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Horse Illusion Video Makes Black-and-White Photo Appear in Colour for Viewers Who Fixate on the Eye

The creator uses superimposed hues to fatigue retinal receptors, producing a brief afterimage effect.

Overview

  • Dean Jackson, known as @beatonthebeeb, posted a short looping clip that instructs viewers to stare at the horse’s eye as a monochrome scene appears to bloom into colour.
  • The demonstration overlays deliberately mismatched, psychedelic colours to induce retinal adaptation before removing them on a countdown.
  • Viewers describe vivid colours that disappear when they blink or look away and reappear when they refocus on the eye.
  • Coverage frames the effect as consistent with afterimage phenomena and references explanatory resources and classic vision research by Hubel and Wiesel.
  • Reports rely on anecdotal reactions rather than controlled testing, so individual results and viewing conditions influence what people see.