The Mystery Spot is a tourist attraction

Tourist attraction

A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....

 located near Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It was discovered in 1939 and opened in 1940. The operators of the small site (which is about 150 feet in diameter) claim that it is a place where the laws of physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 and gravity do not apply and provide a number of demonstrations in support of these claims.

The official website speculates that extraterrestrials buried unearthly metals or a spacecraft beneath the Spot, or that carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 seeps out of the earth. Another popular speculation is that gravity is affected here, causing nausea and incorrect instrument readings.

Illusion explanation

The Mystery Spot is a gravity hill

Gravity hill

A gravity hill, also known as a magnetic hill , is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope...

, a tilt-induced visual illusion. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur. Even when people are standing outside on a level ground, the slant of the building in the background causes misperceptions as we judge the height of people using the slant of the roof rather than the true horizon.

External links

• Mystery Spot official website (California)
• St. Ignace Mystery Spot (Michigan)
• Video Tour of the Mystery Spot (California)
• Mystery Spot explained (SandlotScience.com) - this site contains explanation about how Mystery Spots work, including a list of mystery spots
• Further article explaining the illusion (Berkeley.edu)