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Impossible objects

Explore impossible objects and figures: Penrose triangle, endless stairs, impossible cubes and more. Trace the geometry and discover how the drawings work. Convincing parts that cannot fit together.

Ranked by everyone’s votes. Thumbs up adds 1; thumbs down subtracts 1. Select your vote again to remove it.

The collection

Three cylindrical prongs apparently connected to two rectangular supports.

Impossible trident

Original creator uncertain; reported by D. H. Schuster

Three prongs quietly become two supports.

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Impossible pentagram — A five-pointed star is drawn as an impossible interlaced solid.

Impossible pentagram

AnonMoos

A five-pointed star is drawn as an impossible interlaced solid.

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Impossible waterfall — A channel seems to return water to its own starting height.

Impossible waterfall

Pbroks13

A channel seems to return water to its own starting height.

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Impossible cube — A familiar cube frame acquires an impossible set of overlaps.

Impossible cube

M. C. Escher; modern redraw by 4C and Belbury

A familiar cube frame acquires an impossible set of overlaps.

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A pale blue drawing of connected corners whose locally plausible edges cannot form a consistent solid.

Impossible Corners

Oscar Reutersvärd (1915 - 2002), Swedish graphic artist

You should experience a sense of perceptual confusion as you note the paradoxical nature of the corners.

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Reutersvärd’s triangle — A triangle of blocks recalls Reutersvärd’s pioneering impossible figure.

Reutersvärd’s triangle

Oscar Reutersvärd; modern drawing by László Németh

A triangle of blocks recalls Reutersvärd’s pioneering impossible figure.

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Impossible frame — A rectangular frame joins plausible corners into a contradictory whole.

Impossible frame

Nevit Dilmen

A rectangular frame joins plausible corners into a contradictory whole.

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Impossible hexagon — A six-sided beam loop carries impossible depth around its perimeter.

Impossible hexagon

Original uploader was Trilink at en.wikipedia

A six-sided beam loop carries impossible depth around its perimeter.

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Impossible wooden cube — A real wooden construction looks like an impossible cube from one view.

Impossible wooden cube

Wmccallie

A real wooden construction looks like an impossible cube from one view.

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Impossible pentagon — Five plausible corners form an impossible pentagonal frame.

Impossible pentagon

Ibrahim Muizzuddin

Five plausible corners form an impossible pentagonal frame.

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Impossible Valknut — Three interwoven triangles hide several impossible connections.

Impossible Valknut

AnonMoos

Three interwoven triangles hide several impossible connections.

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An animated red-and-green ring with striped surfaces whose apparent depth can reverse.Moving image

Ambiguous Ring

Donald E. Simanek

You should experience a sense of perceptual confusion as you note the paradoxical nature of the depicted ring.

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A rectangular loop of steps that appears to ascend continuously.

Penrose stairs

Oscar Reutersvärd; independently Lionel & Roger Penrose

A staircase that climbs forever and gets nowhere.

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Frequently asked questions

What is an impossible object?

An impossible object is a drawing whose parts suggest familiar three-dimensional shapes but cannot all connect as they appear to. The contradiction becomes clearer when you trace the whole structure.

Can a Penrose triangle be built?

It cannot exist as the ordinary solid the drawing suggests. A specially arranged model can create the appearance from one viewpoint, but its actual structure differs from the pictured object.

How do the Penrose stairs work?

The drawing joins plausible stair segments into an apparent loop that continually rises or falls. In ordinary space, a closed circuit cannot gain height at every step and return to its starting level.

Enlarged image from the selected gallery entry