Three Autostereograms from the book “Magic Eye” by Tom Bacceo and Cheri Smith, 1991
Magic Eye is a series of books published by N.E. Thing Enterprises (renamed in 1996 to Magic Eye Inc.). The books feature autostereograms (precisely, random dot autostereograms),which allow some people to see 3D images by focusing on 2D patterns. The viewer must diverge his or her eyes in order to see a hidden three-dimensional image within the pattern. “Magic Eye” has become something of a genericized trademark, often used to refer to autostereograms of any origin. The autostereogram predates the Magic Eye series by several years. Christopher Tyler created the first black-and-white autostereograms in 1979 with the assistance of computer programmer Maureen Clarke.
Unable to find an American publisher after creating its first images in 1991, creators Tom Baccei and Cheri Smith managed to make a deal with Tenyo, a Japanese company that sells magic supplies. Tenyo published its first book in late 1991 titled Miru Miru Mega Yokunaru Magic Eye (“Your Eyesight Gets Better & Better in a Very Short Rate of Time: Magic Eye”), sending sales representatives out to street corners to demonstrate how to see the hidden image. Within a few weeks the first Japanese book became a best seller, as did the second which was published shortly after.
Click on each image, relax your eyes. Try refocusing your eyes. Once you get one, it is easy to shift to the other images. I, personally, find it easiest to view these images by slowly crossing my eyes and slowly uncrossing them. As I uncross the eyes, at one point the image just pops into view.
Thanks to http://nickyskye.blogspot.com