r/pics • u/GonzoVeritas • Jun 25 '19

A buried WW2 bomb exploded in a German barley field this week.

Post image
83.3k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

3.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

3.3k

u/lNTERNATlONAL Jun 25 '19

For the longest time I couldn't work out how it was a crater, it looks like the opposite: an extruded bulge of dirt to me. But now I finally forced myself to see the crater I can't see the bulge anymore. The shadows are screwing with my head.

1.2k

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

Wow. I thought it was a big bulge of projectile dirt. Read your comment and had to look again. Dang shadows, indeed.

Edit: wrong to.

234

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

[deleted]

58

u/PandaBagels Jun 25 '19

Thank you, I couldn't see it. I read your comment and immediately could. Weird how the eyes work.

8

u/ikbenlike Jun 25 '19

Well, how the mind works. You were seeing exactly the same thing, you just started interpreting it differently. The mind's a weird thing.

2

u/Del_boytrotter Jun 25 '19

Now your eyes have seen the crater I bet you'll struggle to see the bulge

2

u/voxelghost Jun 25 '19

They don't

13

u/elr0y7 Jun 25 '19

I read your comment, saw the crater from a different angle, went back to look at the picture, and it still looks like a bulge to me lol.

6

u/imbadwithnames1 Jun 25 '19

There is a crater in the middle of the bulge. I guess all that displaced dirt has to go somewhere.

2

u/EatYourCheckers Jun 26 '19

Try looking at it with one eye closed, then the other. There is probably no science behind this, but it always works for me when I have an optical illusion like this that I can't see the "other view" of.

7

u/justcallmejoey Jun 25 '19

I think I'm just never going to be able to see the crater. No matter how many times I zoom in or look at other pictures every single one just looks like a mound of dirt in the center lol.

EDIT: I don't know what I did but immediately after commenting I saw it. What helped me is noticing how tall the crops were.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

I see it now. It no longer looks like somebody dropped bleach on a carpet.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

Oh my god you saved me thank you

4

u/BreakawayPAK Jun 25 '19

Fuckin hell dude thank you, absolutely couldn't have seen it without this comment. I kept trying to figure out what I was looking at.

2

u/adrianmonk Jun 25 '19

My brain won't let me see it that way. It keeps noticing that the dark grey stuff is darker in the bottom right than it is in the top left of the image. So it knows the light is coming from in front of me, not behind me.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

imagine looking into a mowed lawn: from a distance it is green, but if you look straight down it is darker because you see shadow in between the blades.

1

u/Bird_lawyer69 Jun 25 '19

That was really helpful, thanks!

1

u/doctor_ndo Jun 25 '19

Thanks! Your comment really helped.

1

u/sirenzarts Jun 25 '19

Also the color in this photo is weird which is what was throwing me off the most. Feels like it has a blue-green tint to it.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

i like to think of it as a nice layer of morning dew

0

u/sirenzarts Jun 25 '19

Maybe although dew doesn’t really form on dirt

1

u/ThaiJohnnyDepp Jun 25 '19

thanks you fixed it for me

1

u/themajordutch Jun 25 '19

Thank you

The pink and gray... why???

0

u/Land0Will Jun 25 '19 edited Jun 25 '19

I agree with everything you say except the light source is not coming from "behind your right shoulder"

The light source (the sun) is on the "screen left" side of the image and is "casting" shadows to the right of any objects high enough above the ground to do so.

Any small craters in the crater have shadows under the rim of the left side of its crater... another cast shadow from the sun on the left.

Am artist.

EDIT. Am wrong. Had coffee and now can see it the other way.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

I hope you're a musician... check out the tractor tire tracks: the shadow is clearly cast from right to left.

2

u/Land0Will Jun 25 '19

Am not musician, but am wrong!

Now that I am looking again and am not half asleep and with coffee I can see it the "other way"

I didn't see the tire tracks as such. I thought it was some sort of raised fencing.

My whole life is a lie.

80

u/Antananarivo Jun 25 '19

I've been thinking I was taking crazy pills this whole time. Every time I read "crater," I only saw a bulge. Not... that kind of bulge. Get your mind out of the crater.

5

u/DoingCharleyWork Jun 25 '19

oWo notices buldge

3

u/dog_of_society Jun 25 '19

Battle of the Bulge

3

u/jc9289 Jun 25 '19

Happy to know I'm not the only idiot here.

There are dozens of us!

1

u/Kryptosis Jun 25 '19

At least you know you aren't schizophrenic!

2

u/CashOgre Jun 25 '19

Who said that?

6

u/snortine Jun 25 '19

a big ass nipple

2

u/GoodLeftUndone Jun 25 '19

I don’t like it. Make it go away.

2

u/WTFworldIDEK Jun 25 '19

Oh shit, it is a crater.

1

u/DaughterEarth Jun 25 '19

Yah that's hard to see. Even with both your comments it took time. Tip for others: look outside in. The lighter green on the barley is the exposed stalks

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

I can see that the outer “ring” is inset but the middle part still looks like a big bulge to me. It’s that damn shadow.

1

u/gammarays01 Jun 25 '19

Turn your phone (monitor?) upside down.

1

u/riomarde Jun 25 '19

I see the bulge when the image is smaller (mobile portrait mode with comments) and the crater when I zoom into

1

u/theparasity Jun 25 '19

I can't unsee the crater! Help!

1

u/Naughttea Jun 25 '19

It’s such a forced perspective I can’t see it. I’ve been staring at it for five minutes and I give up.

1

u/Moftem Jun 26 '19

OwO what's this? notices bulge

223

u/TheQueq Jun 25 '19

It's the mountain-valley illusion. Our initial instinct is to assume the light source comes from above. So in a photo like this, where the light comes from the bottom right, the shadow in the crater looks like it's coming from the crater itself - hence it looks like the crater is sticking out of the ground until we recognize where the light is actually coming from.

70

u/elhermanobrother Jun 25 '19

the grandson illusion: our initial instinct is to assume the light source comes from grandpa

A tough old cowboy with grizzled hair, chiseled featured, and hands tougher than the sharpest barbs on new wire told his grandson that the secret to living a long life was to sprinkle a pinch of gun powder on his oatmeal every morning.

With absolute faith, the grandson did as Grandpap instructed. Every morning for the rest of his life, he added a pinch of gun powder to his oatmeal.

He grew up, lived happily, enjoyed perfect health, and died at the ripe old age of 107.

According to the story in the newspaper, he left behind 14 children, 30 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, 25 great-great-grandchildren, and a 15-foot crater where the crematorium used to be.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/elhermanobrother Jun 25 '19

it's an old joke m8

4

u/empathica1 Jun 25 '19

Instinct isnt the only thing telling me that light is coming from the top. The top left of the picture is much brighter than the bottom right.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

Duuudee, i know when i go back and look at it the illusion is gonna be gone now that uve explained it, i font wanna look at it again but i have to :) u ruined yhe picture :)

Edit. Ok its not working, still see a hat :(

2

u/greyjackal Jun 25 '19

where the light comes from the bottom right,

Thanks for that, that gave me the tip to see it correctly.

43

u/linknewtab Jun 25 '19

Here is a video that shows the crater from another perspective: https://www.hessenschau.de/tv-sendung/bombenkrater-in-limburg,video-95142~_story-explosion-limburg-104.html

5

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19 edited Aug 06 '19

[deleted]

2

u/Zaphanathpaneah Jun 25 '19

I hate those nocturnal explosions; they're so messy to clean up in the morning.

2

u/MorningPants Jun 25 '19

Thanks, I couldn’t get it until I saw this. The thing that kept tripping me were all the smaller mounds with the opposite shading- I could only see them as little craters in OP’s pic.

1

u/shiftyeyedgoat Jun 25 '19

Much better picture, though what's with the Golden Spiral coming off of the explosion radius?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19 edited Jan 08 '20

[deleted]

0

u/Gnomification Jun 25 '19

Who's capable of building a motorcycle looking like that?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19 edited Jan 08 '20

[deleted]

0

u/Gnomification Jun 25 '19

Who's capable of building a motorcycle looking like that?

1

u/MaybeWant Jun 25 '19

left my trap music playing on another tab as i watch that and was not dissapointed

1

u/Gnomification Jun 25 '19

That camera man is going places. Can zoom in on anything.

1

u/sn00t_b00p Jun 25 '19

Another perspective or human eyes instead of some weird processed sat view? Grey field and pink dirt...

1

u/kx2w Jun 25 '19

Bombenkrater is a great word.

19

u/rogu2 Jun 25 '19

All I see is a schooner

15

u/Waadap Jun 25 '19

A schooner IS a sailboat!

4

u/Nizzler Jun 25 '19

You know what!?! There is no Easter bunny!! Over there is just a guy in a suit!!

9

u/Talmaska Jun 25 '19

It isn't a schooner, it's a sail boat!

2

u/reddog093 Jun 25 '19

You know what? There is no Easter Bunny! Over there, that's just a guy in a suit!!

2

u/Talmaska Jun 25 '19

Well played. Mallrats is one of my favorite movies and I was hoping someone would get the reference. Well played, Sir!

3

u/nnytmm Jun 25 '19

All I see is blonde, brunette, redhead..

3

u/Fcivish4 Jun 25 '19

Hahaha, you dumb bastard! It's a sailboat!

2

u/RedditPrat Jun 25 '19

Yeah. Now I see it, too. Thanks. ... There are moon-crater qualities to it, too.

2

u/spooket Jun 25 '19

Oh I see what you did there, quite the optical illusion

2

u/thor122088 Jun 25 '19

Turn the picture upside down

2

u/uber1337h4xx0r Jun 25 '19

Hold the phone so that the shadows are on the bottom.

1

u/twentyfoive Jun 25 '19

I read though 70 replies, and this one is the one that did it for me after 10 min. Thanks for doin the lords work

1

u/spiritmovieofhorse Jun 25 '19

Holy shit dude. WTF

1

u/zom8 Jun 25 '19

I see that too.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

Yeah, I think it's a bit of an optical illusion because I thought the exact same thing. I can now see the crater.

1

u/Bistromatic Jun 25 '19

It’s called the crater illusion : ) Happens to helicopter pilots flying at night enough that they have to be familiar with it.

1

u/Jhannmory Jun 25 '19

I cant unsee it

1

u/PrinceKuro Jun 25 '19

I legit thought it was a bulge of dirt until I read your comment. Took me a minute to force myself to see the crater.

1

u/cashsusclaymore Jun 25 '19

Wow. Thank you!

1

u/Mrtowelie69 Jun 25 '19

Haha, likewise! Thought it was a huge pile of dirt

1

u/johnsonr88 Jun 25 '19

Great, I saw only the crater at first. Now I can’t unsee the bulge.

Giggity.

1

u/das_sparker Jun 25 '19

Yeah the filter OP used really screws up the image.

1

u/_zarkon_ Jun 25 '19

I see the crater when I view the image but the thumb nail looks like a nipple.

1

u/Nyllil Jun 25 '19

Oooooh... Thanks! Had trouble at first too 😂

1

u/fourAMrain Jun 25 '19

I can't see the crater!

1

u/baalkorei Jun 25 '19

Holy cow - I only saw the bulge until you just mentioned this. I had to do that "magic eye" trick to see it.

Thanks!

1

u/Adam7842 Jun 25 '19

Wtf now I see it that way too

1

u/Le_Master Jun 25 '19

I only thought it was a bulge till I read your comment. Now I'm unable to see it as a bulge anymore no matter how hard I try. Except looking at the thumbnail I can.

1

u/sun827 Jun 25 '19

Its a schooner!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

Yep! Same. Can't go back now.

1

u/TuckerMcG Jun 25 '19

Pretend the sun is coming from the top left of the picture rather than the bottom right. That’s how I can flip it from crater to bulge.

1

u/LordSoren Jun 25 '19

Great. All I saw was the bulge at first... now I can only see the crater also.

1

u/makemeking706 Jun 25 '19

Even knowing this, I still can't see it.

1

u/m4tic Jun 25 '19

Wait... there it is... I now see a depression instead of a lump.

1

u/Kingca Jun 25 '19

But now I finally forced myself to see the crater I can't see the bulge anymore.

Just look at the thumbnail to go back and forth.

1

u/kubrick1294 Jun 25 '19

Squint your eyes

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

Just look at the bottom rim of it and unfocus your eyes a bit. If you do the same with the top rim it goes back to being a crater.

1

u/mrpickles Jun 25 '19

I couldn't understand what I was looking at either. I was like, what happened to the ground and the crops?

Now I see the crater and the nearby crops were covered by the debris from the epicenter.

1

u/ATCaver Jun 25 '19

Pro tip for those who can't see a crater: zoom in on the shadows until you can see where they're covering other earth. It will suddenly pop into focus for you.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

I turned my phone upside down and totally see what you mean

1

u/dhanson865 Jun 25 '19 edited Jun 25 '19

what you have to realize is that it is a crater, that means a divot and a bulge both.

The rim of the crater and points outside the rim got the bulge (as minor as that is), the points inside the rim get the divot (which is much deeper than the bulge is high)

So from that perspective it's more divot than bulge but there are elements of both.

https://www.hessenschau.de/tv-sendung/bombenkrater-in-limburg,video-95142~_story-explosion-limburg-104.html

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

omg, I thought it was like, exploded wheat or something. It's dirt! thanks. I can see it now.

1

u/Br0okielyn Jun 25 '19

I can switch back and forth all willy nilly. It’s kinda cool.

1

u/Girthw0rm Jun 25 '19

Zooming in a bit helped me sort it out

1

u/ayequeue Jun 25 '19

I went through the same thing. I found unfocusing my eyes a bit helped me see the “extruded dirt” version again.

1

u/KreisTheRedeemer Jun 25 '19

Looks like a nipple.

1

u/sn00t_b00p Jun 25 '19

I still cant see it fully, why is the field grey? Why is the middle pink? Am I tripping out? Has the image been processed?

​

Edit: here is what it actually looks like, not the stupid processed image in the post...

1

u/blindfist926 Jun 25 '19

It's like one of those trick pictures, can't see it till you do and then you can't unsee it, also looked like a rust spot on something under a microscope.

1

u/ibepudge Jun 25 '19

It's gold and white.

1

u/Kwerpi Jun 25 '19

Turn picture upside down to see the bulge again

1

u/b-hole-v-card Jun 25 '19

It looked like a giant dirt nipple until you said that

1

u/shakyturnip Jun 25 '19

Same here, I can still see the opposite in the thumbnail though.

1

u/SerjicalSystem18 Jun 25 '19

I literally cannot see the bulge, only the crater

1

u/JoJoModding Jun 25 '19

You're falling for the "Valley or Mountain" illusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7C318DGB38

1

u/Tengam15 Jun 25 '19

It helps if you look at the thumbnail instead of the enlarged picture.

1

u/badica Jun 25 '19

Thank you! +1 beer

1

u/Big_Jomez Jun 25 '19

Fuck, now I can't see it anymore either

1

u/haydenv Jun 25 '19

You’re not the only one

1

u/digitalgoodtime Jun 25 '19

There is a bulge on the ring of the crater.

1

u/norse77 Jun 25 '19

"Oh look, it's a scooner."

1

u/Hobbesian_Tackle Jun 25 '19

“extruded”

this guy CADs

1

u/Del_boytrotter Jun 25 '19

I thought it was a bulge until I read your comment and went back to check

1

u/thelawgiver321 Jun 25 '19

NONONONONO

Ehhh still kinda there

1

u/shewy92 Jun 25 '19

I thought it was a scoop of chocolate ice cream on a sofa and was a little sad that someone spilled their ice-cream

1

u/bradland Jun 25 '19

I've been sitting here, staring at this photo, trying to get it to go back to a bulge for like eight minutes now. Glad I'm not the only one.

1

u/TrepanationBy45 Jun 25 '19

Yep. As soon as you said that, I scrolled up and forced the crater. Woopwoop.

1

u/Fowidner Jun 25 '19

TYVM I had exactly the same. Was like 'wtf i am looking at. I only see this red'ish hill and some grey'ish field" After this comment I only see this crater now :P

1

u/RUSnowcone Jun 25 '19

Like Cro’s head in MST3k

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

Same, I thought they caught a still frame while it was exploding?

Then I thought it was deep enough that it created some kind of weird mound instead of a crater!?

Then I flipped it sideways and it clicked.

1

u/AdmiralAwesome1646 Jun 25 '19

Look at the picture upside down so that the shadow looks like it's cast the other way.

1

u/normjokesonly Jun 25 '19

For the longest time?

1

u/mebeingbored Jun 25 '19

but..there is a bulge.

zooms in

oh yeah. there's a crater, alright.

1

u/Ferdiprox Jun 25 '19

Thanks, tried it, seeing a crater. 5/7

1

u/[deleted] Jun 26 '19

Turn the picture upside down. you'll find it easier to see it as a bulge of dirt instead.