Michael Bach's Optical Illusions
Around 140 visual phenomena, each with sliders to break the effect and a vision scientist's explanation of why you fell for it.
Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.
How to get the most from it
Michael Bach's Optical Illusions sits in Optical Illusions under Weird, filed as rabbit hole.
- Open it when the evening is free. It has no natural stopping point.
- Use a laptop or desktop computer — we file it as desktop only.
- It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something brainy and mesmerising.
About this category: Illusion collections and perception demos. The good ones keep working after you have been told exactly how they work.
Good for
- A long evening with nothing planned
- Giving your brain a workout
- Watching something hypnotic for a while
- A quiet break at your desk
- Trying it with zero commitment
Michael Bach's Optical Illusions: quick answers
Is Michael Bach's Optical Illusions free?
Yes. Michael Bach's Optical Illusions is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Michael Bach's Optical Illusions?
No. You can use Michael Bach's Optical Illusions without signing up for anything.
Does Michael Bach's Optical Illusions work on a phone?
Not well. We file Michael Bach's Optical Illusions as desktop only, so open it on a laptop or desktop computer.
Is Michael Bach's Optical Illusions safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.
How long does Michael Bach's Optical Illusions take?
We file it as "Rabbit hole": Clear your evening. We warned you.
More in Optical Illusions
All 13 in Optical IllusionsLong-running blog of illusions and visual puzzles, from classic ambiguous figures to whichever dress the internet is arguing about.
- 10 min
Steady feed of new illusions with the comments doing the debunking, which is usually half of the entertainment.
The lab page of the psychologist whose completely static images refuse to stop rotating, added to for over twenty years.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Gianni Sarcone's workshop of puzzles and illusions, half optical trickery and half mathematical recreation, running since the 1990s.
- 10 min
Same mood: brainy
All brainy sitesFactory building crossed with tower defence: conveyor belts feed the guns, and the guns hold the line while you fix the belts.
- 1 hr+
- Desktop
Proper Minesweeper with leaderboards, no-guess boards and enough statistics to prove you are worse at it than you thought.
- 10 min
Decades of archived puzzle hunts from the hardest annual competition of its kind, all of it still playable.
- 1 hr+
- Desktop
Screenshot library of real mobile and web apps, organised by flow, so you can see how everybody else solved it first.
- 1 hr+
- Desktop
Keep exploring
Category
Time and mood
Have a site of your own? Suggest it for Detour or browse the AltFTool backlinks hub.