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Using optical illusions can be entertaining, but some jobs depend on them, and can be very useful. Pilots need to be skilled in flying airplanes so they practice in flight simulators run by computers to make situations appear that aren’t really there, similar to virtual reality.

Because wearing clothing with vertical stripes make people look skinnier and wearing clothing with horizontal stripes make people look heavier, fashion designers have used illusions when designing clothes. They have also learned that color can have a visual effect. For example, wearing black causes people to look skinnier.

Architects and interior designers can now use computer programs to make their designs look three dimensional. This helps the home buyer better see what the product will look like.

Finally, landscape architects use illusions to make gardens look bigger. If they create a path that gets smaller as it goes away, it will actually make the garden look bigger when it is really small.