Social media users have been baffled by this stunning optical illusion that appears to show a shrinking building.
The viral clip left people in a frenzy as they tried to figure out what exactly was going on.
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Shannon Brown left baffled by ‘shrinking mill’ in OntarioCredit: Tiktok – @pubity
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The building seemed to get smaller as mom and daughter got closer Credit: Tiktok – @pubity
Mom Shannon Brown heard “by word of mouth” about a local miracle that baffles residents of Ontario, Canada.
She decided to get in the car and take her daughter to see the incredible illusion in the city of Port Colborne.
The couple drove east along the lakeshore to see a sight that has mystified Canadians for decades.
They filmed their journey down the highway, showing them heading toward the Federal grist mill in the distance.
As they approached the tree-covered building, mother and daughter noticed that it seemed much smaller than when they first saw it.
A stunned Shannon can be heard saying, “It’s shrinking…why was that building so big? Why is it so small?”
They continued down the road before coming to a bend instead of reaching the mill as onlookers had supposed.
Social media users could hardly believe their eyes when the structure, separated by the sea from the Shannon, seemed small, whereas minutes before it seemed enormous.
Even Shannon’s girl was taken aback by the extraordinary ‘retractable windmill’, when she asked: “Why does it do that? It was huge in there!”
Confused mom replies, “I don’t know! Look how small he is.”
Social media users were also amazed by the optical illusion of real life in Canada.
One wrote: “Maybe they’re going up a little hill?”
Another said: “I don’t like what this has done to my brain.”
And the third intervened: “Glitch in the matrix.”
But others insisted there was a simple scientific explanation for the hallucinatory illusion.
One explained that the puzzling clip was actually footage of the Ponzo Effect, or the Moon Illusion, occurring in real time.
A term coined by the Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo, it refers to an illusion in which two identical lines appear at different sizes due to human perspective.
In this case, the trees and houses along the street assume the role of converging Ponzo lines.
This environment distorts his perception of the windmill and initially tricks his brain into thinking it is bigger than it really is.
As Shannon continues to drive, more of the surrounding horizon is revealed, causing her vision to constantly adjust.
This creates an illusion and gives drivers the feeling that the building is constantly shrinking as they get closer.
The Ponzo effect is so powerful that it can even be caught on video.
According to NASA, which calls the phenomenon the Moon Illusion, the building “appears wider because it extends over a greater apparent distance.”
“Foreground objects trick your brain into thinking they’re bigger than they really are.”
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The Ponzo effect makes people believe that an object is bigger than it actually is Credit: Tiktok – @pubity
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: tiengtrunghaato.edu.vn