Wallpaper illusion: cause of disorientation and falls on escalators.
The wallpaper illusion, first described over a century ago, can occur when a person with normal binocular vision views a pattern that is periodic in the horizontal meridian of the visual field. Escalator trends present such a pattern. Evidence is presented favoring the view that disorientation experienced by escalator riders is caused by this illusion. Possibly some of the estimated 60,000 escalator falls occurring in the United States each year are linked to it.
Cohn
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School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Lasley
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D000058:Accidental Falls; D000328:Adult; D003867:Depth Perception; D004215:Distance Perception; D004607:Elevators and Escalators; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis; D009039:Motion Perception; D009903:Optical Illusions; D015348:Vision, Binocular