Mighty Optical Illusions » Transportation

Pocket Rocket Optical Illusion

Vurdlak — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:24:24 +0000

Optical Illusion by Yamaha

Suzanne pointed me to this video commercial recently, created exclusively for Adelaide’s leading motorcycle superstore – Coast Yamaha. The motorcycle featured in video below was loaned from Clive Langley. I have to admit, I never expected such a twist!

I have to give credit to this motorcycle company – They truly understand the power of optical illusions in advertising. In a few years, when I’m done teaching marketing PR’s how illusory campaigns easily become viral, and how powerful impact they have on their audience, hopefully I’ll manage to shift on to the next level.

Next task: lure them to send in their content to Mighty Optical Illusions website, resulting with more fresh content for our audience (You), and wider reach to their brands. My ultimate goal for near future is to get quality, professionally created illusions, while in the same time being payed for the actual content. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not getting payed for this article. But just think about it for a second. Wouldn’t it be a “win-win-win” situation (visitors-me-advertisers), if for example Yamaha had previously recognized the size of our audience, and contacted me with offer to publish this video? Perhaps they don’t need to, as this kind of stuff is virally posted across the net, free of charge. But maybe, just maybe this will change in the future! Check the Billboards section for example – wouldn’t it be logical I got payed for each of those posts? Unfortunately, I wasn’t…

Now admit it, how many of you saw that coming? Big thanks goes to Suzanne Green for sending the clip! “Firstly I have been a fan of Mighty Illusions for a few years – and I love them. I thought of you when I saw this, done by a local ad agency and very impactful. I hope you agree.”

Closer Than You Think…

Vurdlak — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:03:27 +0000

What surprised me the most while staying in NYC, is how liberal people behave there. It’s probably the only place where you can see a heavily bearded/mustached man wearing a skirt, top and female boots – while nobody even blinks! Another thing that surprised me was how normal it is for people there to drive their pets in a stroller. Is it that others just don’t care, have too much of their own problems, or simply encounter these kind of oddities daily? I would need much more than 10 days to figure that out… Perhaps some New Yorker will give us a clue.

While we’re in the Moon illusion atmosphere (or even better – lack of it), Xavier Kreiss sent me another related one. This is what Xavier wrote: “It’s been a long time since I last contacted you! Your blog is as fascinating as it always was. This evening I was looking at some French blog, when I saw this photo of a plane going behind the moon. Of course, the illusion is due to the fact that the vapor trail, which is white, can’t be seen when it goes past the moon, which is also white – so you get the impression that the vapor is behind it. I thought it might amuse you!”

Could this plane really have passed behind the Moon?

An Audi R8 for $470 ???

Vurdlak — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:41:20 +0000

THE DEAL seems legit, only problem is you won’t be getting a real Audi for peanuts – what did you expect? Having a Lamborghini Murciélago or an Aston Martin DB9 in the garage might be the ultimate in-your-face moment for your showy neighbors, but realistically, not all of us can afford a supercar. It’s a tragic notion that the people over at Audi Canada want to remedy. The price tag on the 2010 Audi R8 V10 may read $141k, but you can start an ownership cycle with one for just $470. Audi Canada has created a garage door wrap with a life-size print of a red Audi R8 sitting in a garage – quite a clean one too, I might add. The cover may officially label you as a poseur for life, and it certainly won’t be able to take you anywhere nice. I bet quite a number of people will be secretly disappointed to learn how the company will only ship to Canadian residents. If you ask me, the car looks nice but it’s nothing special (Chrysler 300C fan speaking here). Does all this somehow ring a bell? You’re right – BMW HAS ALREADY BEAT YOU ON THIS, AUDI!

Hmm, they say: "Get an Audi R8 for just $469.99 this way". I say: "$$$ for just a poster"?!!

Ships and Arches Optical Illusion

Vurdlak — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:04:00 +0000

This one’s classic. Still, it can be very amusing trying to spot where the ships start changing into aqueduct and sky. Rob Gonsalves is the author behind this piece of art, but what I still can’t determine – is Rob the author of “Camels in the Night” as well? Both of these illusions look too SUSPICIOUSLY simmilar, not to trigger some questions. If you think this post is somehow familiar, you’re right. I already posted this illusion 2 years ago, but it was so pixelated and low in quality that I simply had to post an update.

Oh, I forgot to tell you I booked a hotel in NY, Manhattan and will be there in October with my girlfriend. Are there any New Yorkers here that can advise me what to see, where to go out, and how to get those hard to get tickets for NBA/MLB etc? Anyone wants to be our guide when we arrive?

Can you spot where the ships become arches, and vice-versa?

Lamborghini Optical Illusion

Vurdlak — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:18:14 +0000

My man – “Can” took his try on the perspective phenomenon. As we see, he was obviously inspired by Audi R8 post (or less likely by “Optical Illusion of 3 Terrain Vehicles“), and decided to convince himself from the first hand. Can’s results are really impressive! I’m not much of a car enthusiast, but I think there are some nifty Lamborghinis shown here. Can you believe they are all actually the same size?? Nah, didn’t think you will. If you are still not convinced that all of our different-colored cars are the same, check their license plates ;)

Yes they are all the same size (colored Lamborghinis). Check their license plates :)

Cheating Amish Optical Illusion

Vurdlak — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 20:51:11 +0000

I had some friends visit me over the last few days, so most of the time I was showing them around the island, and making sure Korcula stays in good memory to them. Unfortunately you were the ones that were left behind, having no benefit from this. I hope I will make things up by posting this latest “spot the object” optical illusion. This is how I see this image: there is a young Amish sitting on a horse, staring at the barn. He noticed that something is wrong here. What he is seeing should be forbidden to his people (if I’m not mistaken), yet the object is standing there without mistake. Can you tell me what did the boy see? If you think the story behind this should go a little different, feel free to correct me. Enjoy!

Back Bus Billboard Illusion

Vurdlak — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:19:26 +0000

Imagine driving for a work one day, moving your eyes away from the driving wheel for a second just to change the radio station, and suddenly this bus appears in front of you. Would it confuse you? Perhaps you would even be frightened for a minute, until you noticed that what you are seeing is just an illusionary billboard sticker. Certain insurance company thought of a smart way to rise attention about its service. As I mentioned previously, best way to burn your message into the masses brain, is by shocking them. This photo was submitted by Jenn, who wrote us the following words:

I love you site! Visit it daily ever since it was featured on Yahoo. Haven’t come across any problems yet. :-) I’ve been sharing your site with a few other friends, and one of them sent me this advertisement link. Thought I’d share it with you. Keep up the good work!

Benedict Radcliffe’s “Wireframe Lamborghini”

Vurdlak — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:56:00 +0000

What you’re seeing below is not a computer generated drawing, but a full scale wire-frame representation of a Lamborghini Countach. The installation was created by artist named Benedict Radcliffe. Regular visitors may recall similar installation we covered back in March, called “Wireframed Subaru Impreza” by the same artist we cover today. Lamborghini is the latest in a series of wire cars Radcliffe has completed. It’s his most ambitious project so far. Painstakingly crafted from 10 mm steel tubes welded together into that familiar shape we all know and secretly love. Upon close inspection you see fine details in the wheels and the intake gills, even the “Pirelli P7″ letters are worked out. The car is currently on display at the Classic Car Club UK, a genius organization with a collection of cars the members collectively drive.

Optical Illusion Creates Fake Speed Bumps

Vurdlak — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:16:00 +0000

Frank, Jessica, Dan and few more of our loyal visitors pointed me to this interesting article about 3D Optical Illusions being used as a part of Philadelphia’s effort to slow down drivers speeding through local streets. I just read this article on CNN, and the basic idea is that rather than building real speed bumps on roads, optical illusion speed bumps are being tested that are intended to trick drivers into slowing down, only later to find that there was no bump after all. I’m all for great new ideas like this one, specially when they have something to do with illusions, but this one seems very flawed. Maybe an optical illusion bump would trick me once, but wouldn’t I learn pretty quickly where these fake bumps are located? Another problem would occur if I was driving a bike, and lost my control over it. I can also see people in the near future beginning to ignore real speed bumps thinking they are illusions, only to hit the bumps at 35 mph and getting a little unintended air. What do you think? In short: markings are designed to look like a 3-D pyramid from afar, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is testing the “bumps”, they cost a fraction of real speed bumps and require little maintenance, in one location drivers slowed down, but the effect wore off after a few months.

Crazy Car Optical Illusion

Vurdlak — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:34:00 +0000

Jim Gansle from Canyon Lake, Texas sent me this photo of a vintage car (along with few more visitors that submit illusions regularly). Seems that the photo really went viral, since lately I stumble upon it very often across the web. Enough on the background of this flick, now let me describe the effect. Once you see this photo, you’ll probably need some time before you spot something very strange in it. I was wondering what is so interesting about this car, but after it hit me (no, not the car, luckily the car didn’t hit me), it all became clear. This is what Jim wrote: “In case you haven’t seen this before. I really enjoy your site – got the widget to tell me when a new one is available. What a fun you would have at intersections. You figure it out. I got a headache”. This will be added to our Transportation category, the one I speak so rarely about.