By Vurdlak on February 17, 2007, with 116 Comments
It’s not often that I stumble upon an illusion I can’t figure out. What you see below isn’t some team building assignment, but rather an optical illusion. I assure you it’s not manipulated. This is really puzzling, don’t you agree? Your previous assignments were much easier you have to admit. Like the time when I couldn’t spot that easy baby illusion. Let’s brain-storm this one. How did it took place? After this you might want to solve some easier examples, and let your brain relax. The ones I’m referring to are impossible bottles and cube toy.
(22 votes)
Romus,
You forgot QED!
Uh yeah guys it’s not an illusion so dont go write a big ass thesis on how its fake, i just took a ruler, hammer, and a hair tie and did it myself on the edge of my kitchen counter. its cool
at first i though it was a table
oh…. wow the magical tricks of a shelf and stuff holding other stuff up and a nail in the wall?!?
Interesting….
….I dont get it
its impossible to balance it like this without the hammer being on a floor! the ruler is leaning on the hammer, while the hammer is hanging under the ruler!
i have done that with a spoon a fork a woodstick and a glass then burned the stick
I’s suspicious of how the hammer IS (?) angling in towards the wall, isn’t it?
There is no illusion here, only delusional people. It’s just physics.
I love how people concoct theories without proper testing. I just tested this… It works. It’s a matter of balance. Since the head of the hammer is actually under the table it moves the center of gravity of the ruler back to the edge of the table. Science is awesome.
its simple the board the hummer and the ruler are all standing and the picture was taken from an angle
sorry I missspelled hammer ok again its simple the board, hammer and ruler are all standing up and the picture was taken from a different angle the string or whatever it is holding the ruler was used so the ruler wouldn´t fall its holding it against the hammer
its upside down trick
It’s the center of gravity, you stupid cunts.
It’s easy, well sort of >_< you hang the hammer on the ruler and then let the end of the hammer press against the ruler *that's why it's bending* and balance it on the table, with is the hard part, because it's like half an inch of ruler. Tadah!
Its not intuitive which is what makes this “illusion” so fascinating. At first look, you think “there is no opposing force” Gravity must be acting on the ruler AND the hammer, so this is impossible.
The key is in the position of the head of the hammer. Forget the long end of the ruler. That is where we immediately focus. Forget it. Just look at the hammer head UNDER the table.
You need equal and opposite forces to keep this balanced. Those forces occur on the lip of the table. The force of the hammer is far enough under the table that the opposing forces balance right on the edge of the counter top.
It is quite simple when you try it, and this video helps a great deal. http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-create-hammer-and-ruler-impossible-illusion-275973/
This particular image is also deceptive because the camera angle makes the hammer head look to far over to balance.
Don’t focus on the ruler, focus on the counter top and go from there. Physics.
for those who don’t know the illusion is how the ruler holds it up
Im 13 and i AGREE with the 9 year old!.i saw that it was on the ground from the start you all are trying to make it harder then it really is using science and junk but its as simple as the floor looking like a wall
I like this a lot, it has my mind thinking “how in the world….”
its a claw hammer, and it is stuck in the wall you can see an indentation in one of the claw arms and not the other because one is further in the wall than the other, i will hand it to the creator though, they did well to get it in the wall without making too much mess
Your so dumb…..
Or….its simply something that is possible. The hammers back end is exerting an upward force more powerful than the pull of gravity. You can see this from the ruler bending upwards near the bottom. Its like having someone hold the other end in essence and then tie the hammer in the middle. Its just another support for it!
the indentation you speak of is actually the nail digging part of the hammer
It is a simple balance trick. I have done it with all kinds of tools. The weight of the hammer head is under the board.
Bill is right, i have built several projects in the same manner. I am a constuction structure consultant. It’s jus a matter of physics and balance…. gravity and weight! good Illusion
Uh… the ruler bends upwards..hmmmm
Perhaps all of the items are actually on the floor laying down just made to look like they6 are balancing.
No optical illusion here. Just plain physics. Gravity doing what it does best. Another neat one is a small jack-knife and a pencil. Open the knife to 90 degrees. Stick the point into the pencil at about a 45 degree angle about 1/3 of the way between the point and the eraser. The whole thing will now balance on the point of the pencil. On the end of your finger or a table top, or whatever. With a little imagination you can come up with all kinds of combinations.
yeah, this one is simple. like they have said above me, simple physics. the ruler, string, and handle of the hammer all kind of act like an elaborate hook, and the real weight of the hammer rests under the board, beyond the edge of the ruler, so its really just like a coat hanger at that point
Your all wrong. It’s just laying on a table. Simple. It’s all in the angle of the camera
Uhhh… no.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Qu8cibT9I
what Bradley said before is right, about the back end of the hammer creating an upwards force stronger than gravity.
the ruler is only bending because it is cheap plastic for all those who commented on it. if you want it not to bend then just get a stronger ruler. didn’t think i should have to explain that.
tilt ur head to the left. its rather simple. the ruler is glued to the table. and the hammer is being supported at the bottom. and is leaning out but the string is stopping it from falling.