New Delhi, Aug. 16 -- A spinning grayscale ballerina, a person crammed neatly into a life-sized doll box, and a black-and-white prism that morphs depending on where you stand - those were the winners of the 2024 Best Illusion of the Year contest. According to NPR, the global competition attracts artists, magicians, vision scientists, and curious creators who spend months building tricks for the eye.

The event was co-founded two decades ago by neuroscientist and science writer Susana Martinez-Conde. She still cannot quite believe the stream of fresh entries every year. "Illusions are fundamental to the way that we perceive the world - the way that, frankly, we exist as human beings. Illusions are a feature and not a bug," she told NPR's S...