Lots of people love optical illusions. Often, they’re due to a certain camera angle that a person is using, or just how two subjects line up. They can deceive people for a few moments before the true nature of the photo is uncovered. We’ve gathered 40+ photos that will deceive your eyes in surprising ways.
S’mores are the official food of camping. They’re the perfect sweet treat to cook over a late-night campfire, and are made with just three simple ingredients — graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. This person thought they had uncovered a stash on their camping trip.
While at first glance, you may think it looks like someone dropped their s’more, but unfortunately, it’s not nearly as delicious. Instead, this is actually a mushroom that has grown out on the forest floor that looks exactly like a s’more. How weird!
While a frozen lake may look like the perfect natural ice rink, it’s important that you take extra care as you may not know how thin the ice actually is out on the lake. To avoid a potentially cracked ice disaster, this photo shows how thin ice can actually be.
At first look, it looks just like a frozen lake and its surroundings, however, this is a cross-sectional photo of the ice. It shows the ice just being a thin layer sitting on top of the lake, so strange.
This next photo will definitely deceive people. When you first see this photo, you may imagine that someone has tripped while eating their breakfast and accidentally dropped their fried egg right on the sidewalk.
However, this isn’t the case at all. While it does look like a fried egg, it’s actually just a cute little decoration that someone added to the sidewalk. These bumps can sometimes serve as a useful purpose, they can light up so people can see where they’re going, or even indicate free spaces.
Some celebrities look way taller in real life than what they do in photos sometimes, but in this case, your eyes are just deceiving you as this is a smartly placed photo of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” CD, showing Jackson with small legs.
Jackson has also gained the ability to skateboard too according to this photo. The other CD cover cleverly lines up with Jackson’s “Bad” cover, and it’s not crazy to think what other albums would this cover line up perfectly with too.
We’ve all heard the story of the Trojan Horse, where soldiers hid inside a wooden horse to take over the city of Troy back in ancient Greece. However, this might be taking the story a little too far.
Lined up perfectly, this image is bound to deceive your eyes. It shows the brown horse with an open mouth, and a second horse with its nose lined up perfectly with the open mouth. It certainly makes you wonder if this is a modern-day take on the Trojan War.
The first snowfall of winter is always such a magical day. Whatever age you are, you’ll probably feel just as excited as a kid and want to get out sledding or making snowmen together. On their snow day, this family went sledding and took mind-boggling pictures.
When they came across this photo of their grandpa, they couldn’t understand whether he was sledding down the hill normally, or if he had hit a bump in the hill and started flying. If it’s the latter, he certainly looks very calm!
The way this photo is set up would make you think that this man is showing off his brand new heels. However, don’t let your eyes deceive you. The way he is sat in the chair, along with the angle he is holding his foot makes it look like he’s wearing a pair of heels.
Besides the heels, though, let’s talk about how ridiculously oversized this chair is! If we didn’t know any better, we would assume that this is photoshopped to make it look like he’s a small person living in an oversized world.
It’s never a good idea to go grocery shopping when you’re hungry because you’ll end up picking up things that you won’t even bother using. It’s also probably not a good idea to carry around items that look like different food items either.
At a glance, this looks like a huge strip of bacon, or even a perfectly cut piece of steak. However, looking closer, you can see the fastener and embossed brand name on this unique glasses case. We wonder if the owner is a veggie!
Getting kids to eat their veggies is always a challenge. When they get older, blending it into mush just isn’t enough, so coming up with complex tales to deceive children into eating something they normally wouldn’t is something every parent is familiar with.
If parents want to try and think of a tale for broccoli, they should look no further than this image. At first sight, it looks like a giant broccoli tree, however, noticing the roots, you can tell it’s a tree. It will definitely make your kids feel connected with nature.
From a young age, we’re all told about the dangers of smoking, and why we should never let our friends peer pressure us into this kind of stuff. However, this display that someone spotted outside in a parking lot makes us wonder whether this is a perfect prop for an anti-smoking talk.
While it does look like a huge cigarette, it happens to just be a bollard that was dislodged and ended up on the side of the road. Maybe it will be useful for someone in the future!
You know summer is just around the corner when people start taking their brunch trips outside. Eating outside has a lot of benefits — you’ll be able to enjoy your delicious food out in the beautiful weather, and for dog owners, your furry friend will be allowed to come with you.
When this person went out to brunch, they thought that they spotted a furry companion who was visiting the restaurant. However, their eyes were tricked into thinking that this person’s brown handbag was a dog!
If this was a real banana, then this would most definitely be a comedic moment waiting to happen. However, looking closer at this image, this isn’t a real banana at all. Instead, it looks like this item is made out of felt and has been dropped along the sidewalk.
People may have thought that the stem was a bit too long for it to be a real banana. Also, it would be the most yellow banana ever given there isn’t a spot of brown anywhere on it. We hope whoever lost it isn’t missing it too much.
Optical illusions are all about timing and camera angle so that they can deceive your eyes. This next image is a great example of an optical illusion. While messing around in the snow, these two came across an almost perfectly circular piece of ice.
Given its shape, they decided to hold it up to the sun, where they discovered it looked awfully similar to the moon. With a quick play around with the angles, this picture makes it look like a full moon is out in the middle of the day. Trippy!
Everyone thinks that their pet is beautiful enough to be a pet model. That might be the case for most, but in this picture, the resemblance between the cat on the foot packaging, and the cat looking to eat said food is uncanny.
The way that this cat is walking around the bag matches up perfectly with the cat on the packaging. They even have the same stripes and coat color. Maybe this owner will think about their pet’s future in modeling.
We’ll often dream of going on vacation so much that we’ll start to incorporate tropical things into our daily lives, whether that’s picking up a new drink that reminds you of vacation, or buying plants that transport you to another country.
This person took it a step further and decided to paint this manhole a bright yellow so that the green weed growing on top would make it look like a pineapple. The person who took this photo was confused too, thinking he had dropped the pineapple he had bought at the store.
Sometimes we eat a pastry so good, we wish that it was a bigger portion so we could eat more of it. This next image is almost teasing the person who took the photo, reminding them of a delicious pastry they wish they could have.
Looking at this image, it looks like the snow has fallen in such a way it makes the snow that has formed look like a giant pastry. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, but we do know that this has made us very hungry!
If you thought this was a satellite image of a boat out at sea, you may want to think again. While your eyes may deceive you into thinking this is real, it’s just a small, plastic figure of a boat that’s placed on this blue fabric to make it look like the sea. It even has ripples on the water too.
Whoever made this illusion clearly put in a lot of work to make it look as realistic as possible. Even the blue material looks like the sea!
At first glance, this may look like a tasty treat you might buy for yourself in a bakery. However, it goes without saying, it’s probably not the best idea to start eating things you found on the forest floor, especially whatever this is.
Even though the red balls on top of the glossy white surface look like they would be delicious, they’re that way in an attempt to deceive you and other animals who may be looking to eat. It’s actually a very poisonous mushroom!
Wouldn’t it be the dream if you just had an unlimited supply of fresh fruit like bananas on hand so you never had to go grocery shopping again? When this person first saw this garden hose, they thought it looked exactly like a collection of incredibly long bananas.
However, looking closer, you can see that it’s just an exceptionally dirty garden hose that could probably do with a spray down itself. When will science advance enough so we can have banana wheels in our yards?!
If any vegetarians were looking to take a shower or a bath at this person’s house, they might want to avoid their soap. While it might look like this person is using a slab of meat to wash with, or even use as an exfoliation pad, it is just an awkwardly colored bar of soap.
It might be a bit off-putting to anyone who wants to avoid meat or even those who are hungry, so it might be about time to invest in another bar of soap.
These optical illusions always take people by surprise as it’s hard to know exactly when you first look at the picture who is supposed to be who. In this instance, this photo shows a guy’s head and a female body, creating a hilarious illusion.
However, don’t let your eyes deceive you! If you look closely at the image, you can see that the guy’s head is attached to the red shirt who is sitting down, and the girl’s head is perfectly hidden by the other head.
All cat owners will know the struggles of leaving empty bags or boxes around the house. If you leave one sitting unattended for just a minute, you’ll often find your cat making its new home inside the bag and unwilling to get out too.
This happened to the owner of this photo, however, when the cat peeked its head out from the bag, it was perfectly aligned with the model on the bag. The result is this hilarious photo, and hopefully, a modeling contract was given to this kitty.
Sometimes we can’t help but look at illusions like this and laugh. Our eyes were definitely deceived when we first saw this photo, and we don’t think the person sitting down even realized the hilarious situation they had created for others passing by.
The two logs, which have been shaped in such a way to create this clever bench, also look like they’re forming two butt cheeks. It probably tricked a few people as they passed by too!
Apart from decorations, what is the use of deer heads on the wall? In this case, this person has utilized it to make it into a hilarious photo that will leave you guessing.
This person has placed their pet parrot in front of the deer antlers, and the angle they took it from makes it look like the antlers are growing out of the bird’s head. Luckily, it’s only a photo, because the thought of birds with antlers is too terrifying a thought to have.
It’s been so long since everyone has been to a concert, we wouldn’t be surprised if people forgot what concerts looked like. Well, at first glance of this image, it isn’t too far off. In fact, the filter on this photo makes it look like this photo was taken at a gig back in the late ’90s.
If you look closer, you’ll actually see that instead of a huge crowd of people and huge beams, it’s the legs of a chair and a shaggy rug. It could have had us fooled!
If you ever see a husky out in the snow, don’t worry about it getting cold. Huskies are actually perfectly capable of keeping themselves warm due to their thick fur being able to stop the snow from melting on their skin.
In this photo, this husky is just loving being out in the snow. It’s even sat on the ground with their feet tucked in. Whenever this poster uploaded this photo online, they said they almost called animal control because they thought it was an oversized hedgehog.
Given everything that’s going on in the world right now, it is probably fair to say that an alien invasion wouldn’t shock people as much as it would have a year ago. That’s why when this person took this photo, they didn’t run away in fear but sat and watched.
Luckily for us, it’s not an invasion at all. Instead, it is actually a football stadium that is surrounded by clouds and mist, cutting off the bottom and making it look like it’s a floating UFO.
This optical illusion may be a bit too cruel for the anxious driver. The back of this truck is decorated in a very life-like mural that resembles kegs falling out of the back of the truck. If you weren’t paying attention to the road, or just pulled in behind them, you would definitely be nervous.
Thankfully, this is just a trick and is just your eyes deceiving you. However, it might make you think twice about paying attention to the vehicle in front of you when you’re driving.
This year, everyone is wanting to experience a Hot Girl Summer. This means leaving all your cares and worries at the door, wearing your cutest outfit, and partying all night long. Your eyes may deceive you into believing this man is also taking part in Hot Girl Summer.
Judging by the shorts, he’s got the look down to perfection. However, when you zoom in you’ll be able to see that his head belongs to the body with the black t-shirt in the chair, and his partner has her head hidden perfectly.
We’ve all read stories about centaurs, we may have even seen them in the Harry Potter films. However, while they are mythical creatures, this picture might just prove their existence in the real world.
Ok, maybe not, it’s just a cleverly taken photo. This person’s dog is at her hip level, however, the color of the dog and the color of their leggings are the same, meaning the dog’s upper half disappears, but the bottom half makes it look like this woman is really a centaur.
There are Halloween costumes that people can buy if they want to recreate this look, but we think it looks even more deceiving when all the people involved are real. This is also probably an old photo based on the fact you could rent DVDs, so who knows how old the people in the photo are now!
Their arms are rearranged in such a way that it looks like the girl is carrying the boy on her back. However, this photo may cause some people to stop and stare for a good few minutes as trying to figure it out is truly mind-blowing.
This artist is crazy talented. When you first look at this image, you may think that this giant fish is being kept inside an even bigger wine glass. However, with the artist hanging out in the bottom right-hand corner, you soon realize it’s actually a painting.
All the credit goes to the amazingly talented artist in this photo, as they have deceived us into believing this picture was actually real. Just look at the shading and the colors in this work, it’s truly incredible.
This is another example of how clever camera angles can totally deceive someone into believing optical illusions. When you first look at this photo, you might be amazed at how this cyclist is not only managing to hold onto a small ledge in the wall, but also hold onto their bike.
However, after a few seconds, you may be wondering why the graffiti on the walls are the opposite way around. In reality, this person is pretending they’re falling, when they’re really lying flat on the ground.
Do you ever visit somewhere so beautiful that not even your phone camera can quite capture the beauty of your location? That seems to be the case in this photo. The original poster said that this photo doesn’t even do their stunning surroundings justice.
They also said that they were deceived by the fact that when they first arrived and looked out the window, they thought that it was a painting. It was too long before they realized it wasn’t a painting at all, and was actually a window.
If you watched King Kong when you were younger, you may have been worried about a potentially huge gorilla attacking your city. While that might all be fiction, there could always be a sequel about giant grasshoppers that take over the world that could scare this generation.
The original poster of this photo stated that they were parked in a parking lot with their husband when suddenly, a grasshopper landed on their car windshield. When they took out their phone, they realized how big it looked and took a photo.
Whenever characters in cartoons have to make a choice, they often have cartoon versions of themselves as an angel and a devil on both shoulders representing good and bad choices. When this person looked back on their vacation photos, they discovered that they have someone on their shoulder too.
Whilst it’s not known whether this person was supposed to be representing good or bad, it is the angle of this picture that makes it interesting. The woman in the back blends in perfectly with the man’s backpack strap, making her the perfect shoulder companion.
This tree certainly has an interesting backstory. Locals have started to tell tales of the wizard who was frozen in time as a tree because their spell horribly backfired. If you squint, you can see the outline of the wizard, and how their arms are extended as if they are casting a spell.
While this is a great story to tell the kids, in actual fact, it’s just an oddly shaped tree. However, adults should try to keep the magic alive!
Mostly when people think of space ships, they think of rockets and other shuttles people from Earth have sent up into space. Very rarely do supposed ‘spaceships’ actually look like ships.
This photo was taken near a pier, where there is a crowd of people, and in the distance, a ship looks like it is floating in mid-air. This ship is not returning to space, nor is it being abducted. Besides, if it was, do you not think that crowd of people would be watching in fear?
If Planet of the Apes was anything to go by, we should expect a revolt undertaken by apes in the next few years. However, this ape is already making a head start by jumping on the bonnet of this person’s car.
Your eyes may deceive you into thinking that this is a huge ape is attacking this person’s car, but it’s only just the camera angle. In reality, this monkey is regular size and won’t cause any damage to their car!
Spending long days at the beach can be fun for some people, however, for others, it gives them a bit of time to do something really creative that doesn’t involve building intricate sandcastles or sand sculptures.
This person has used their creativity to transform this area of sand into a hilarious optical illusion. It depicts a small swimming pool, and a large ladder and diving board. The person is also posed in such a way that it looks like they are diving at a considerable speed. Truly incredible!
It took us quite a while to figure out where the illusion was in the photo – only because we thought it really was a two-headed dog! While watching their two dogs playing around in the grass, the owner decided to snap this photo.
Upon further inspection, their eyes were deceived as they thought their two dogs had fused into one. If you look closely enough, you can see where one head stops and the other begins, but it does leave you quite stumped for a moment or two.
For a moment, we almost thought that this woman had elected for some weird plastic surgery that turned her hands into feet. Again, this just happens to be a case of the right place, right time when it comes to the photo taken.
If you look closely at her foot, you can see some fingers sticking out just above, meaning that it’s a person itching their foot. However, the angle and timing made it look like something completely different. The power of photography!
Usually when someone says the phrase “swimming with the fishes,” it’s often used as a threat. However, this person has taken it to a whole other level. During a holiday trip, this person brought an underwater camera along to their snorkeling session, and the results are hilarious.
Just as the person was taking this photo, a fish swam by and took up space where the head was. This makes it look like the fish has a human body. This could be a scene from the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid!
Owls are known for being nocturnal creatures, and coffee can also help keep a person awake all night if they needed to be up and alert. One night, this person accidentally dropped two chips into their coffee, and the results are truly bizarre.
The foam and bubbles around the top of the mug have formed around the chips to make it look like the eyes of an owl. This is truly amazing, and such a fantastic trick played on our eyes.
Wouldn’t the world be such a better place if gummy sweets were naturally occurring on our beaches? Unfortunately, these stones that look exactly like oversized pieces of candy are just sea glass. However, they are in the most stunning colors often not seen in sea glass.
These gorgeous pieces of sea glass can be made into items of jewelry, or even used for decoration around the house to bring the beach to your own home. Just don’t think about eating them, it really isn’t worth it.