Man Shares Optical Illusion That 'Only 1% Of People' Can Read

Are you one of the lucky one percent who can read the word in this optical illusion?

This was the question posed by TikToker HecticNick (@hecticnick), who is in the business of baffling the internet with his videos on visual and verbal trickery.

The mind-boggling image shows what at first glance appears to be a series of sticks and blocks all lined up in no particular order. 

However, as the TikToker explains, there’s actually a word in there – did you see it?

If you can’t, he suggests that you try squinting your eyes – FYI I had to go more or less cross-eyed before it made sense.

And if you still can’t see it, the text reads: “Bad eyes.” See what he did there?

In the clip, which has been viewed over 3.6 million times, he says: “Only one percent of people can read what’s hidden in this image.”

We can assume this ‘one percent’ refers to people who read it first time – pretty sure most of you will get it when you follow his instructions.

TikTok/@hecticnick

“Here’s a hint, try closing your eyes about 90 percent and you might be able to read it,” he adds. 

“Send this to a friend and see what they do.”

Thousands of people took to the comments section to share their thoughts on the illusion, with one writing: “Omg after 10 minutes if trying to figure it out!!! IT SAYS BAD EYES.”

While most people got there in the end, some think the text actually says: “Bro eyes.”

Others offered up their own methods of cracking the code, including this person who wrote: “You can pull your phone away from you so you can see it better.”

Another suggested: “I just kept blinking and I saw what it said,” while a third added: “Look at it from a side angle and you can see it.”

This is just one of many illusions shared by HecticNick, another example being a baffling image that did the rounds last year. 

At first, the snap looks like a moody beach scene to start with, with what seems to be a dark, cloudy sky and waves rolling in over the sand.

However, that's not what we're actually looking at, as the TikToker kindly explained to us.

As you can see from the video, what you’re looking at is the bottom of a rusty car – once you see it, you can’t unsee it.