Ames room

Likely influenced by the writings of Hermann Helmholtz,[1] it was invented by American scientist Adelbert Ames Jr. and patented by him in 1940.

[2] The exact date of the invention has not been established: according to Behrens, "as early as 1934, Ames designed his first “distorted room”";[3] other authors suggesting 1946.

For another example, patterns on the walls (such as windows) and floor (such as a black-and-white chequerboard of tiles) can be made consistent with its illusory geometry.

The Ames room has as a predecessor, from as early as the 15th century, the movement in art called trompe-l'œil,[5] in which the artist creates the illusion of three-dimensional space, usually on a flat surface.

Ames's original design also contained a groove that was positioned such that a ball in it appears to roll uphill, against gravity.

For such a location in Ayrshire, Scotland, known as the Electric Brae, he found that a row of trees form a background similar to the setting of an Ames room, making the water in a creek appear to flow uphill.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy uses Ames room sets in Shire sequences to make the hobbits correctly diminutive when standing next to the taller Gandalf.