This perplexing optical illusion was discovered completely by accident

We see plenty of optical illusions here at Creative Bloq, but we have a particular soft spot for the illusions discovered by accident. Not only are they baffling, but they always have an interesting back story – and today's find is no exception. A totally mind-bending optical illusion has been shared on Reddit that was discovered completely by accident.

The mind-boggler was posted by a teacher who explained that he accidentally created the optical illusion when trying to make 12 poppies out of paper. At first glance, it looks as though each of the poppies are overlapping with each other when in reality, they aren't even touching. It looks as though he accidentally used a well-known law of visual perception when drawing out the poppies (but more on that later). If you're enjoying this illusion then you'll love our roundup of the best optical illusions. 

Redditor SlipperyPockets posted the illusion on the MildlyInteresting forum and has racked up over 132,000 upvotes. It looks like SlipperyPockets accidentally created the illusion based on the Gestalt Continuity law, which according to VeryWellMind, means that we subconsciously are joining the lines together, making it look as though the poppies are connected. What we like about this design in particular is how it was discovered on a total whim, much like the three-headed dear illusion we spotted earlier this month.

Plenty of users over on Reddit have posted some hilarious comments about the illusion, with one user saying, "This messes with my eyes. I've got to throw the whole eyes away," and another responding, "Okay my brain is gone". One user even pointed out that if you, "Tilt the phone away from you... it completes the circles," so of course, we've spent the last five minutes staring at our phone at weird angles. 

This accidental illusion has brightened up our Monday, but if you're looking for more to keep your mind occupied, then why not check out our roundup of the best online art galleries? Or perhaps if you'd like to create your own hand-drawn illusions, then have a look at the best drawing apps for iPad and start sketching some mind-bogglers. 

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