Saccadoscopoeia (Seattle Metro Tunnel installation) Easter Egg - Persistence of Vision

In downtown Seattle's Metro Tunnel at University Station (3rd & University), there is an installation--"Saccadoscopoeia" by Bill Bell--on the northernmost wall of the mezzanine. It consists of scattered red and green columns of LEDs, spaced evenly left to right. To a casual observer, it looks like nothing more remarkable than randomly flickering vertical lines. But by standing back a distance, focusing on the display, and quickly glancing back and forth between its left and right sides, you can use the "persistence of vision" effect to see hidden images being flashed on the LEDs. These images share a theme that changes about every 1-2 minutes. On one afternoon, for about 10 minutes, I watched these themes go by: stock market terms, crabs, sea vessels, fish, and Metro Transit symbols.

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  7.1/10 with 49 votes
Contributed By: Larry Gilbert on 10-25-2000
Reviewed By: Webmaster
Special Requirements: physical observation
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Comments

Andy writes:
COOL! Does that work with any other displays??
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emstaj writes:
WOW! I wish I could see that...its not fair!
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LCP writes:
Unless the left and right sides are too far apart, perhaps you should try diverging your eyes to see both sides at once. You know, the way those 3D stereograms work. I'd be curious to know the result.
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Kingshows writes:
In Toronto Ontario, at the Toronto Science Center, They have a similar display. To make it easy to see, you stand with your back to the display and they supply a mirror you can swivel left and right quickly. When you do this there is no trouble at all to see the images.
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Me????? writes:
pictures? pictures? any pictures?
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hey guys, theres a similar thing in the boston museum of science
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smitten writes:
Just took a moment this morning to snap a few photos to share. People thought I was nutty down at the end of the hall swinging my phone around. Check them out here :-) http://smittenandspun.com/blog/?p=702
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