Optical illusion: How many legs does this elephant have? This intriguing mystery has had the internet puzzled for years

Optical illusions gets our brain to exercise, and can be the perfect test of our observational skills and keen eye. An optical illusion is a visual phenomenon where the brain misinterprets what the eyes perceive. It occurs when the information sent by the eyes conflicts with how the brain processes and understands what it sees. These illusions often trick us into seeing things that are not there, or perceiving objects differently from reality. For example, a still image might appear to move, or two shapes may seem unequal in size even though they are identical.

The puzzling illusion
This iconic optical illusion has got the internet to think for decades because it seems impossible to exactly count how many legs the elephant has. Some believe the elephant is standing on the usual four legs, while others think it has five. To make matters more complicated, the illusion seems to show five feet but only four legs.

Origins
Known as the “L'egs-istential Quandary,” this illusion was first introduced in 1990 by psychologist Roger Shepard in his book Mind Sights. It belongs to a category called figure-ground impossibilities, where parts of the object (the elephant’s legs) seems to merge with the background, making it difficult to count the legs.

4 or 5?
The illusion resurfaced on Reddit in 2017, and sent the internet into a tizzy. The key to the illusion lies in the artist’s clever trick: only one leg-the back left-is complete, while the others have their feet removed and placed between the legs, creating a visual paradox that confounds our depth perception.

Thus, despite appearances, the elephant effectively has one intact leg, with the rest manipulated to create the illusion of multiple legs and feet. This fascinating image highlights how our brains interpret conflicting visual cues and remains one of the most famous and enduring optical illusions.

What is the right answer?
One user seems to have nailed the answer when he wrote, “The reason you’ve having trouble with this image is due to the fact that the artist responsible for this image was very clever. The only correct elephant leg in the drawing is the back left leg. That leg is completely intact, but the others aren’t,” they explained.

“If you look very closely, you’ll see that the rest of the legs have the foot missing from them. Basically, the artist chopped the feet off of the legs and put the images of the feet between the actual legs. Look closely at the image and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.”

Types of optical illusions

There are three main types of optical illusions:

Literal Illusions: These occur when the brain combines elements of an image to create something that doesn’t exist. For example, an image might look like two faces or a vase depending on how you interpret it.

Physiological Illusions: These are caused by overstimulation of the visual system, such as excessive exposure to light, movement, or color. They can create effects like afterimages or motion illusions.

Cognitive Illusions: These rely on how the brain subconsciously interprets information. Examples include illusions like the Müller-Lyer illusion, where lines appear longer or shorter due to surrounding shapes.