Do Horizontal Stripes Really Make You Look Fat? Or Is that Just a Myth?
A quick look at the Helmholtz illusion
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Like a stereotypical computer geek, which I still am even though I no longer work as a computer engineer/scientist, I don't care much about how I dress. I typically walk around with hideous Crocs on my feet and clothes that my mom bought me when I was 16 years old.
But I do care about my figure. I don't want to look like a potato nor a pencil. And so I looked something up I've heard many times: that horizontal stripes make you look fat. Here’s what I've found out.
Do Horizontal Stripes Really Make You Look Fat? Or Is that Just a Myth?
A quick look at the Helmholtz illusion
ca-lli-py-gous |kal-uh-pahy-guhs|
adjective
having beautifully shaped buttocks.
Example: David has a well-rounded cherry-shaped ass. That’s why we call him callipygous David.
Synonyms: bootylicious, bumtastic, callipygian, rumpalicious
Despite what the above dictionary entry says, no one calls me callipygous David. And it’s not because I haven’t tried to plant the idea. But the moniker never caught on. I suspect it’s because my legs are directly attached to my flat lower back, with nothing slappable in between.
So, since my genetics haven’t endowed me with the lush curves of an oiled beluga whale squeezed into a corset, I have to resort to optical illusions. Fortunately, there’s one that actually works: stripes.
But how do stripes work?
If you’re like most people, you probably …
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— David