When Reddit thread r/opticalillusions shared an image of a cat with a floating head, users around the world struggled to make sense of the brainteaser.
Puzzle lovers shared their frustrations at the seemingly impossible challenge. "This is hurting my head, how is this possible?!?!?!?!?", commented one user.
Look closer
"I think it's the cat's reflection in the tiles" speculated another user, wondering whether perhaps this is what gave the illusion of the head being so far away from the body.
But the clue is all in the image caption, which encourages viewers to "look closer".
"It's a step", commented someone on the post, though even then, the answer isn't as obvious as it might seem.
"Lol, I still don't see it", responded an intrigued viewer, while another agreed "Ohhh. It's still so hard to see, even now that you've said it".
Mystery solved
After much confusion and some conflicting options, another user decided to reveal the secret.
"For everyone who is having trouble seeing the step, look at the paw of the other cat in the foreground. If it were to scale to what your brain is trying to tell you, that cat would be enormous. The camera is very close to the ground, and the border of the two steps is pretty much invisible because the colour matches perfectly. But the other cat is actually further back, and peeping up the step", they wrote. "Hope this helps".
With two cats and some clever camera work, it's no wonder this illusion had everyone baffled!
