

While 2016 won’t go down as a vintage year for political stability, nor the safety of our childhood heroes, it has turned out to be very good indeed for one thing in particular:
Winding up the internet.
After last year’s furore over that dress, the web has since been rife with mind-melting puzzles, optical illusions and outright annoying imagery.
Here are 11 of the best (or worst) from this year. Prepare to get riled.
Shiny legs or painted white?
A natural successor to the whole brouhaha over the (bloody) dress, debate was in abundance when internet users were posed a simple question – are these legs oiled or spattered with white paint?
Interestingly, it would appear from the subsequent coverage (of which there was tons, because it’s 2016 and the media has eaten itself) that most people at first see shiny legs, but once they realise it is in fact paint, they cannot unsee it.
Spooky.
Get exclusive shortlists, celebrity interviews and the best deals on the products you care about, straight to your inbox.
Another brick in the wall
Tri, tri, tri again
Possibly the worst strain of brainteaser, this – one that doesn’t have a conclusive answer.
Look at the picture, count the triangles, feel shit/smug depending on how many you’ve clocked.
But wait, some believe there are not merely 18, but 19, 24, 28 even.
Cheers for ruining our day, People’s Daily, China.
Spot the dog
Impossible maths question
Find My iPhone
Spot the dot
Schrodinger's car
Optical irritation
Mathematical madness
Whose heart is it anyway?

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.
-
Danny Boyle on 28 Years Later sequel The Bone Temple, Cillian Murphy’s return — and THAT shocking pregnancy
The British director spills the beans on what's coming next for his zombies-in-the-countryside trilogy — along with some pretty big sequel spoilers...
-
Whisky whilst you walk? Scapa whisky launches Sanctuary Trails with hiking app
It’s a walk not a stumble