Incredibly Tricky Pictures That Will Make You Do A Double-Take

This Is Not A Painting

No, we’re not messing with you. This is a real picture and it hasn’t been touched by photoshop. Give your eyes a minute to adjust to the vivid contrast in this photo and see if you can tell what you’re looking at. Still unsure? This photo is a snapshot taken at Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia, during the early morning. The shadows covering the trees look unnatural, and the bright desert sun lights up the background of the photo in startling contrast. But this really is a picture of a real place in the world with zero photo editing.

The Flying Dutchman

Have you ever seen a ship that appears to be flying over the ocean? Many sailors and people who spend a lot of time on the ocean have witnessed this phenomenon, which led to the famous myth of the Flying Dutchman. But what you’re looking at can actually be explained by science! This is a mirage known as Fata Morgana, and it can make ships appear as though they’re floating above the ocean. Don’t worry though, this isn’t a ghost ship. It’s just another trick your eyes and mind are playing on you.

City Of The Dead

Travelers love sharing pictures of the unique sites they discover around the world, but this one made us scratch our heads a few times. An American traveling through Tokyo posted this picture on Reddit, which gained massive attention. He took this picture out of the window of his hotel, and at first glance, it appears to show a cityscape below him. However, you’re actually looking at a very crowded and well-kept cemetery!

Unexpected Black Hole

Can you imagine walking into your bedroom and realizing a black hole has formed in your duvet? It’d be impossible to sleep there unless you want to risk getting sucked into another dimension! But that’s not what’s happening in this photo. What you’re really looking at is this person’s cat curled into an almost perfect circle. The cat looks pretty cozy all curled up like this, so we hope the owner simply took the picture and left their pet to continue their nap.

It’s Not A Fossilized Ship

Ships sinking is an unfortunate fact of life, but we’ve never heard of a ship fossilizing on the surface of the water. That simply wouldn’t be possible, which is why we know this image isn’t actually showing a ship. It’s actually a very oddly-shaped rock, but you can’t blame us for taking one look at this photo and thinking it’s some kind of preserved ship!

Cat With One Arm And Giant Head?

One of the best parts of being a pet owner is watching your pet stretch and twist themselves into hilarious positions. Dogs are known to get themselves into some funny-looking positions, but cats do it all the time too! This cat is lying on this chair in a way that makes it seem as though he’s entirely made up of a head and a giant arm. Logically, we know the cat is just chilling in a way that’s comfortable for him, but you can’t unsee the giant arm.

The Ocean Inside The Rock

This sounds like the punchline to a bad joke, but it really does look like there’s a tiny ocean existing inside of this rock! In reality, what’s happening with this photo is similar to the photo with the opal we showed you above. This is an Ethiopian Welo Opal New Gem, which the photographer captured at just the right angle as light shinned through the rock. It creates a mystical appearance of a tiny ecosystem inside the rock, but that’s just the rock’s natural formation.

Don’t Worry- The Camel’s Fine!

We actually laughed when we saw this picture! Everyone’s taken a picture like this at some point where their body is cutting off a key focal point of another person or object. The person in this photo was at the zoo, trying to stop a camel from stealing their coffee, when their friend snapped this picture. The angle of the person’s body completely blocks the body of the camel, which makes it appear as though he’s holding a decapitated camel head. Don’t worry though, the camel’s fine and no, it didn’t get his coffee.

Like Something Out Of A Horror Movie

This picture looks like a scene from a horror movie. With the stormy sky, lightning bolts, boats on the water, and a giant UFO in the sky, it’s hard to tell that this is just an average photo taken from someone’s living room. While the stormy sky and most things in this picture are 100% natural, the UFO is actually a reflection of this person’s ceiling light. Still, you could use this image for inspiration for a short horror story.

The Disappearing Floor

Just looking at this floor might cause some vertigo, but you probably won’t even notice the awkward appearance when you’re walking on it. The pattern of this floor and the angle at which the picture was taken makes it seem as though the floor randomly begins to drop off. However, it’s just an illusion, and you’ll be perfectly safe when you walk on this floor.

A Perfect Storm Moment Captured

The optical illusion created by this photograph is pretty intense. A man stopped on the side of the road to take a picture as this storm progressed, and lightning just happened to strike at the exact moment he took the picture. It created this fascinating illusion where the scenery looks perfectly split in half. Plus, he managed to capture the reflection of the lighting on his car in the bottom right of the picture!

An Ocean Wave In The Sky

Clouds can do some pretty crazy things. Have you ever seen a Mammatus cloud? If not, you’ll definitely want to look that up after you’re done reading this list! Anyways, the cloud in this is another example of the cool formations we get to see in the sky. The cloud resembles a perfect ocean wave as it crests, which is a sight surfers everywhere love to see.

Perfectly Framed Kite

We honestly love when perfect moments like this happen. There’s no better place to fly a pirate ship kite than at the beach, and this person managed to take a photo of the kite in the air at the perfect time! The photographer managed to get the kite into the frame where it appears to be sitting on the water, creating the illusion that there was a giant pirate ship on the water.

This Is Not Concrete

When you first look at this picture, it’s easy to see a strip of gray concrete, but that’s not what you’re looking at. You are actually looking at an image of New Delhi taken from the sky. It’s astonishing to see how overcrowded that city is when you look at it from this angle. Now you have a new perspective on the idea of overpopulation.

The Godzilla Bug

Anyone with entomophobia (the fear of bugs) should probably scroll past this photo because this is your worst nightmare. A person working in an office building looked up from their computer one day to see this giant-looking bug staring in at them. The bug isn’t actually massive, but it certainly appears to be! Of course, the person had to take a picture and share it on Reddit. It does look pretty terrifying!

The Last Unicorn

Mythical creatures like unicorns aren’t usually spotted in the wild, but sometimes we see structures that resemble these creatures. This person was exploring The Faroe Islands when they came across this uniquely-shaped rock covered in moss. The moss growth and the general structure of the rock make it look as though a unicorn has laid down there.

A Lonely Soldier

The way our brains are hardwired to create recognizable shapes out of literally everything is one of the most fascinating aspects of human psychology. This person took a photo of a piece of lint on their windowsill, and everyone who’s seen the photo sees the same thing. It looks like the top half of a lonely soldier raising his gun. What is he trying to fight off? Maybe the encroaching dust.

It’s Not A Picture Frame

Plenty of people enjoy exploring abandoned ruins all around the world. They can provide us with a fascinating glimpse into the past, and sometimes you come across an interesting moment like this. The person exploring this ruin in the Australian Outback snapped a photo of the outside, and it looks as if there’s a picture frame hanging on the wall. The dichotomy between what can be seen inside and outside is pretty startling.

A Group Of Phoenixes?

Everyone knows about the myth of phoenixes. These legendary birds supposedly rise from the ashes, and it seems as if that’s what’s been captured in this picture. A person went into their backyard to burn old wood and pallets they no longer needed. Some of the materials burned in an odd way, leaving behind little bits of themselves. These left-behind pieces kind of look like birds sitting next to the fire and watching the flames. It’s pretty spooky!