Just like a joke, optical illusions can have a punchline that we did not expect. Especially if the optical illusion is something that goes from demon goat to adorable puppy when you properly pay attention. On Monday, Twitter user @dancingfool75 posted an image of what, at first glance, looks like some sort of white fur chimera. Instead, it is a little mutt head facing away from the camera with its ear folded in what looks like a weird pink snout.
The replies to the tweet are as equally baffled, with people struggling to distinguish the pup from the apparent monstrosity.
Psychology researchers will tell you that everything you see, hear, and perceive through your senses is nothing but a product of your brain. Like with all of our internalized biases, humans can struggle to unsee what they first saw. Just think of the extremely popular cases of the shoe that looked like two different colors or the Dress, so well-known online that it doesn’t need any qualifiers. Even having been told the truth of the situation, it can be difficult to unsee how you perceive an image.
If you like optical illusions, check out the winners of the best optical illusions of 2019.