Mystery Spot
The Mystery Spot is a visual illusion–based tourist attraction near Santa Cruz, California. It opened in 1941.
The operators of the small site (which is about 150 feet (46 m) in diameter) state at that location the laws of physics and gravity do not apply and provide a number of demonstrations in support of these claims, where water seems to flow upwards, people seem to be standing in slanted positions, etc.
Illusion explanation
The Mystery Spot is a gravity hill, a tilt-induced visual illusion. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur.[1]
Even when people are standing outside on a level ground, the slant of the building in the background causes misperceptions as humans judge the height of people using the slant of the roof rather than the true horizon.[2]
References
- ↑ McBroom, Patricia (9 September 1998). "Santa Cruz "Mystery Spot" Explained". The Berkeleyan. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ↑ Shimamura, A. P. & Prinzmetal, W. (November 1999). "The Mystery Spot Illusion and its Relation to Other Visual Illusions" (PDF). Psychological Science 10 (6): 501–507. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00196.
External links
- Mystery Spot official website (California)
- Video Tour of the Mystery Spot (California)
- Mystery Spot explained (SandlotScience.com)—this site contains explanation about how Mystery Spots work, including a list of mystery spots
- Further article explaining the illusion (Berkeley.edu)
Coordinates: 37°00′45″N 122°00′06″W / 37.012601°N 122.001795°W