The Amazing Benham Disc Illusion

The Benham Disc Illusion produces faint colours from a spinning black and white pattern. It works better on TV sets than computers, but best of all to the naked eye. Follow Rob's instructions and see it for yourself.

[@andres6868]

i see green

[@AchtungBaby77]

Same - segments of dark green.

[@Turambar3791]

Same here :( I don't see any of the other colours

[@shashankethane]

Me too

[@wannabemgtow2540]

I see dead people.

[@Gguvcybhkkkbgjbbvvb]

Same

[@redplays7678]

I lost the color when it turned black and white

[@debajyoti.guha_bong]

Same

[@RoyArrowood]

And it was green with blue specks in places for me when in color. No red at all

[@Yiseia]

same. would be interesting to know what caused it

[@hR-gw3re]

@@Yiseia the frequency or refresh rate of nowadays screens as they don't work with cathode ray tubes (crt) anymore

[@Texicus_Reddicus]

I never saw anything

[@SteveFrenchWoodNStuff]

While it's best seen in person - as mentioned in the description - I was seeing green pie sections on my monitor. I like your stringing method for spinning the disc. I've seen these in person and noticed colors having almost brownish tones: reddish brown, bluish brown...

[@CuriosityShow]

+Wood 'n' Stuff w/ Steve French Yes, I am glad that you could see it. It is also affected by the type of light you shine on the spinning disc - fluoro, daylight, halogen etc - Rob

[@SteveFrenchWoodNStuff]

CuriosityShow - Rob, I'm curious; when were these mini shows aired on TV? I've always lived in the United States and never knew about Curiosity Show until a couple years ago. I love watching them and am thankful that you take the time to share them with the rest of the world. I don't always comment, but I eagerly view every one that shows up in my feed (as well as many that you uploaded before I subscribed).

[@CuriosityShow]

+Wood 'n' Stuff w/ Steve French Thanks Steve! We are glad that enjoy our Curiosity Show segments. Share the good news - tell your friends about our Curiosity Tube KZbin Channel. Deane.

[@CuriosityShow]

+Wood 'n' Stuff w/ Steve French Thanks, Steve, I am not sure what you mean by mini shows, but Curiosity Show was made in 30 minute programs and aired as such, and the show ran from 1972 to 1990 - Australasia, Europe, UK, Singapore etc. We found that entire programs don't always hold up today as some segments deal with out of date technology or feature people or places now departed (things like lovely Christchurch Cathedral in NZ, for example) so we have extracted individual segments and put them up in various playlists. That is probably better for people who watch on mobile phones via Twitter as well. Each of the 30-minute shows had on average 2 long segments (usually making and doing), 2 medium segments (information etc) and two short segments (puzzles and tricks). They varied a good deal, but that may explain the mix of things that you see - Rob

[@SteveFrenchWoodNStuff]

CuriosityShow - Oh ok, thanks for the great response! My apologies on the misunderstanding. I incorrectly assumed that what I've been watching were "complete episodes" which, perhaps, aired between other shows and/or during commercial breaks. Judging from the video quality and some of the topics, my guess would have been that they were from the 70's and 80's. As a child born in 1973, I recognize some of the things I've seen as having been of that era. The great thing is how timeless much of the show's material turned out to be. I love this stuff now and I would have been a huge fan back then as well. Anyway, I've taken up enough of your time. I love that I've been able to interact with you and Deane; you guys are awesome! Thanks again for inspiring and touching so many lives. Including my own.

[@SonOfFurzehatt]

Since this was broadcast, we've learnt that cats, dogs, and indeed most animals can see in colour. Some animals have more acute colour vision than others - for example, dogs have rather muted colour vision as a trade-off for good night vision.

[@riverraisin1]

Thank you! I was questioning what I thought was fact.

[@ericaschner3283]

The mantis shrimp can see 10x as many colors as humans can!

[@AbandonedVoid]

Cats are really sensitive to blue light because blue light travels best in the dark, so it helps their night vision

[@MrElvis1971]

Dogs are colour blind. Cats possibly more so than dogs. We are colour blind compared to an eagle.

[@fluchterschoen]

Isn't it actually the case that dogs (via evolutionary processes) traded off aspects of colour vision over visual acuity. The night vision of dogs (and many other vertebrate species) is accentuated by the tapetum lucidum - which in effect doubles the sensory stimulus of each photon received by the eye. The presence of the tapetum in daylight (and night-time) causes some loss of visual acuity, due to the imperfect optics of the mirror and the potential stimulus of different receptors on the received and reflected stimulus photon. But in having dichromatic vision (as opposed to the trichromatic vision of humans) dogs (and other species) attain improved acuity in return for a different level of colour perception. Humans have trichromatic vision - three flavours of colour receptor. Dogs have dichromatic vision - two flavours of colour receptor. Birds and many insects have tetra chromatic vision - four flavours of colour receptor - including sensitivity in the UV range of the light spectrum. It is impossible for us, as humans, to envisage the colour hues that dichromatic species like dogs perceive, and impossible for us to envisage the colour hues that tetra chromatic species like birds and some insects perceive. We know that bird plumage and things like flowers, berries, leaves and fruits have patterns that are only visible in the UV spectrum. We can artificially visualise these using post-processing technology, and although we can conclude that birds and some insects see the world entirely differently to us, we can never truly understand exactly how their visual/colour perception varies.

[@jimmyhsp]

trust me, this works better in real life. do it yourself to really see colors. try a spinning top.

[@newmood24]

yeah

[@fluchterschoen]

Why should we trust you?

[@insertaverygenericnamehere]

This worked indeed best on old cathode-ray televisions (or monitors). Our modern screens are - too modern. ^_^

[@TheBetterGamer]

Agreed - and not only is it a difference in screens, it's a difference in raw display data seeing as what was originally broadcast has to be converted to pixel data anyway.

[@avinotion]

But shouldn't it work in real life? I assume we don't see it because of KZbin's compression algorithm, which distorts fast-moving and small particles/lines.

[@pinchopaxtonsgreatestminds9591]

I remember seeing this when I was about 8 years old on my B/W tv. I told everyone I saw colour on my B/W tv, and nobody believed me.

[@JLvatron]

That's a great premise for a Revenge movie: 'Colored Uppance!"

[@Fred-mp1vf]

I had the exact same experience. Now we finally have proof! 😃

[@gorilla_with_jetpack4102]

The spinning disc with the string is also a way to build an extremely high force centerfuge able to separate malaria from human blood and help aid diagnosis. Standford was able to create a highly accurate field malaria test with microscope and whirligig centerfuge for less than 1 dollar per test. They use cardboard and string, and a small bead of glass.

[@oneandonlyjaybee]

I got green all the way across the wheel. God this is a great show! Just like all the books I loved growing up in the late 80's and 90's

[@CuriosityShow]

Yes, it works better on some appliances than others, but it is impressive if you can see it - Rob

[@kenmathewson8972]

I'm honestly kinda jelly of Aussie kids about my age because this show rocks and I would have ditched Mr wizard in a second for it.

[@Fred-mp1vf]

Why do you address your comment to God? See Exodus 20 :7

[@anthonypayne2526]

I have no idea why clips of this show started showing up on my feed, but thanks KZbin. I can't get enough of this stuff

[@musthavechannel5262]

May be it only works on CRT displays because on my LCD I only see green (think) ... the edge of the black part is green even on still wheel.

[@jupiterflambay4284]

Yeah I got green as well on my lcd.

[@ConScortis]

I saw blue, red, orange and green moving from the centre. What a great illusion!

[@CuriosityShow]

Yes, it is impressive when it works - can't handle some modern devices well, though - Rob

[@garyv2196]

I saw purple mushrooms.

[@electronwave4551]

Back in the day, they attempted to show a hint of color on B&W TV sets by flashing on and off in rapid succession an image (with the words AMPOL). I didn't notice anything. Another time comedian Graham Kennedy said he was about to show color footage that everyone could see. I pressed my nose close to the B&W TV screen to make sure not to miss it! It was a short B&W video of penguins on white snow.

[@Rando_Shyte]

Guys I've watched 5 videos on this effect on youtube and this is the only one that I actually saw colour in. I attribute that to you guys actual scientific knowledge and not just copying it from some website. Do keep uploading these we love ye :)

[@CuriosityShow]

many thanks - it can depend on what you watch it on - RGB monitor, liquid crystal, phone etc. - Rob

[@Rando_Shyte]

@@CuriosityShow It's LED as far as I know, interesting that different screens affect the effect, lol.

[@Rando_Shyte]

I'm curious if you guys have considered making a new series? You probably have other stuff going on ofc but you really made some amazing educational videos. Thanks again, from Ireland. Paul

[@StephanBuchin]

What is intriguing is that if you pause the video where the disc is spinning, the red and green (as i see it on my screen) fringes are still clearly visible. Did it trick the camera sensor too? ☺

[@alcaldealer8515]

This video got a like before the ad was over, because I knew I'd like it

[@larshowen3319]

What year was this originally aired? Veterinarian science long ago learned that dogs and cats see colors. Just differently than we do.

[@arstulex]

Correct! Most mammals are dichromats, meaning they only have 2 different types of colour receptors in their eyes. Cats, for example, only have blue and green colour receptors, meaning they can only see mixtures of those 2 colours while having next to no ability to see red. Humans are trichromats, meaning we have 3 types of colour receptors in our eyes. Red, green and blue. Although it's quite rare, some people are actually quadchromats (I believe it's more common in women), giving them the ability to see an extra range of colours (extending slightly into the UV part of the spectrum). Also when we talk about colourblindness in humans, what that basically means is somebody only has 2 properly functioning receptor types, giving them drastically reduced ability to see a particular range of colours and essentially making them dichromats like other mammals. On a final note: Some marine creatures can actually have up to 7 different types of colour receptors. I'm guessing that would make them 'septchromats', but I probably have the wrong terminology there lol.

[@Graknorke]

sure actual scientists knew it, but the black and white thing was already popularly accepted by most people and it was harder back then to "issue corrections" so to speak. I would imagine that animal perception of colour isn't important enough to make it into the news so most people would just carry on believing the old thing

[@cashewABCD]

The old Commodore 64 floppy drive timing was done with a similar disk. The pattern would move forward and another backward when you had it dialed in

[@bafflezbiz]

What most people don't realize is that the brain is locked up in the skull, completely cutoff from light and sound and taste and touch and smell; and that experience is simply a guess at what it might be like 'out there'. The brain "imagines" our experience. Consider our dreams... they often feel incredibly "real" until we wake up and get our bearings on the stable day to day on Earth. The fact that it seems so real is because even "reality" is our brain "dreaming" our experience of the world. It's all a hallucination, if you will. The difference is that one is based on the world around us, and the other is based on our memories, ideas, and past experience.

[@riverraisin1]

OK. Now you've messed up my whole life. It's one big sham! 😁

[@thebeststooge]

Sadly, not really. Many have segments that are either out of date or feature people or places since gone (like lovely Christchurch cathedral etc). For that reason we have taken out various segments that do still work and put them into playlists.- Rob In this you said Dogs and Cats see in B&W but we now know that is incorrect so Rob missed this segment. Color vision - It's a common misconception that cats can't see any colors, only shades of gray. Humans are known as trichromats, meaning they have three kinds of cones that allow them to see red, green, and blue. Cats are also thought to be trichromats, but not in the same way that humans are

[@CuriosityShow]

Yes, we have kept segments as they were 40 years ago although we know a bit more about things now - Rob

[@E_y_a_l]

Maybe I misunderstood you, but you want them to scrap this segment just because he says a few words that are out of date? whether cats and dogs sees color is not THAT significant to the educational value of this video, there's no reason to scrap this segment just because of that, don't be so pedantic. Rob & Deane, please don't scrap any segments and keep uploading them, these are a joy and no harm is done if some of them are a little out of date.

[@ElectricalSwift]

@@E_y_a_l 2 years late but I agree. Maybe they could put corrections in a pinned comment or the description.

[@picassodilly]

Pedantic note- switching the image to “black and white” doesn’t actually switch our TVs (or phones, or computers) to black and white. The images are still generated by combining colored pixels in a way that we’ll only perceive it in black and white. I’m sure the illusion would still work in person- but the method for proving it wasn’t created by the use of color television was flawed.

[@bowtangey6830]

In the early 60's, before broadcasts in color, the TV station WJW in Cleveland had a 1/2-hour experimental program supposedly broadcasting color from their black-and-white station. They supposedly used a Benham's disk. I wasn't sure back then if I saw color or not. I am gratified to see that I STILL am not sure.😵‍💫

[@gokulchandran5586]

Very interesting and informative.

[@CuriosityShow]

Glad you enjoyed it-Rob

[@SquirrelASMR]

If u see green during the color version, it's actually the video encoding issues because if you pause it the image is actually green. But I don't see colors in the black and white version, maybe I need a cleaner quality one

[@gutz1981]

I saw green. So I don't know what is at fault.

[@Hyraethian]

My mother used to have a wooden top with this Benhams disk pattern. It was very magical in person. edit: this show is a treasure right up there with Mr Rogers. Love from the USA.

[@stewhv94]

Not sure when new information came out about this, probably well after this show was made, but dogs and cats actually do see in color. However, their color range isn't as high as ours. They can't see reds and oranges, but greens, yellows, blues, and purples are all visible.

[@SeaCryptWeave]

blue inner, red middle, green outer

[@Fred-mp1vf]

They used this on a TV ad in the 60's. I was the only one who saw it, and nobody believed me when I said that I saw color on our B&W TV. Now I have proof! 😃

[@basildraws]

Neither dogs, nor cats, see in black and white.

[@willguggn2]

Doesn't work well in 30 fps video.

[@deadhorse3389]

I saw green for the in color spin, for the black and white spin I didn't see any colors

[@mhoover]

Animals can see color, but they can't tell red from green.

[@praveendixit.parambhattaraka]

Thank god he did not said “darrate kaat rahi hai omffo… le bhaiye omffo”

[@ErgonBill]

That's a great jumper Rob. Do you still have it?

[@CuriosityShow]

Sadly. no. Knitted by my wife - Rob

[@gteaz]

@@CuriosityShow Your wife Rob knitted it?

[@Snotlingfondler]

Cats and dogs do see most of the colours we see, just not the red spectrum.

[@LudosErgoSum]

I get that we at some point transitioned from black and white to color on the television, but when did we invent color and start applying it to the world? Old photographs and movies are still black and white so it was not just a television thing.

[@Graknorke]

lol I remember when I was little and someone I knew and was about the same age asked this sincerely

[@msamour]

It doesn't seem to work with newer led screens. I can't see any variations in shading, or perceived colours.

[@xombi213]

this episode reminds me of watching wizard of oz the first time

[@gavingreenbean5141]

i thought that dogs and cats did see color,just not the same spectrum as humans

[@pauls7318]

You're right, but we hadn't figured that out yet when this show was filmed. A lot has been discovered in the past few decades.

[@Graknorke]

yeah it was an old myth commonly accepted as popular science by p much anyone other than actual scientists in the field. similar deal as thinking that different areas of the tongue corresponded to different tastes. nowadays we both know more and it's easier to share that information

[@mytech6779]

I had a broad spinning top with this pattern, it worked quite well.

[@misstakenot9582]

What is the physics/biology behind this? Why does it work?

[@markc65]

I saw the colours through darker red and blue. Fascinating.

[@kenmathewson8972]

Huh. I saw green Immediately, and nothing else

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

I only see flashbacks of VC hiding in the jungles of Vietnam. Perhaps I need a bigger disc.

[@avgjoeshow4208]

Is this show old or made to appear old?

[@Graknorke]

it's actually old, ran from '72 to '90

[@Maninawig]

Do you ever teach how to make the actual machine you use?

[@CuriosityShow]

It was just a simple battery driven motor - Rob

[@s3tTz]

Watching this my iPad. The effect is only very feint. Video compression + LCD display probably not a good combination. Either that, or I'm colour blind?

[@s3tTz]

Okay, found a higher res animation on Wikipedia: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Benham%27s_disc_%28animated%29.gif Fascinating!

[@tiborfutotablet]

I saw green segments in the color version and red and ocean blue in the black and white broadcast on a 10 inch tablet.

[@mark-]

not true, most animals see colour but not so many colours like humans can

[@jesusvera7941]

5 years after: yeah, this was one of those science facts that were teach in the schools but more info came in and it was obsolete

[@SAHBfan]

Many animals are ‘colour blind’ in the same way some humans are - they have one primary colour missing, but see some colours ok.

[@timn4481]

dogs and cats see in colour..not black and white..but not in colours like humans either.

[@KobraVR]

My S20 wasn't prepared for the colour of that jumper

[@H_E_N_X]

Definitely Adelaide with those accents 😆

[@jimmartin156]

Probably worked well on cathode Ray screens. That’s all we had back then.

[@saorsatk]

After I saw this on teev, I tried making a small one of these and sticking it to a yoyo. The effect wasn’t as spectacular as I hoped it would be. I must have looked quite odd, with my arm stretched out and up with my head craned towards it, and when my dad finally asked what on earth I was doing, he suggested putting it on a drill - which worked much better

[@fromthegamethrone]

Me: like a pizza Him: like spokes of a wheel Me: okay :(

[@matthewferguson7084]

I see color but why?

[@DaveFisher1]

Great show!

[@CuriosityShow]

Many thanks - lots more at kzbin.info, so subscribe if you haven't for more each week - Rob

[@barsaf9989]

You need to watch this on a CRT TV for it to work. Not your phone.

[@zebraneighbor6383]

I saw a thick stripe of green actually.

[@SirDzstic]

Amazingly, I even see a hint of headache!

[@dabdoc3885]

Oddly I can see distinct green bits during the color example but the black and white I can't see any colors at all.

[@toddervin946]

I see green, but only in color?... not black and white. What's that?

[@wilbur9416]

I love the old school fun

[@assistantto007]

I see green too. I guess the effect doesn't work the same on modern screen technology

[@barryguff6893]

This doesn't work on LCD/LED/OLED screens due to the video encoding, sadly. Needs a CRT monitor/TV with no video compression.

[@marcovachon3103]

I saw black and white. Help me.

[@tronmerncutsman]

Was that Poet and PeasantI heard?

[@CuriosityShow]

Sorry, can't say. Music was added in post production by our producer and we had no say in the choices - Rob

[@LordDustinDeWynd]

Back when, Sprite ran an advert on b&w tv's that flashed green.

[@NoNameAtAll2]

I had red-green-blue with red being on the front edge of segment

[@LuisTorres-bb6so]

I only saw green at the center and a bit of purple on the edges.

[@robertcrookall5991]

Hasn't the theory of whether dogs and cats see in colour or not changed now? I think I've heard that dogs see bichromatic colour, rather than trichromatic like humans.

[@spire393]

I saw black demons and red witches. Freaky. They are always there. They will get me soon.

[@micahrichardson6371]

They gonna get ya

[@SAHBfan]

Just because your paranoid, it don’t mean that they’re not out to getchya!

[@pauls7318]

You're supposed to make a color wheel in the shape of a circle, not a pentagram.

[@tannhauser7584]

You can tell pretty accurately which animals can see color. If they display color, they can see color. There are exceptions, of course, but this should be accurate most of the time.

[@BarryMcCawkiner]

Like others', I saw quite a lot of green. I only saw red, albeit a tiny amount, when you took the color away.

[@Thoroughly_Wet]

Saw green and it was still back and white when it was black and white

[@k13ehr]

Wow!! I made one of those in the 60s.

[@riverraisin1]

All I saw was green at the demarcation line during the color segment. when they switched to black and white, that's all I saw - black and white. Must not translate very well on a computer screen. I didn't get the part where this relates to animals seeing in black and white?

[@icsoothsayer5018]

Haven't seen any illusion on my IPS matrix.

[@kardelenkoc9746]

i can only see green when its not a close up shot

[@Franz_il_cinghiale]

cant see any colours 😢😢

[@sandykemp7562]

I didn’t know James Hetfield was doing these videos in the early 00’s 😂

[@drmitofit2673]

This video should have a seizure risk warning.

[@thememaster7]

I saw green and black and when he made everything black & white I saw no colour. Dunno what to make of that.

[@tonyneville476]

I didn’t see blue or red on b&w wheel

[@Micro-Moo]

Find this article on the Web by its name: "Illusionary XAML: Reinventing Benham's Top", use the software. A user can not only observe the effect but also try to design one's own patterns and explore the effect depending on different factors.

[@jackhartford521]

Darn it, I didn’t see any color. I am slightly colorblind, but maybe it’s not translating well from being recorded, and then put into a digital medium.

[@magic2yourdoor]

I saw green and I couldn't see the colors when he made it all black and white.

[@garyv2196]

Update cats can see some colors.

[@hurhurhur123]

He is saying blue in the middle and red beside it but I see it the other way, the middle ring is red and the one beside it blue..Then light grey (maybe lilac?) then orange

[@Rando_Shyte]

Btw at the start all I see is a deep green.

[@Beetil]

Works great on my new tv.

[@anaryl]

So cool!

[@arvydussibonus1712]

This doesn’t work well on 1080p HDTV LCD televisions

[@mouthofspaghetti7817]

I am colorblind, I only saw the colors when the show turned to black and white.

[@Bobalicious]

I saw a bit of green and then just black and white.

[@jordanelmhirst7373]

I saw all the colours of the jumper

[@bafflezbiz]

It's strange how this show looks like it was made in 2022 to look like 1972. I won't be surprised if one day he pulls out an iPhone...

[@StevenMcFlyJunior]

I see green when in color. And I don't see any in black and white. Must be since video tech has advanced so much

[@Seedyrom247]

On my iPhone I saw (from the centre outwards) blue, red, green, blue.