Optical illusion - images

[xoxoxoBruce]

This guy was playing with his kids trains(probably after the kid was asleep), and noticed the track sections which are the same when stacked up, look so different side by side. Size and proximity rule out perspective as a complete explanation.



The all wise(ass) internet said it's an optical illusion because the left ends aren't even.
OK, so I wanted to measure and since a ruler on the screen is so plebeian, I made copies of the image and clipped them off in photoshop
and it told me what was left.
I could cut them more accurately than I could draw them.



The .250 and .231 are pretty close, but adding them and comparing to the wide measurement was .200 different. Hmm, average them.



The other end came out perfect which is always as suspect as way off is.
Comparing that .552 to the .581avg shows less than 1/32 of an inch difference. Close enough to prove the internet was right.