Studies Say Only 1% Of People Can Find The Animal In This Picture. Can You?

There’s an image that has recently gone viral because apparently, only 1% of people can find the animal in this picture. Can you?

Well, our brains are definitely hurting now so we might have to come back to that one later.

Ready for Round Two?
Ever heard of the McCollough effect? It’s this weird trick of the mind where, after staring at a colored grating (alternating lines), your brain starts to see a pinkish tinge or other colors when looking at black-and-white lines.

It’s said that to trigger the effect, you simply stare at the center of two colored “induction images” for several minutes or more, switching back and forth repeatedly. It works best with green or red lines. Then, when you look at vertical black-and-white lines, you’ll find it appears red, green, or pinkish in places.

Tilting your head 90 degrees may lessen or enhance it. In fact, rotating the induction images and staring at them again may actually reverse the effect. The longer you stare at the original induction images, the longer it’ll last – for hours, days, or even a few months in some cases.

But is that actually true, and what’s causing it if so?
The effect is named after its discoverer, US psychologist Celeste McCollough Howard. She was the first person to ever find a so-called “contingent aftereffect”, which is an illusion that affects your brain for an extended period of time.

Over the years, there have been a number of studies done on the effect. Back in 1975, two researchers tested five groups of 16 people and, amazingly, one of the groups showed no lessening of the effect after five days. In fact, the effect remained better than half strength for four groups up to 2,040 hours later – or almost three months.

You can test the effect for yourself, with the images below. Note, there is a chance it can affect your vision for a while – although it only really gets triggered when you see vertical or horizontal lines afterwards. For the most part, it appears to be harmless. Up to you.

So, what’s causing it? Well, there has been some debate about that. There are three main lines of thought, one being that is has something to do with neurons in your visual cortex. Another is that your brain tries to color-correct the world and gets a bit stuck, while a third is that it’s a sort of withdrawal symptom, in this case an absence of color.

There was a particularly interesting study done on it back in 1995. Researchers then examined a single patient, one who had experienced significant brain damage. According to the researchers, he was “able to see color but little else”.

These are the two induction images that can trigger the effect, if you alternate between staring at their centers for a few minutes. Fredifortakeoff/Wikimedia

After showing him red-and-green gratings (although he was not really able to notice the gratings), the patient still reported that the effect worked when using a black-and-white grating after. The researchers concluded that the effect thus was probably occurring within the visual cortex, or somewhere between the eye and the brain.

Some studies have looked into just how prevalent the effect is. One way back in 1969 found that various stripes colored red and green produced the after-effects. Weirdly, it found that if your induction image was green, then you’d see red colors on vertical grates and green colors on horizontal grates. If a red induction image was used, then those colors reversed.

What’s weirder, it was only green and red that worked. “Colors near pure blue and pure yellow, which had little red or green content, produced weak aftereffects,” the study noted.. As far as we can tell, there isn’t a good explanation for why red and green are so good at producing the effect compared to others.

Then if you look at this image, it should appear red or green in parts, or even pinkish. Android Mouse/Wikimedia

As for the grating thing? Well, that might be due to neurons in your visual cortex responding more strongly to their “preferred orientation and spatial frequency,” according to another study. It even suggested a rather interesting theory, that the JPEG image format used “plaid-like” (chequered) patterns, which are basically two gratings overlaid on each other.

“Perhaps the efficiency of this kind of representation means that something similar is also used by the visual system?” they wrote.

And that’s kind of where we are now. It looks very much like the visual cortex is doing something, with your brain being tricked in one way or another. The exact mechanics behind it, though, are not completely understood. However, it does look like it’s very much a trick of the brain, and not a problem with our eyes themselves.

It’s also a good reminder that our brains are easily fooled, such as struggling to tell lines are parallel or being confused by concentric circles. Brains are weird, huh?

Related Posts

Melania Trump’s wedding dress ‘for sale’ on eBay for eye-watering amount

Melania’s opulent Christian Dior dress, designed by John Galliano, from her January 2005 wedding to Donald Trump was listed for sale at $45,000 (or best offer)—a steep…

I ASKED MY NEIGHBOR TO CLEAN UP AFTER USING MY BBQ — THE NEXT DAY, SHE LEFT HER OWN “RULES” ON MY DOOR, BUT I SHUT THAT DOWN. So, about six months ago, a new neighbor moved in — a woman (40) with her son (16). At first, she seemed chill. I even lent her some household stuff and let her use my outdoor grill station when we weren’t home. No big deal, right? Wrong. One weekend, me, my husband and our kids went to visit my parents. We came back, and boom — MY BACKYARD LOOKED LIKE A FRAT HOUSE HAD JUST HOSTED A BBQ APOCALYPSE. Empty bottles, food scraps, grill left dirty like it had survived a grease explosion. I ask her about it, and she just shrugs, saying it was her son’s birthday, so you know, it’s just kids, it’s what kids do. Apparently, I shouldn’t make a fuss over something so minor. Lady, it’s my backyard, not a public park! So, I do the reasonable thing. I draft up three simple rules: 1. If you use something, clean it and put it back. 2. Please, clean up after your child. 3. That’s it. Just be respectful. I hand it to her, thinking we’re all good. THE NEXT DAY, I WAKE UP TO A LIST OF HER RULES TAPED TO MY DOOR. HER rules. For MY property. Spoiler: I didn’t follow her rules. In two weeks, her son knocked on my door and pleaded, “Ma’am, please, stop!” 👇🏼 Full story in the first comment 👇

Camilla allows her new neighbor, Claire, to use her barbecue… until she goes home to a backyard disaster. When Camilla asks for basic respect, her neighbor demands…

MY SISTER TOOK BACK THE CAR SHE GIFTED ME AFTER I UPGRADED IT, SO I TAUGHT HER A LESSON. My older sister sold me her old car for a symbolic amount. It hadn’t run in ages, with flat tires and rust under the hood. But she made a big deal out of gifting it to me. Knowing my way around cars, I invested $5,000 to upgrade everything—new interior, fresh paint, new tires, and wheels. I was thrilled with the result. One morning, as I was about to leave for university, my sister stormed in, DEMANDING THE CAR BACK. I was sh0cked. She claimed her husband’s car had broken down, and since she hadn’t sent the sale documents, the car was still legally hers. She said she had changed her mind. My parents sided with her, arguing that she needed the car for her kids. My first thought was to call the police, but then I had a better idea. I decided to teach her a lesson she wouldn’t forget. I went to ⬇️ Full story in 1st comment

To be honest, I never imagined a beat-up old automobile would become the center of family drama, but here we are. It all began when my older…

A POOR BOY’S LIFE CHANGES AFTER HE PULLS AN OLD, RUSTY CHAIN STICKING OUT OF THE SAND ON A REMOTE BEACH Adam is 13 years old and lives with his grandfather in an old trailer near the ocean. His parents passed away when he was just 3, and since then, his grandpa has been his only family. They don’t have much, but his grandpa has raised him well—Adam is strong, smart, and way more mature than most kids his age. One afternoon, he rode his bike down to the beach, just like any other day. He wandered along the shore, letting the waves tickle his feet—until something caught his eye. A thick, rusted chain lay partially buried in the sand. Curious, Adam grabbed it and pulled—but it barely budged. Whatever it was connected to was massive. From that moment on, Adam became obsessed with digging. He had no idea what he was about to uncover—or how it was about to change his life forever ⬇️

The rusted chain jutting from the sand seemed worthless to everyone else, but to 13-year-old Adam, it promised an escape from poverty. He couldn’t have known that…

THEY WERE PRAYING IN A CIRCLE—BUT NO ONE TAUGHT THEM HOW It was just after snack time, and I was washing out some paint cups when I noticed the room had gone oddly quiet. Too quiet for a group of 4- and 5-year-olds who usually treated volume like a sport. I turned the corner into the play area and stopped in my tracks. Four of them—Niko, Janelle, Izzy, and Samir—were sitting cross-legged in a perfect little circle. Hands held. Eyes shut. Heads bowed. They were whispering something I couldn’t quite catch at first. I thought maybe it was a song or one of those rhyming games they loved. But when I leaned in, I realized they were… praying. Like, really praying. Asking for things. Saying “Amen.” Janelle even crossed herself at the end like she’d seen in church. Thing is, we don’t do any kind of religious activity in our classroom. It’s a public kindergarten. No nativity plays, no Bible stories, nothing. And I’d never seen any of these four talk about faith or even mimic that kind of behavior before. I crouched down and gently asked, “Hey, what are you guys doing?” Izzy opened one eye and whispered, “We’re asking the sky to help us.” “Help you with what?” I asked. Niko just said, ⬇️

It was just after snack time, and I was washing out some paint cups when I noticed the room had gone oddly quiet. Too quiet for a…

Try stretching your ring finger with your thumb and holding it for a few seconds. You’ll be amazed by the reason behind it! (check in first comment👇)

Can we achieve peace and harmony with just our hands? Let’s explore some mudras (hand gestures) and their benefits: Gyan Mudra (Knowledge Mudra): How to do it: Sit…