# café wall illusion

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. An optical illusion in which the parallel straight dividing lines between staggered rows with alternating dark and light bricks appear to be sloped rather than parallel.

## Etymology
Described under its current name in 1973 by Richard Gregory, according to whom this effect was observed by a member of his laboratory, Steve Simpson, in the tiles of the wall of a café at the bottom of St Michael’s Hill, Bristol.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cafe-wall-illusion