“Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly,” reads a quote from cartoonist Charles Addams, pasted on the wall at the entrance of the Museum of Illusions Washington.
The nation’s capital has long showcased mirages on both sides of the aisle, from Bill Clinton’s infidelity denials to the résumé of George Santos. But for deception of a more visual variety, I visited downtown DC’s hit attraction at 927 H St. NW.
Various optical illusions allow audience participation, and photography is encouraged for your next social media profile picture.
Standing in either corner of an inclined trapezoidal room alternatively made me appear the size of either actor Peter Dinklage or basketball player Shaquille O’Neal.
A photo taken alongside several seemingly disparate, unconnected elements positioned on the floor, when snapped at exactly the right spot, made me appear to sit in a chair that wasn’t actually there.
A set designed like a Metro train car shows everything upside down. After two simple taps on a phone or computer flipped the photo, I appeared suspended from the Metro car’s ceiling like Spider-Man.
A series of mirrors positioned 270 degrees around a table, with a deck of cards as a prop, made me appear immersed in an intense game of poker in the round — against several players who looked exactly like me.
Every illusion also includes a plaque that explains the scientific, visual, or psychological phenomenon which produces the effect. Did you know the important insights that Japanese psychology professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka revealed about our perceptions of spatial relations? I didn’t either.
In addition to the illusion rooms, the Museum of Illusions Washington in CityCenterDC has holograms where 3D images disappear and reappear and other images that play tricks on your brain.
The museum, which originally launched in 2015 in Zagreb, Croatia, has exploded in popularity worldwide with more than 40 locations, including Shanghai, Johannesburg, New Delhi, Paris, Athens, Tel Aviv, and Cairo. 927 H St. NW, Washington, DC, $23.95 for adults, $21.95 for seniors and students, $18.95 for kids ages 5–12, moiwashington.com
Feature image by Jeff Heeney
This story originally ran in our January issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
