JUST LAST YEAR, The Dress took the internet by storm.

Was it black and blue or white and gold?

And more importantly, will the families and friends that were torn apart by this viral sensation ever be able to make peace?

While you’re mulling that over, have a look at these optical illusions and try to figure them out. Be warned though – you might want to pop your specs on first…

1. Pause or fast forward

Is the below image a moving gif or a regular old jpeg?

Wikimedia / Animal Collective Wikimedia / Animal Collective / Animal Collective

Well, it’s actually just a normal picture – it’s almost like one of those old Magic Eye pictures, in that it’s designed to sway and bob as you peer at it. It’s the artwork for the band Animal Collective’s 2009 album Merriweather Post Pavilion. Trippy.

2. Face/Off

Which of these faces is a man and which is a woman?

Quora Quora

Well, it’s a trick question. It’s the same androgynous face, just with different contrast effects added to the picture. The face with more contrast is usually pegged as “female”. Mind blown.

3. Swingin’ the night away

Is this object swinging in the centre of this video turning the entire time or is it pausing every so often? Take a look.

We’ll leave this one as a teaser – you’ll have to watch the video to see the inventor of this optical illusion’s very own explanation of his creation.

4. 50 Shades

Are these sides the same colour or two different shades of grey? Are you sure about your answer?

illusions.org illusions.org

Cover the line between the two squares. They’re the same colour. Absolutely baffling, but there it is in black and white – or should we say “in grey”.

5. Our house, in the middle of our street

Take a look at these two rows of buildings. AB seems much longer than CD, right?

eyetricks.com eyetricks.com

Wrong. Measure the two buildings with your fingers.

6. Magic roundabout

OK. Take a look at the white dot in the video below. See the dots changing colour? And how they seem to stop changing colour as the circle turns?

Now play the video again – but this time look at one of the coloured dots instead of the white one. Follow it as the ring rotates. You’ll see that actually the dots had been changing the whole time, even when the spinning started. Whoa.

Did these optical illusions work for you? Let us know in the comments section.

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