OpticalIllusions
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Optical illusion lets you safely run over fake children
Traffic: it's one of our least favorite things in the universe, especially when it's caused by rubbernecking. A Canadian organization called Preventable has taken a bizarrely proactive twist on the motorist's compulsion to stare at accidents by putting the "accident" in front of the car. Drivers on 22nd Street in West Vancouver approach a large decal on the road that takes on the image of a little girl chasing a ball -- it becomes realistic-looking about 100 feet out -- hopefully causing them to be so weirded out that they slow down and think about it for a second. Of course, it's hard to tell whether this will do more good than harm in practice (also see: Road SMS), so the decal is just in place for one week as officials observe changes in driver behavior around the little lady. Check out a test drive after the break.
Eye Illusions app will fool you over and over again
I have to admit it. I just love optical illusions. I remember buying books full of them when I was a kid, and sharing them with anyone I could find. Now, an incredibly complete collection of illusions called Eye Illusions has come to the iPhone and the iPad. For this review I've tested the iPhone version, which sells for US$0.99. The illusions are in categories, like disappearing objects, weird lines, color illusions, etc. The app has something my books didn't have -- video. There is a great collection of videos of seemingly impossible objects. You watch the video, and then you get a look behind the scenes to see how the illusion was accomplished. %Gallery-95023%
Widget Watch: Optical Illusion of the Day
If you're one for intentionally playing tricks on your own mind, Optical Illusion of the Day just might be your bag. It gets its magic from Mighty Optical Illusions, a blog about all things visual trickery. I've never seen the blog before, and I'm not exactly a fan of their plastering ads in the main content column above the fold, but these illusions are at least better than those darn 'can you see the image in this colored spot painting' things.
