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ROUND THE BEND

Can YOU spot the circles in this baffling optical illusion which is leaving people stumped?

AN OPTICAL illusion that challenges people to see circles among rectangular door panels has left the internet stumped.

The puzzling image, called the Coffer Illusion, has proved popular on Facebook - even though most people have struggled to solve it within the 30 minute target.

 The coffer illusion that has left people baffled after they were unable to see the circles in the image
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The coffer illusion that has left people baffled after they were unable to see the circles in the image

The picture initially appears to be a series of sunken black and white rectangles that doesn't feature any curved edges.

But creators sat that after a while, your brain's representation of the image may "flip" and instead you will see 16 circles.

The illusion plays on the fact that the visual brain is heavily geared towards identifying objects that are grouped to form edges and contours,.

In this case, a single set of horizontal lines can either form a circle, or be the intersection between two rectangles.

For most people, the grouping into rectangles initially dominates. This may be because rectangles (including the ones we see in door panels) are often more common than circles in our daily environment, and so the brain favours the grouping that delivers rectangular shapes.

But on closer inspection, the 16 circles will jump out at you.

And it you still can't see it, here's a tip - look in between each rectangle at the vertical lines.

But even then some people still really struggle to see the circles.

One wrote on Twitter: "Damn this Coffer Optical Illusion, and its supposed 16 circles. A few more whiskeys might help ..."


QUIZZICAL! 10 of the best optical illusions, from the 12 dots you can’t see to the dress that divided Twitter


While another wrote: "Reading about the Coffer Illusion, to which I am - apparently - quite immune."

Yesterday, we brought you the mind-boggling optical illusion that makes parallel lines appear slanted.

While we also asked you to spot the dog hiding in this kitchen scene.

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