3-D Stereograms

Stereograms are pictures drawn on a flat surface that produce the illusion of a three dimensional image. It almost seems too amazing to be true , but let me tell you it is not only true but it is pretty spectacular when you see the 3-D image appear for the first time. I was introduced to my first stereogram at a party in the 1990s. Someone got this poster that was a bunch of dots and was told it was a 3D picture of dinosaurs. Needless to say many part-goers were incredulous including me, but I kept staring at the poster every now and again and.. then something actually seemed to be appearing.. no, I lost it.. then it came back into focus and eventually I could see the entire 3D image. Unbelievable, a bunch of dots create this amazing 3-D image that can be viewed with the naked eyes- no special lights or 3D glasses needed!

How it works. Well, I'll try to give you the basic concept real quick. Suppose you have two dots with one about an inch to the right of the other. If you manage to get your left eye to look at the left dot while your right eye looks at the right dot you will get the illusion of there being a single dot located somewhere behind where the actual dots are drawn. You can actually look cross-eyed with your left eye looking at the right dot and your right eye at the left dot. Looking cross-eyed will cause the image to appear if front of the surface. I could go on and on and on about stereograms but I'll refer you to this site called Stereogram Examples that has a few examples and some instructions to help you view them. Have fun and good luck!