When we were just grade schoolers, one of our all-time favorite activities was to go through our beloved book of optical illusions. The first time we set eyes on that infamous “horse hiding in the frog” image, we were absolutely hooked!
Hey, it may be a frustrating hobby, but the sense of satisfaction that comes with solving one of these visual puzzles is too substantial for us to give up, which is why we still take a stab at any and every one we come across to this very day.
Over the years, we’ve shared some of the most challenging ones, both old and new, but today’s might be the most mind-bending yet. Don’t believe us? Just take a look at the above image and tell us how many legs the elephant has.
We’re waiting…
Why this “ordinary” optical illusion is particularly perplexing
This mystifying image first started circulating in 1980s, but folks on Internet boards revived the long-forgotten brain teaser just recently, with a simple question attached: How many legs do you see?
Now, it’s important to note that the above question is not a riddle in and of itself; a key detail considering so many of these optical illusions have a tendency to “play dirty” (i.e. they deliver a word teaser within a visual teaser—too much if you ask us!).
That said, this image of the elephant does have a certain unfinished—hint, hint! —quality to it that does, if you are observant enough, give you an immediate answer.
But, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves…
Back to the image. So, how many legs did you count? When most people first lay eyes on the elephant, they count 4 legs—that’s how we first saw it, too. But, of course, the image can’t be that simple to solve! Let your eyes do that magical “defocusing” thing, and you may see either more or less legs behind the blurriness.
