Optical Illusion: Only 1 In 10 Can Spot The Hidden Number In This Grid Of 23S Within 10 Seconds

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A new brain teaser , now circulating online, shows a plain grid filled edge-to-edge with the number 23. Twelve columns, seven rows, nothing unusual at first glance. It looks almost too simple. But here is the catch. Hidden somewhere in the sequence, one square does not match the rest. Instead of 23, the number reads 33. And that tiny swap is proving tougher to spot than most expected.

Why your eyes slip past it

The trick lies in repetition. Once the brain sees the same number appear dozens of times, it stops paying close attention. Psychologists often call this“visual fatigue.” Your eyes are scanning, but your mind goes into autopilot.

Plenty of people online admitted they scrolled back and forth through the grid without catching the change. Some described it as oddly maddening, almost like trying to find a typo in a block of text. The harder you look, the less clear it seems.

Plenty of people online admitted they scrolled back and forth through the grid without catching the change.

Also read: Optical illusion stuns Reddit as users struggle to spot the hidden deer in viral challenge

The answer revealed

For anyone still squinting at the puzzle, here is the solution: the outlier sits in the 10th column, 6th row. Every other box contains 23, but that single 33 breaks the sequence. Once you see it, it is obvious - but only after your brain has given up the chase.

Judging by the comments, most people did not catch it right away. Some claimed they found it in seconds, though the bulk of responses suggested otherwise. The majority needed a hint, or at least a second pass, before it clicked.

Why do these puzzles keep spreading

The appeal is part frustration, part reward. These illusions highlight how easily the brain gets tricked by patterns. They slow you down, make you second-guess what you are seeing, then deliver a burst of satisfaction once you spot the solution. That balance is what keeps them going viral.

Simple as they seem, puzzles like this remind us that even the most ordinary images can throw us off. One wrong digit in a sea of sameness is enough to fool thousands. And that's exactly why people cannot resist sharing them

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