Mystery Spot

Mystery Spot
Mystery Spot entrance

The Mystery Spot is a tourist attraction located near Santa Cruz, California. It was discovered in 1939 and opened in 1940. The operators of the small site (which is about 150 feet in diameter) claim that it is a place where the laws of physics and gravity do not apply and provide a number of demonstrations in support of these claims.

The official website speculates that extraterrestrials buried unearthly metals or a spacecraft beneath the Spot, orrtw that carbon dioxide seeps out of the earth. Another popular speculation is that gravity is affected here, causing nausea and incorrect instrument readings.

Illusion explanation

One of the many optical illusions at the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot.

The Mystery Spot is a gravity hill, a tilt-induced visual illusion. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur. Even when people are standing outside on a level ground, the slant of the building in the background causes misperceptions as we judge the height of people using the slant of the roof rather than the true horizon.[1]

References

  1. ^ Shimamura, A. P. & Prinzmetal, W. (1999). "The Mystery Spot Illusion and its Relation to Other Visual Illusions". Psychological Science 10: 501–507. doi:[http://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2F1467-9280.00196 10.1111/1467-9280.00196. ]

External links

Coordinates: 37°00′45″N 122°00′06″W / 37.012601°N 122.001795°W / 37.012601; -122.001795


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mystery Spot (Supernatural) — Mystery Spot is one of the episodes in Supernatural in Season 3. Plot Sam and Dean track down a haunted house where people seem to just go in and never come out. On a Tuesday Sam wakes up to Asia s Heat of the Moment , the two then have breakfast …   Wikipedia

  • Mystery (pickup artist) — Mystery Born Erik James Horvat Markovic September 24, 1971 (1971 09 24) (age 40) Canada Nationality Can …   Wikipedia

  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 video releases — Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American TV show which aired between 1988 and 1999. This page summarizes video tape and DVD releases of episodes of the show. Episodes were initially released by Rhino Entertainment, with the rights later being… …   Wikipedia

  • Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst — Developer(s) Big Fish Studios Publisher(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects — Developer(s) Big Fish Studios Publisher(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate — Developer(s) Big Fish Studios Publisher(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Mystery of the Whale Tattoo —   …   Wikipedia

  • Mystery Mountain (serial) — Mystery Mountain Directed by Otto Brower B. Reeves Eason Produced by Nat Levine Armand Schaefer Victor Zobel Written by Bennett Cohen …   Wikipedia

  • mystery religion — Any of various secret cults of the Greco Roman world. Derived from primitive tribal ceremonies, mystery religions reached their peak of popularity in Greece in the first three centuries AD. Their members met secretly to share meals and take part… …   Universalium

  • Mystery shopping — Marketing Key concepts Product marketing · Pricing …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”