Double Meanings

Some of the most widespread and popular type of illusions, this selection of images can typically be seen in more than one way. Try taking a good look at each one and see if you can see more than one interpretation of what's there, some of them contain two, three or even more different images.

Black chair illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Black chair illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 14 comment(s)
Here we have a picture of a black chair, the type you would find belonging to a set of furniture to match the dining room table. When you first look at this chair you will probably think you are seein...

Octavio Ocampo Family of Birds illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Octavio Ocampo Family of Birds illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 5 comment(s)
This beautiful and gentle picture called "Family of Birds" is the work of Octavio Ocampo who is a well known artist from Mexico. In this image you can see some birds hovering around the bark of a tree...

Hidden baby illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Hidden baby illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 19 comment(s)
On first glance you can see this is a black and white picture of a young couple looking across a stretch of water. In the distance there is an island of trees and the couple are also standing next to ...

Mysterious cylinder optical illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Mysterious cylinder optical illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 6 comment(s)
This is an optical illusion of a coiled wire cylinder that looks a bit like a slinky, the popular toy that can walk down stairs by itself. The orientation of the coil changes depending on which way yo...

Word and face illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Word and face illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 7 comment(s)
In this double meaning optical illusion you can see the outline of a face of a man drawn in white against a black background. When you look more closely the white line turns into a word which becomes ...

Soldier or man bending over illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Soldier or man bending over illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 10 comment(s)
This is one of those optical illusions where you will probably find you have to do a double take before you notice any difference in what you are first looking at. So to start with, what do you see? O...

Cow and faces illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Cow and faces illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 2 comment(s)
I think most people have heard the saying about cows being curious and the black and white cow staring back at you in this image is no exception. I am curious myself about what this cow is interested ...

Candlestick or silhouettes illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Candlestick or silhouettes illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 3 comment(s)
In the center of this optical illusion there is a black shape which resembles a candlestick, one of those brass type they have in churches that sit on the altar. In contrast, on either side of this bl...

Woman or saxophone player  thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Woman or saxophone player
Added: February 12, 2013 | 5 comment(s)
Here we have another well known double meaning black and white optical illusion. In the black part of this image you can see a musician playing what looks like a saxophone while facing right. On the w...

Flowers or face illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Flowers or face illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 9 comment(s)
This is a very simple image of what appears to be some flowers, but the image also looks like the face of a young lady. When you look at the picture what is the first image you see? The flowers or the...

Young lady or old woman illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Young lady or old woman illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 18 comment(s)
On first glance you can see the head of a young lady wearing a hat with her head turned looking to her right, but if you look at the image more closely you can also see an old woman with her head look...

Horse frog illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Horse frog illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 12 comment(s)
On first glance this is an image of a horse's head, but when you turn the image around you can see the head becomes an image of a frog sitting on a rock surrounded by water....

Figure columns illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Figure columns illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 3 comment(s)
This is a black and white photograph taken by a lady called Sha Sha Chu. The image is of a row of white columns but it also gives the illusion that you are looking at a row of human figures in black. ...

Glass with two halves thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Glass with two halves
Added: February 12, 2013 | 9 comment(s)
While not quite an optical illusion this image does help to represent the paradox of duality. One of these glasses is half empty and one of them is half full, but which is which ? Is there even an ans...

Sideways car illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Sideways car illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 17 comment(s)
This well circulated picture of a vintage car might seem like nothing unusual at a glance but look a bit closer and you'll notice that the direction its facing isn't quite as obvious as it first appea...

Salvador Dali Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Salvador Dali Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 22 comment(s)
Here's a spooky illusion just in time for Halloween. What do you see in this picture, a profile of Salvafor Dali or a ghostly woman ?...

Cultural Optical Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Cultural Optical Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 16 comment(s)
This sketch is interesting because what it shows can vary depending on the cultural background of the observer. To those in the west who are used to being indoors this picture can appear to show a fam...

Fish or Girl thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Fish or Girl
Added: February 12, 2013 | 45 comment(s)
Another double meaning illusion, does this picture show a plate with a fish on it or does it show a girl's face ?...

Man or a Mermaid thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Man or a Mermaid
Added: February 12, 2013 | 14 comment(s)
A classic double meaning illusion, is this a drawing of a man with a moustache or is it a mermaid at the bottom of the ocean ?...

Pyramid Pillar Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Pyramid Pillar Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 23 comment(s)
This photograph taken in Bad Langensalza, Germany shows one of many pillars placed around a fountain. The illusion here is that the pillar can either appear to be hollow or to have a pyramid on the to...

Cat Dance Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Cat Dance Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 37 comment(s)
Special thanks to artist Patrick Trotter for sending in to us this picture he's painted of a black cat. Which way is the cat facing ? It depends on how you look at it, like many other "double meaning"...

Cher Heart of Stone Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Cher Heart of Stone Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 17 comment(s)
This album cover from Cher's Heart of Stone album is a take on the well known skull illusions - her dress design and pose in the picture help to create the overall impression of a skull....

Towels Dog thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Towels Dog
Added: February 12, 2013 | 52 comment(s)
Here's a picture of a pile of towels being used as a pillow by another pile of towels.. or is it a dog ? This cute little bundle of folds is actually a shar-pei puppy, he looks so much like the towel ...

Love of a Pierrot thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Love of a Pierrot
Added: February 12, 2013 | 25 comment(s)
A man and a woman sit at a table with a number of drinks and a bottle of champagne on ice at hand. But there's something more to this picture than meets the eye, see if you can see what alternative im...

All is Vanity thumbCategory: Double Meanings
All is Vanity
Added: February 12, 2013 | 25 comment(s)
In this 19th century painting by Charles Allan Gilbert a woman sits at her dressing table. Nothing unusual about that you might ask ? Take a closer look at the picture as a whole, in particular the co...

Eskimo Face Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Eskimo Face Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 28 comment(s)
What is this a picture of, are we looking at a native American face looking off to the left or are we looking at the back of an eskimo in furs walking in the direction of the wind towards the right ?...

Polar Bear Seal Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Polar Bear Seal Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 27 comment(s)
Another well known double meaning illusion, this image shows an animal basking on the frozen wastes but what type of animal is it ? Is it a polar bear or is it a seal ? Or is it both ?...

Duck Rabbit Illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Duck Rabbit Illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 29 comment(s)
What is this a picture of ? At first glance it may appear that this is a picture of a duck looking towards the left, however if you look closely you'll see that the image is also a rabbit looking towa...

Rubin vase illusion thumbCategory: Double Meanings
Rubin vase illusion
Added: February 12, 2013 | 21 comment(s)
Perhaps the best place to start in our trip through the world of illusions is one of the most well known of all and one that you are likely to have seen before many times. Known as "Rubin's Vase" this...