We all know that optical illusions play mind tricks by often using very bright colors and mismatching shapes to confuse our brains which are not always capable of dealing with such a loud and unexpected picture. And there's absolutely nothing wrong to be deceived by such eye tricks once in a while, in fact, if you like looking at the optical illusion pictures, chances are that you have better visual problem-solving skills.
However, there are the classical illusion pictures, and then there are shadows. Have you ever thought what happens when a shadow gets tired of following around the same people and objects all the time and goes rogue? It turns out that shadows can produce some incredible optical illusions, and turn up in the most unexpected places and forms. And what's even more curious, that the shadow, depending on the Sun's position in our skies, might create the optical illusion just for minutes or sometimes seconds. In other words, to catch a shadow creating an illusion is quite a chance of luck.
We here at Bored Panda have compiled a list of all the times that shadows refused to do as they were told, and took on a life of their own. Scroll down below to check the mirages caught in the form of shadow pictures for yourself!
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Playground Shadows
The scientist in me says "the sun is at an altitude of approximately 45°." The æsthete in me says "purdy..." :-)
Mt. Rainier Shadow From My Backyard
The Sun Melted The Snow Everywhere Except Where The Bikes' Shadows Were
Not Everybody Is What They Seem
"Everybody wants to be a rat, because a rat's the only rat who knows where it's at."
Shadows Of Leaves From A Tree During A Solar Eclipse
Oh, the tree's behaviing like a camera obscura! I'd wet myself if I saw this in real life!!
This Spiders Reflection In A Pool
I love far better the reflexion than the real model.... And I changed my mind about go swiming finally.
Cheerful Shadow
Found The Eye Of Sauron While Wine Tasting
The Shadow Of My Plane Formed A Rainbow Around It
The Reflection Of Kitchen Appliances Looks Like People In A Park
Shadow Gives Impression Of Infinite Staircase
This Cat Food Bag's Shadow Looks Like A Cat
Had it been a dog food bag, the shadow would have looked like a dog. Duh!
Even The Shadows In Scotland Are Plaid
Who Never Thought About This?
Why Hello, Little Sundog
Sitting On The Couch With A Headache And An Ice Pack On My Head When My Girlfriend Tells Me Not To Move
Oops, not the most flattering. resemblance. I hope the headache is gone ;)
Proposed To My Girlfriend And Realized There Is A Heart In Our Shadows
The Shadow Of This Juice Glass Looks Like A Rose
THIS IS NOT a shadow. It's a CAUSTICS is the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of rays on another surface. https://www.boredpanda.com/i-used-realistic-light-simulation-to-create-these-abstract-images/
Max L. - The fact that you work in IT is disturbing enough, but I am just soooooo grateful you're not educating our youth in schools by teaching English!
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The light "petals" are formed by the lights refraction over the glass base. Why in high school phisic wasn't a main subject in IT school, but they all wanted to prepare us for nobel, still a mistery to me. Now I work in IT but I know everything about every kind of accelleration.
This Einstein Poster Casts A Sinister Shadow
My Friend's Golf Team Photo Had Some Unfortunate Shadows
These Fishnet Stockings Made From The Table’s Shadow
After Nike's bum bag sandals, fishnet stockings with flip flop is the next year trend
When Your Life Is A Mess But You Can Still Keep Up Appearances
I'm Sure This Shadow Became Self-Aware
Untangled Wire, Looped Shadow
It's fustrating enough to untangle a cord, how do you go and untagle a cord's shadow !!?
The Shadow On His Shirt Makes It Look Like The Guy In The Back Is Badly Photoshopped Into The Picture
Cool Sticker Shadow Effect I Saw This Morning
My Shoe Lace Shadow Looks Like A Man Climbing A Mountain
The Shadow From This Glass Bowl Is Beautiful
The Shadow Of Two Mailboxes Makes A Perfect Up Arrow
Face Shadow
This Shadow Of A Plant Looks Like A Decal On The Vehicle
Apparently Eclipses Produce Insane Looking Shadows
The Kids Made A Cat Face With Their Shadows
That Awkward Moment When The Shadow Of Thor's Hammer Makes It Look Like Stan Lee Peed His Pants
Am I High Or Is This Shadow Evolving
Cow Shadows
The Shadow Cast By My Engagement Ring Looks Like Batman
My Clothes Steamer Casts A Shadow That Looks Like A Witch
Batman In Disguise
My Friend Took A Picture Of Me. My Shadow Has Horses Legs
Shadows
I Just Noticed The Halloween Mask I Got For 1dol Leaves A Creepy Shadow
My Bathroom Has Six Bulbs Above The Mirror, This Is My Shadow On The Opposite Wall
The Shadows Of My Blinds And My Outdoor Table Created The American Flag
My Dog's Shadow Looks Like Yoda
The Shadows Of These Soap Bubbles Are Very Colorful
The Angle Of The Sun Removes The Italics On The Shadow
My Friend Noticed The Shadow Of My Hair Formed A Near Perfect 55
Just A Picture Of Me And Benjamin Franklin Hanging Out
The Shadow Created From A Bathroom Stall, Someone Saw An Opportunity
Friend Of Mine Caught Everest's Shadow On The Way Down From His 3rd Summit
Windows On The Entrance Of My Apartment Creating A Smiley Face In Sunlight
His Shadow Looks Like Beavis
The Way This Tombstone Designed Makes A Shadow Of A Man Appear
It's just a shadow of a ghost. As you would expect on a graveyard.
Phone Cord Shadow Looks Like DNA
The Shadow Of This Closed Flower Looks Like An Open Flower
My Glasses Are Only Corrective In The Right Lens, This Was The Shadow Produced
He Comes Out Of Hibernation Twice A Year, When The Sun Sets In The Southern Blue Ridge
The Pattern Formed By These Tables And Their Shadows
The Lighting On This Toilet Makes Me Feel Like I'm Peeing On The Smiling Wide Open Mouth Of My Own Shadow
The Way This Tree Lines Up With Another Tree's Shadow
Marching Elephants
My Day Time Stockings
Sign Outside Domino's Creates A Slice Shaped Shadow
My Hotel Room Number Is Created By A Shadow
This is not a surprise but the purpose of these numbers... yet I find it very class
My Boyfriend And His Dog’s Shadows Lined Up And Formed A Centaur In This Picture
Unmelted Snow In The Shadows
The grass has veins, ergo the Earth is alive. Please stop harming the Earth.
The Way The Sunlight Hits The Frieze Below This Roof
Having RGB Lights Makes My Room White And Makes The Edges Of Shadows Colourful
The Shadow Of The Waiter Putting Down A Plate Looks Like He’s Going To Murder Me
Plane's Shadow On Fog
Our Fire Escape Casts A Pretty Shadow
The Way The Shadow Moves
The Shadow Cast By This Candle/Glass
This Shadow Cast Looks Like A Man Going For A Dive
This Shadow Fits Perfectly Into The Path
Shadows Of Chicago Over Frozen Lake Michigan, USA
The Swing Arm Position Of My Lamp Is Casting A Grayscale Shadow
The Light And Shadow In My Office Spells Out 'Oil'
The Shadow From The Power Lines Makes This Baby Look Like He's Angry And Wearing Warpaint
These Two Hair Ties Diffracted Into Six Shadows
Spatula With Holes In It Casts A Reverse Shadow
This Kid's Shadow Looks Like Mr. Krabs
I Set My Glasses On The Table, And The Multiple Shadows Transformed Them Into A Spider
At First Glance, My Ruler's Shadow Makes It Look Like The Ruler Is Curvy
That Shadow
My Workplace Has Lights Set In A Grid Of Squares, So The Shadows Casted By Rectangular Tables Look Pixelated
Thought It Was An Awesome Paintjob... Was Disappointed When I Noticed It Was Only A Shadow
My Girlfriend's Shadow Is Reminiscent Of Darth Vader
The Reflection Of The Car Mirror Makes It Look Like My Friend Is Missing A Brick
My Shadow Looks Like Trump Is Lurking Behind Me
Freddy Krueger's Shadow Appeared In Our Jack-O'-Lantern
The Shadow Of My Gorillapod Created A Vicious Mouse
Cloud Forms A Shadow On The Sky
My Fence's Shadow Doesn't Let The Snow Melt, Making My Garden Half Green, Half White
Was Walking Through Work When I Saw This Shadow On The Ground. Good Evening
So As I Was Parking My Car At 12:30am I Saw This Creepy Looking Shadow (I Know It Isn't Paranormal, It Is Just A Random Combination Of Shadows) But It Scared The S**t Out Of Me
Shadows
The Shadow Fell Mildly Interestingly Over The Names On This Gravestone
Perfect Lighting. Favorite Shadow I've Seen In A While
The Telephone Pole's Shadow Makes A Cross On The Church Across The Street
If god wants this church to have a cross he has to paint it himself. And so he did.
This Trash Can Has An Angry Shadow
The Shadow Of The Cord Lined Up Perfecty To Look Like The Microphones Cord
Black Cat's Shadow Profile On A Pumpkin
That Shadow
My Beer Glass' Shadow Looks Like Jack Skellington
My Phone Cords Shadow Makes Perfect Hearts
The Shadow From The Fence (Almost) Perfectly Lines Up With The Sidewalk
My Cousin's Iron Man Mask Giving Homage To Overly Happy Batman
This Wiggly Shadow Of A Perfectly Straight Ladder
This Light Pole Shadow Looks Like A USB Logo
When You Play On Full Settings But You Leave The Shadows On Minimum
This Bike Rack's Shadow
Did I Stop Time? Note His Hand On The Frisbee And The Shadow...
My Brother's Shadow Looks Like Abraham Lincoln
This Shadow Looks Like The Babadook
This Hotel In Santorini Has Its Name Spelled Out In Shadows
Made It To The Lighthouse At Byron Bay And The Most Easterly Point In Australia. Maybe Fishnet Stockings Should Be A New Running Trend
I Was In My Sister's Room Talking To Her When She Told Me Not To Move And Then She Snapped This Picture. I Have No Idea How This Happened
Mt. Hood Casting A Shadow On The Clouds This Morning
Sunlight Cast A Shadow Of The Glass's Logo Onto My Beer
My Dog's Shadow Makes An Almost Perfect Arrow
The Shadow Of These Eyeglasses Looks Like A Different Style Of Eyeglasses
The Shadow Of This Tree Looks Like It Was Poorly Rendered
Shadow Of My Lamp Looks Like Monsters Inc. Logo
My Shopping Bag’s Shadow Made A Man Wearing A Nightcap
My Shadow Wielding A Spear Of Light
The Hats On This Hatrack Cast A Shadow In The Shape Of A Face
Tree Leaf Shadows Just After The Total Eclipse
Cool. Seriously though, why do cars at a dealership not come this way?
This Sign Says "Fresh Baked Rolls" But Its Shadow Says "Fresh B Rolls"
The Shadow Cast By This Rock Fireplace Looks Like An Evolution Chain From Ape To Human
It makes me think of the children faces carved on the mentel in The Haunting movie ....
I Thought I Was Taking A Creative Picture Of My Son And I. What I Got Was The Shadow Of A Balrog
My Leg Shadow Looks Like Alfred Hitchcock
The Gold Designs On This Mug Being Reflected Onto Shadows
The Way A 4 Leaf Clover Made A Heart Shadow
The Eclipse Is Leaving Very Weird Shadows On My Deck!
This Shadow Looks Like An Eye
The Shadow Of This Wind Chime Looks Like The Starship Enterprise
My Girlfriend’s Shadow Looks Like A Dog
This Projection Of A Telephone Digit Onto The Back Of A Man's Head
The Morning Frost In The Shadow Of My Home
This Shadow Is A Dead On Mullet
The Shadow Of My Guitar Stand Looks Sort Of Like An 18th-Century Gun
While At The Grand Canyon Yesterday, I Took A Picture Of This Shadow That Looked Like The Profile Of A Face
The Shadow Of A Mountain At Sunset Silhouettes Against The Sky
My Christmas Tree Puts A Shadow Of An Elf On The Wall
Shadow Of A Strainer During Partial Solar Eclipse
The Shadow Of My Feet Is In The Opposite Direction
This Shadow Made A Perfect Arrow In The Direction I Needed To Go
The Shadow Of My Couch Looks Like The Silhouette Of A Man
The Shadows Were Flipping Me Off
The Shadow Of Our Christmas Tree Didn't Turn Out Very Merry
The Shadow Of The Sugar Packets Kind Of Looks Like The Beast From Beauty And The Beast
I Noticed That My Shadow Looked Like Rihanna
That Shadow!
Late Game Of Fetch With Jose. Why Does His Shadow Look Like A Cat?
Shadow In My Shower Looks Like A Confident Slug
Peoples Shadows Seen From A Ferris Wheel
The Shadow Is Blue
My Friend's Shadow Looks Like Three Sneaking Men
Beautiful Shadows
Firestation In My Town Uses Shadows Cast From A Nearby Streetlight To Create Its Sign
The Way My Shadow Is Hidden, I Look Photoshopped Into This Image
This Shadow Cast By A Wet Sieve Looks Digitised
My Building's Shadow Has Gaps Exacly Where The Street Lamps Are
Car Shadows Preventing Snow From Melting At My Office
An Indonesian Sunset With The Shadows Of Two Volcanoes
The Shadow Of The Numbers Is More Legible Than The Numbers
These White And Red Strips Leave Black And Red Shadows
The Lights Create A Shadow Of A Non-Existent Bush
This Car's Shadow Looks Like A Happy Cowboy With A Giant Chin
My Prescription On My Right Eye Is Stronger Than The One On The Left. It Is Noticeable When Light Passing Through The Lens Casts Different Shadows
Shadow On Goodwill Sign Makes The Face Appear Menacing
The Shadow Of This Chair Looks Pixelated
The Shadow Cast By The Flowers On My Table Looks Like A Unicorn
The Shadow Casted By This Table Makes It Look Like I'm Wearing Fishnet Stockings
Eclipse Shadows, Portland, OR
My Aloe Plant’s Shadow Is Throwing Up A Peace-Sign
11 Years After Taking This Random Picture Of Strangers, I Realized Their Shadows Look Like Camels!
Shadow From My Phone Torch On My Lamp Looks Like An Anime Eye
The Shadow Of The Handle On This Cabinet Makes A Perfect 3
This Shadow In My House Looks Like Darth Vader
The Shadow Of My Charger Cable Looks Twisted When It's Actually Not
The Contrail Of A Jet Cast A Shadow On The Clouds Below
The Shadow From This Sign Makes A Perfect Arrow
My Shower’s Shadow Forms A Heart
I Was Bummed The Shadow Of The Last 5 Was Blocked, Then My Wife Pointed It Out...
For those who (made it this far and) don't see it: it's on the post next to the real 5. It took me a while ...
The Way The Shadow Has A Missing Part Due To Light Refraction
These Shoes Cast An Interesting Shadow
These Street Signs Stacked On Top Of Each Other Made A Shadow That Looks Like Batman
I Placed My Phone With The Flashlight On, On Top Of This Lamp. Got An Interesting Shadow
My Nephew Is Waiting Downstairs To Scare Me
This Pattern Of Shadows And Light
The Shadow Of My Toilet Paper Roll Looks Like A Teapot
The Shadow Of This Spider Looks Like Another Upright Spider
These Bricks Look Slightly Shifted At The Edge Of The Shadow
The Lighting In The Library Gives This Cord An Inverse Shadow
The Way The Shadows Line Up With The Concrete Slabs
The Shadow Of This Jellyfish Wine Stopper Looks Like A Wandering Samurai
The Shadow Of The Words "Good Old" Forms "Gold"
The Shadow Of My Bathrobe Looked Like A Face
The Shadow Of The Heavy Bag At My Gym Looked A Lot Like "5 Gum" Logo
The Shadow From This Wine Glass Looks Like A Sloth
The Way This Shadow Looks Like A Piano
My Sister's Shadow Will Sell You Propane And Propane Accessories
The Way The Shadow Of My Building’s Number Lines Up With The Stairs When I Come Home Around 5 Each Day
The "1" Balloon At A Birthday Party Today Cast Quite The Shadow
The Shadow Cast From The Roof Of My Tent Makes Me Feel Like I’m In The Upside Down
The Way This Umbrella’s Shadow Looks Like A Head
The Shadow Of This Sign Makes Another Sign Above The Door
looks like it may have been done purposefully so someone walking in that walkway can see what place they are at without having to peak out from under the overhang
This Shadow On My Third Floor Apartment's Window Looks Like A Lab Just Sneaking A Peak
The Shadow From This Camel Statue In My Apartment Looks Like A Bust
At About 7:30pm Each Day The Shadow Of My Patio Umbrella Looks Like A Big D**k In The Window
The Shadow Of My House Goes Excactly As Far As The Tiles Go
The Shadow My Curtains Cast Is The Senate
This Urinal Divider's Shadow Looks Like Batman And Someone Drew His Eyes/Mouth
This Chain And S Hook Made A Perfect Dollar Sign Shadow
This Shadow In My Hotel Room
You have to look for a minute. Must come from a light that has multiple lense-like divisions in the glass/plastic cover.
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Šarūnė is a List Curator here at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. Before BP, she traveled quite a bit and now could tell you some interesting stories about Alaskan black bears or how to survive +35°C while hiking in the Portuguese mountains. Later, she worked as a freelance copywriter for a travel agency until one day, she just became a bored panda. Now, Šarūnė can easily create a list of "30 Reasons Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats".
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Author, Community member
Šarūnė is a List Curator here at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. Before BP, she traveled quite a bit and now could tell you some interesting stories about Alaskan black bears or how to survive +35°C while hiking in the Portuguese mountains. Later, she worked as a freelance copywriter for a travel agency until one day, she just became a bored panda. Now, Šarūnė can easily create a list of "30 Reasons Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats".
I saw a shadow illusion made by this car's wipers - nearly perfect double batman! Untitled-2...cf0e3f.jpg
I saw a shadow illusion made by this car's wipers - nearly perfect double batman! Untitled-2...cf0e3f.jpg