Optical illusion of a 'mermaid' leaves people baffled as to what they are seeing

A “mermaid” optical illusion is causing a stir online after almost nobody is able to see a mermaid, instead of seeing different kinds of animals.

The optical illusion itself is a purple line drawing on top of a multi-coloured background. The caption of the image reads: “If you’re right-brained, you’ll see a fish. If you’re left-brained, you’ll see a mermaid.”

But, rather than going viral for revealing which side of our brains are allegedly dominant, the post has instead gone viral for looking completely different from a fish or mermaid.

People have revealed seeing either a donkey or a seal, and celebrities including David Baddiel, Jonathan Ross and J.K. Rowling have weighed in with their views.

Twitter

Comedian David Baddiel posted the image on Twitter and wrote: “Yes obviously it’s a donkey. Obviously.”

But, it would appear fellow comedian Jonathan Ross disagreed, replying: “It’s a plump seal lying in its back. YOU’RE a donkey.”

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Actress Amanda Abbington concurred with Ross, posting that she saw a seal.

Author Rowling said she saw a donkey in the line figure. While some disagreed on whether it is a donkey or a seal, one thing everyone agreed on was that it is not a mermaid or fish.

One person wrote: “If you see a mermaid, you haven’t seen many women in your life.”

Someone else questioned: "How can anyone see a fish or mermaid???"

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