--- --- # This Viral Optical Illusion Is Making Everyone on the Internet's Eyes Spin by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Aug 10, 2017 4:41 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Aug 10, 2017 4:41 PM UTC Move over, [blue-black-white-gold dress](http://time.com/3725528/dress-explainer-white-gold-blue-black-science/), there’s a new [optical illusion](http://time.com/4283741/red-dot-optical-illusion/) taking over the internet and it’s a real head-scratcher. The illusion was created by artist Victoria Skye, and shared by Twitter user @martinstaylor. It appears to show a series of horizontal lines arranged at an angle. The trick is that all the lines are straight, even though it _really_ doesn’t look like it. The image quickly took the [internet](http://time.com/3725356/dress-blue-black-white-gold/) by storm. > [](https://twitter.com/martinstaylor/status/894512566629740544) Some people noted that the illusion could have been inspired by a [longstanding mural at a café in Bristol](http://www.richardgregory.org/papers/cafe%5Fwall/cafe-wall.pdf) in the United Kingdom: > [](https://twitter.com/EyeManSonny/status/895029689294704646) Others were offering tips to help befuddled brains explain the illusion, suggesting everything from squinting to enlarging the image or printing it out: > [](https://twitter.com/PrinceJasper/status/894589467520098304) > [](https://twitter.com/ckozielec/status/894599527625367553) > [](https://twitter.com/Uri%5FHasson/status/894670232047976448) > [](https://twitter.com/OhsoLosoo/status/895020586795229186) > [](https://twitter.com/AntonyPaton/status/894723046199541760) If none of those helpful hints worked, dancing bears are here to make it all better. > [](https://twitter.com/darth/status/894933239508254720) An Lined Optical Illusion Went Viral: Internet Reactions ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4895429/viral-optical-illusion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4895429/viral-optical-illusion/"},"headline":"This Viral Optical Illusion Is Making Everyone on the Internet's Eyes Spin","datePublished":"2017-08-10T16:41:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:46:18.216Z","description":"The lines in this image are straight, but your brain won't see it that way","url":"https://time.com/4895429/viral-optical-illusion/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Bizarre","Viral News"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4895429/viral-optical-illusion/","name":"This Viral Optical Illusion Is Making Everyone on the Internet's Eyes Spin"}}]}] ```