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Stories

This Crazy Optical Illusion From The 1800s Can Reveal Your Age

by Lauren Novak

4 years ago

optical-illusion-age

You have probably seen this optical illusion at least once in your life, but did you know that it could reveal how old you are? The image is called “My Wife or Mother-In-Law” and first showed up in 1888 on a German postcard. It was redrawn by a British cartoonist in 1915.

So, what do you see in the image below? Do you see an older, unattractive woman or a young woman looking away?

Look at the image for one second

optical illusion
Wikimedia Commons

One version of the optical illusion is an old woman with a pointed chin and a hooked nose. She looks toward the left. The other version is a young woman looking into the distance. While you can easily train your eye to see both versions, the version you see first and more often can reveal a lot about your age.

 

 

 

 

german postcard
Wikimedia Commons

Younger People Saw The Young Woman At First And Older People Saw The Old Woman

According to a study that was published in the journal Scientific Reports, younger people saw the young woman at first and older people saw the old woman at first. They showed “My Wife and My Mother-In-Law” illusion to around 400 people between the ages of 18 and 68. They showed these people the illusion for only a half a second.

young old woman
Wikimedia Commons

Do you agree with the results of this study? If you are interested in seeing both versions of the optical illusion, here’s how to see both. Look at the images side by side. If you look at the picture, the younger woman’s ear and the older woman’s eyes are the same. The older woman’s lips are the younger woman’s necklace. The younger woman’s face is the older woman’s nose.

Here’s How to See Both Illusions

side by side
Shared

The study said that we process faces that are more similar to our own ages. It makes sense that young people may see the young woman in the picture and older people might see the old woman. People tend to have a bias with others their own age, so this optical illusion may prove this bias.

What do you think about this study? What do you see when you look at this optical illusion? Do you think it reveals anything about your age?

If you found this interesting, please SHARE with your friends and family of different ages to test this theory about optical illusions.

Reader Interactions

Previous article: A Toy Monkey That Made It Out Of Nazi Germany Leads To An Amazing Family Discovery
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Comments

  1. Sue says

    November 19, 2018 at 5:31 am

    I never saw the old woman until you pointed it out. What is the nose of the young woman supposed to be then? An eye bag? LOL I am 67 and think young. Now I know I think young. LOL

  2. Noel says

    November 19, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    LOL…I’m 68 and saw the young woman right off the bat.

  3. douglas flores says

    November 21, 2018 at 5:02 am

    nice

  4. virginia washburn says

    November 22, 2018 at 10:05 pm

    It’s the side of her face….it’s her cheek and her chin, her face is turned to the right, thus only showing her left side of her face.

  5. Sue says

    November 22, 2018 at 11:11 pm

    I know, but the nose of the younger one is there and the eyelashes. I was making a joke that is was an eye bag on the older one.

  6. Elaine F Blackman says

    November 25, 2018 at 4:52 am

    I don’t agree. I could only see the younger woman until I read the pointed chin description and started looking. I’m 70.

  7. Elaine F Blackman says

    November 25, 2018 at 4:55 am

    I think it’s an eye bag that matches the one on her left eye, closer to us.

  8. Sue says

    November 25, 2018 at 7:02 am

    That is the only thing I can see it is. LOL

  9. Robert Wager says

    December 15, 2018 at 12:56 am

    I’m nearly 63 and I saw the young woman first, then was surprised when I was able to see the old woman. I also think people my age look way older than me.

  10. GetOverIt says

    December 15, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    This drawing doesn’t reveal ANYTHING about you. Your insecurity is staggering as the click bait does its magic.

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