Can you spot the fake objects among the real ones?

Yahoo! editors have selected this article as a favorite of 2012. It first ran in November, and was one of the most popular Yahoo! Games stories of the year. Users were entertained by this optical illusion, as can be seen by reactions in the comments section: "That is just too cool," "Witchcraft!," and "the rubicks cube finds new ways to make me feel stupid."

Several nondescript objects sit on a desk. Couldn't be simpler, right? Well, as the below video — the latest opus by Youtube illusion extraordinaire Brusspup — demonstrates, looks can be deceiving:

The technique is called anamorphosis and dates back at least as far as the Renaissance. The image is distorted and elongated so that it appears natural only from a certain angle. (It's a style often used on the sidewalk paintings of artists such as Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner.)

Brusspup heightens the illusion by placing the photo-realistic images alongside regular objects, and then using video to reveal the perspective change in real time. Very cool.

See more of Brusspup's illusions on his Youtube channel.

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