by Melissa Brunner

Time for fun with pictures! Yahoo! posted an article on the 2011 Illusion of the Year today. I hadn't seen it before, so checked it out. It's a circle of multi-colored dots changing colors. You focus on a white dot in the center of the circle and, when the outer circle starts to move, it appears the dots stop changing color.

Only they don't! There's some scientific explanation about how the spinning prevents your mind from registering the color change.

Check it out to see what you think. When you're done, let me know your favorite optical illusions! For example, I'm always freaked by those pictures of stairs that seem to be going up and down at the same time! 

Watch the illusion here: http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/674-behold-the-optical-illusion-of-the-year