Gizmodo: optical illusion

James Dyson's 'Wrong Garden' Optical Illusion Makes Water Flow Uphill

Adam Frucci — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:40:00 EDT

This fountain, created by inventor James Dyson and inspired by MC Escher, has water flowing up a series of ramps. Or so it appears to.

It's actually a pretty ingenious optical illusion. Water is pumped out of the tops of each ramp, cascading water down both the ramp and over its edge. Bubbles rising inside each ramp give the illusion of water flowing uphill, and all together it makes it look like the water is defying gravity. Pretty amazing stuff, and it took a solid year to design and build.

You can go check it out at the Chelsea Garden Show in England if you're in the area. [BBC via Oh Gizmo! via The Daily What]

Jonathan Ive Has Gone Too Far This Time

Mark Wilson — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:00:46 EST

Remember the days of wallpaper illusions? Good. Because digitizing your child isn't the next Macbook feature. Steve Jobs hasn't lost control of his chief designer. The world is doomed (yet). [Optical Illusions]

Starck Veiled Watch Tricks Your Eyes

Charlie White — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:32:14 EDT

If you like famed designer Philippe Starck, you won't be able to resist his latest creation, the Veiled Watch. Its electroplated crystal looks so much like the band that it's hard to tell where one stops and the other begins. First appearing to be merely a stainless steel bracelet, if you look carefully you can see the watch's hands nestled underneath, teasing you with their minimalist subtlety.

This gorgeous design is available for men and women, with the women's model built slightly narrower. Each is $247, which seems cheap for such high style.

[technabob]

Mirage 3D Hologram Generator: It's All Optical, No Batteries Required

Charlie White — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:00:00 EST

Place an object in this bowl that looks like a black flying saucer, put its lid on top and all of a sudden you're looking at a 3D hologram that seems absolutely real, hovering there in space until you stick your finger through it. The Mirage 3D hologram generator uses an optical trick to make it seem like those objects are sitting on top of it.

Take a look at another picture of the hologram generator's optical illusion in action:

Its manufacturers say that this little frying pan-like thingamajig is manufactured to tolerances within a millionth of an inch. Sounds like a lot of precision for a $35.95 parlor trick. – Charlie White

Product Page [Eye Tricks, via Newlaunches]