. Thankfully, no one was that cruel. It’s actually the color and texture of their hair that make these pups look like crunchy fried chicken shaped like dogs.
Nuclear Mushroom Pizza
We’ve all seen what a mushroom cloud looks like after a nuclear bomb gets dropped. Well, this looks a lot like one except that it’s not. It’s just a pizza cooking in the oven without a pan. Somewhere along the way, the middle of the pizza collapsed and created this mushroom cloud illusion.
Beware of the Snakes
This certainly looks like two snakes or one snake with two heads slithering towards an unsuspecting prey. We can almost hear them hissing as they approach. But this is actually a photo of panty hose strings that look shockingly similar to snake heads.
Fly on a Cake
A fly on a cake? Is there anything more annoying than that? But anyone thinking of swatting this thing away will be highly disappointed in its reaction. That’s because it’s a fake fly made of plastic and added to the cake, possibly to deter someone from eating it.
This Road Has Pig Tails
This road seems to branch out into a pair of pig tails, but the road just looks similar to the parted hairline on this little girl’s head. And yet, it’s so eerie how the road and the little girl seem to blend together flawlessly.
Extra, Extra Large Pizza
Distance and camera angles have a way of messing with our perception of reality. For example, this pizza looks like it’s extra, extra large because of its surroundings, but in reality, it’s a regular-sized deep dish pizza for about three or four people.
Demonic Hidden Owl
Of course, it’s a demonic owl! Why else would such a creature be hiding inside of a cup? Well, actually, it’s not an owl at all. Someone simply dropped two chocolate chips into a cup of coffee, creating the illusion of owl eyes. The rest is just coffee foam.
Cat at a Concert
At a glance, it looks like there’s a cat on the left-hand side of this photo who somehow made his way into a rock concert. But it’s really just a music fan with his hairy arm out. The would-be cat ears are his pointer and pinky fingers sticking out. A cat probably wouldn't be that excited about the show anyway!
Baby Head, Lady Legs
A baby with a tiny upper body but grown-up legs? How is that possible? The baby is blocking her mother’s head and upper body, giving the illusion that the tot has lady legs. But those legs belong to the mom.
Snake in a Pan
Imagine a bunch of snakes invading a local bakery. Well, this is probably what it would look like. The thought of these snakes slithering in a pan is mortifying. But these are actually incredibly detailed glazed pastries. Don’t get too close, just in case.
Kissing the Child Giant
It appears as though this child’s head is enormous and that a significantly shorter woman is kissing the side of his head. In actuality, the woman is kissing someone standing behind the boy. She probably doesn’t even know that he even exists.
A Massive Snail Crosses the Road
It looks like this town has a snail problem, particularly that enormous mutant snail that just crossed the street. But once again, our minds have played tricks on us. This snail is actually moving across the car's windshield.
The Headless Woman
Why would this diner even bother to go to a restaurant when she doesn’t have a head? Everyone knows they need one with a mouth in order to eat, right? Well, the truth is that the woman on the far left does have a head but there’s a mirror in the way that’s tricking us into thinking she’s headless.
Weirdest Snail Ever
This is pretty much how everyone imagines a snail would look like on an alien planet. But this isn’t an alien snail at all. It’s actually a gourd with bumpy protrusions on its outer shell, and there’s nothing alien about it.
Charming Toothpaste Bear
We might not like brushing our teeth, but this little bear seems to love oral hygiene. Somehow, this is the shape the toothpaste naturally took when it was placed on the toothbrush. It looks like a charming little bear, but it’s just minty fresh toothpaste.
Moon-Like Tortilla
This tortilla looks like the surface of the moon, craters and all. It probably doesn’t help that the background is pitch black like the void of outer space. But in reality, it’s just a soft tortilla shell, like the ones people use to make soft tacos or a burrito.
I'll Have a Cup of Waterfall
This kid appears to be grabbing himself a cup of waterfall. Sadly, no one can do that, as far as we know. Fortunately, whoever took this photo has a gift for getting the right camera angle to create the ultimate illusion.
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle?
When you wish upon a star, you’ll get a blood blister on your nail that looks an awful lot like Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland. Maybe this optical illusion will help the person forget just how painful this blood blister really was to get.
The Forest is Receding
When people talk about deforestation, this isn't usually what they mean. This photo might look like a tree walking away, but it's really just a man in dark clothing who got caught walking in front of a tree while he was looking down and he just so happened to line up exactly with its trunk.
Why the Long Face?
At a first glance, it might seem like this woman is scolding her large dog for breaking down the door, but she is actually stunned that a local horse not only tried to enter the house through her dog door, but he also broke the entire door when he couldn't fit through.
On a Magic Carpet Ride
The perfectly-aligned flag shadow in this photo makes it look as if the woman speaking at the microphone is floating in midair atop a magical carpet, similar to Aladdin and Jasmine! But once you see what's really going on, you'll have a good laugh at your mind's mistake.
A Crack in the Step, Filled With Potassium
At a first glance at this photo, you might just wonder, why would someone carve out a piece of a concrete step just to but a banana in it? But the real meaning behind this photo is much simpler. It is the banana that has a piece missing from it so it can rest easily on the step. But we're still not sure why exactly someone did this.
Free Piggyback Rides
The brunette woman in this photo probably wishes in retrospect that she didn't wear her color-block stripe shirt that day. It hilariously looks like the man behind her is very tiny and somehow getting a piggyback ride from her.
How Many Bald Men Are in There?
Once you see the man's dark bald head among the other tan colored head rests, you might start to wonder just how many heads you're seeing and how many head rests there are! But rest assured, there is just one man and four head rests in the car.
Your Shampoo Smells Great!
Thanks to the wind and a perfect camera angle, it looks like these two friends are really enjoying their trip to San Fransisco together! But it would take some pretty significant lung power to suck another person's hair into your nostrils!
At One With Nature
If this outfit was accidentally worn to the beach that day, that would be a pretty incredible coincidence. Either way, the way that her outfit seamlessly blends into the beach's background is incredible, down to the gradient of her top and the details of her skirt that match the imperfections in the sand in front of this woman.
Whose Head is it Anyways?
When two people get close for a photograph, it can be hard to tell where one person ends and the other begins! When one woman rested her head on her friend's shoulder for a photo, neither one of them thought about what it would look like once the photo was captured, and just how odd the pose would seem!
Another Case of Body-Swapping
Once again, it seems like the woman in this photo is extremely tall while her boyfriend is much tinier. She also seems to enjoy a very causal style, you may think, until your brain focuses the image and you can see that it's the boyfriend who is sitting down and the girlfriend who is standing behind him.
Living it Up on Vacation
Optical illusions like this have been a ton of fun to recreate for as long as photographs have been taken. To create a photo like this for yourself, make sure that you position your camera to get the object you'd like to pose with in the foreground of the photo, then run behind it to look like you're much smaller than you are!
What Do You See Down the Drain?
This emptying drain looks suspiciously like an eyeball thanks to the bubbles surrounding it and the flow of water that create what looks like a pupil. But rest assured, there's nothing looking at you from below the sink, even if you may hear some strange noises in your house at night.
A Cat and His Shadow
The only thing that alerts most people to realizing that there are actually two cats in this photo is the pair of eyes on the dark cat, which wouldn't be evident if there really was just a shadow on the right side of the photo.
Unfortunate Leg Placement
At a first glance, it might seem like the woman on the right has a particularly hairy and masculine shoulder and upper arm, but after looking at this picture for a second, it's clear that there is a man seated just out of frame of the two friends in the photo.
These Are All Living Creatures
It may seem as if this person is holding a group of beautiful leaves at odd angles, but in actuality, everything they are holding is a living creature that is excellent at camouflaging their body to look like their natural surroundings.
A Stranger Used My Pool
This may look like a cow's dream spa day, but one Reddit user was disturbed to wake up one day and see this uninvited guest in his pool! He could only assume that a farmer had lost one of their cattle, which then set into motion a difficult process of removing the cow from the pool and returning it to its owner.
A Fire-Breathing Pup
Many dogs get excited by fire, but few are able to summon it themselves. This puppy might look like he beckoned the flames with his mouth, but it's just the angle of the photo that makes it took that way and the dog was never in any serious danger.
My Flight-mate is a Very Good Boy
At first sight, it really seems like the person who took this photo was seated across from a strange dog and human hybrid during their flight! But of course, once your mind stops playing tricks with you, you'll be able to see that the dog is seated in the young person's lap and their head is resting against the seat.
The World At an Angle
This photo might look like a photoshopped image, or something out of the movie "Inception," but it's really just a hotel balcony shot at an angle. The reflection of the sun perfectly lined up with the angle where the floor meets the wall makes this simple tilt of the camera seem like the entrance to a different dimension.