An image of an optical illusion created with tiles in a checkered-floor hallway is frequently shared with text asserting that it displays one school's ingenious solution for preventing students from running in the hallways. An article published by American Web Media in March 2018, for example, provided the following backstory for this viral photograph:
When The Principal Explained Why He Had The Floor Painted Like This, It All Made Perfect Sense
Optical illusions can be a lot of fun when they’re put into quizzes and challenges. But what if they’re used in daily life to influence the way people interact with their environment? That’s what one interior designer asked when they were trying to figure out a way to encourage students not to run down the hallway. Signs telling them to slow down were not working. They needed something more creative.
That’s when they decided to paint the tiles on the floor in a special way that created the optical illusion of a massive dip in the hall.
