Mr. W

I've always been a huge fan of creative advertising. Found one that's almost 5 years old, but really good. Enjooy!

The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit Trailers

Wow, so two movies that I'm super excited about just released their trailers. So far, seems like they won't disappoint. Interesting that both trailers feature songs being sung a capella by characters in the movie. Whatever, just enjoy:

Michael Myers Halloween Scare Prank

Few things are more fun than scaring someone. It's literally one of my favorite things to do.

Almost as fun is watching someone else get scared on video. This clip I am about to share is 12 minutes of glorious scare pranking. I only wish I had somehow been involved.

Hopefully it doesn't get taken down before you get a chance to see it. Some guy dressed up in a Michael Myers outfit and hid around a movie theater scaring all the patrons.

It's worth every second of the 12.38 minutes, but if you only have 15 seconds to spare, skip to the 12:00 mark. If you have a minute and a half to spare, add the 3:12-4:30 portion on top of that. It's an epic confrontation.

Warning: there is NSFW language in this clip.



I don't know who made this video, but if I ever find out, I'll be sure to share it with you. The guy playing Michael Myers does a great job of doing scary stabbing motions with his arm. I think my favorite thing is when someone will get scared of him standing there, thinking he's fake, then get even more scared when he stabs at them.

And if you enjoy watching people get scared as much as I do, here's an added bonus:
Scaring Little Kids

Penguin Thief

Hilarious criminal penguins clip from BBC One's Frozen Planet. Be sure to watch all the way to the end.

Best Illusions on the Internet

I've decided to compile an ongoing list of the best illusions on the internet. Be sure to let me know if you come across any awesome illusions, so I can add them to the list.

I divided them into two easy to find sections: Optical Illusions and Auditory Illusions. Seems like those are the only two possible illusions, but the internet is a crazy place, so you never know.

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

1) Black and White Castle Illusion

We'll start things off with a fun little video displaying the optical illusion known as "Chromatic Adaptation." The image of a black and white castle will be magically filled with natural colors, right before your eyes. Amazing!




2) The Hollow Face Illusion

The Hollow Face Illusion, or Hollow Mask Illusion, is where the inside of a mask looks like a normal face. Or to put it into scientific mumbo-jumbo, "the perception of a concave mask of a face appears as a normal convex face." Apparently we're so used to seeing normal faces that we just can't make sense of it any other way.

This first example is my favorite video of the Hollow Face Illusion. This guy does a good job of explaining the effect while it's happening. Plus he has a British accent, so you feel smarter after listening to him:

Hollow Face Optical Illusion - Charlie Chaplin

Another cool example of this illusion is the Gardner Dragon. As a bit of history, this paper dragon was created by Jerry Andrus as a part of Gathering for Gardner.

Gathering for Gardner Dragon


As an interesting side note, if you are schizophrenic, you won't be fooled by the hollow face illusion. See this article for details: Hollow mask illusion fails to fool schizophrenia patients

If you want to see plenty more examples of the hollow face illusion, just click here.

3) The Checker Shadow Illusion



The Checker Shadow Illusion is a popular illusion created by Professor Edward Adelson at MIT. Believe it or not, the squares labeled "A" and "B" are actually the same shade of gray. Below are a couple of cool videos that demonstrate the effect.

Checker Shadow Illusion Revealed Using Photoshoop


Checker Shadow Illusion Revealed Using Life-Sized Model




AUDITORY ILLUSIONS

1) Shepard's Ascending Tone

We'll start of the sound illusions with a fun little video that shows an example of Shepard's Ascending Tone. Listen to the video as the tones appear to "creep up" the scale. Wild and crazy stuff!



2) Falling Bells Illusion

For this illusion, you need to be wearing headphones. I guess you don't have to wear headphones, but it's better if you do. The bells will sound like they're falling all around you. And that the tones are getting lower and lower, but really they aren't. It's a mindblow for sure.



3) The McGurk Effect

Anything I could possibly explain about the McGurk Effect can be summed up in the following video. It's quite the informational treasure trove.



I'm also throwing in the following video of the effect, because it shows the "ga ga ga" sound. First, listen to this video with your eyes closed. I think most people hear the "ba ba ba" sound. Then play it again and watch it. You should hear "ga ga ga."



4) The Virtual Barber Shop

This next illusion is one of my absolute favorites. You definitely need to put on headphones for this effect. It is a demonstration of stereo sound, and you'll be able to hear sounds in space as if they are actually moving around you. The best way to explain it is to say, it is awesome!



5) Phantom Words

This next auditory illusion is actually kinda creepy. Apparently all that is playing is meaningless noise. However as you listen to that noise, your brain will start to pick out words and phrases to make sense of everything. The weird thing is that these words will start changing. I hear different words all the time. It's a weird feeling.




Bonus "Brain Game" Footage:

Thanks to Brian for pointing these out. Nat Geo has a program called Brain Games, and they pretty much cover everything in this post. So, if you still haven't gotten your fill of illusions, I'll add episodes as I find them. Enjoy!

Brain Games - Watch This







Brain Games - Pay Attention







Brain Games - Remember This