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Harriet Brewis
Jun 30, 2024
(@wheatpraylove/Instagram)
Wedding dress shopping is supposed to be an activity of dreams, but for one woman it swiftly turned into âBlack Mirrorâ-style nightmare.
Tessa Coates, a podcaster and comedian, said she spent an hour trying on gowns in a London bridal boutique, with a staff member photographing her in the various options.
When she left the shop, she sent some of the snaps to her sister. But as they discussed the dresses, they suddenly spotted a jaw-dropping detail in one of the pics.
In the photo, Tessa is standing in front of two mirrors, but her arms and hands are in a totally different position in each.
âI looked at the photo and I had a full panic attack in the street,â she said in a video account of her ordeal. âLike, hands and knees, in the middle of Borough Market, just dry heaving.â
She said she tried to explain the visual phenomenon by reasoning that it must be a live image or a burst.
But she checked it again and, sure enough, it was ostensibly just a standard photograph.
Tessa then turned to social media for help, posting the picture to Instagram and Twitter/X, with the caption: âI went wedding dress shopping and the fabric of reality crumbled.
âThis is a real photo, not photoshopped, not a panorama, not a Live Photo,â she stressed.
âIf you canât see the problem, please keep looking and then you wonât be able to unsee it.â
The photo racked up dozens of comments and more than 2,400 likes in two days, as viewers shared their horror and glee at the dumbfounding âglitch in the Matrixâ.
âWhat in the Black Mirror is happening?â one wrote.
âThis should be on the 6 oâclock news,â said another.
In a lengthy update, shared via her Instagram stories, Tessa said sheâd gone back to the bridal shop for answers, asking the shop assistant if she could shed any light on the illusion.
But, like her, the woman apparently âlost her mindâ and had no way of explaining the terrifying triptych.
Meanwhile, Tessaâs âvery rationalâ sister was also on the case, and took the photo to members of the tech department in her office.
âThere's (sic) eight men looking at the photo, and they're all screaming,â she reported back, leaving Tessa feeling even âworseâ.
Eventually, she made a pilgrimage to the Apple Store in Covent Garden where she demanded to see a genius.
âIt takes three geniuses before we find somebody, and each genius is more scared than the last,â Tessa recounted.
However, finally, a man called Roger was summoned â who, according to Tessa is âobviously the grand high wizardâ â and he told her: âOK, I've never seen it this bad or this scary," but at least he knew what had happened.
Tessa said an Apple Genius final solved the mystery (@wheatpraylove/Instagram)
Roger explained that phones are computers not cameras, and so even when an iPhone takes a standard photo, it takes a series of burst images very quickly from left to write.
So at the precise moment the camera was snapping Tessaâs back, she must have raised her hands, causing it to process a completely different set of images on the other side.
âItâs made like an AI decision and it stitched those two photos together,â Roger explained.
Tessa further noted that Google Pixel has brought out new technology âwhere you take multiple photos and it chooses the best photo for youâ, and that Apple is Beta-testing this technology for its iPhones.
Still, she said Roger admitted that the chances of what had happened to her occurring were âa million to one,â but at least his explanation made her feel better and she was finally able to sleep.
Wrapping up her account, the comic podcaster said ominously: âIs Roger the man that the Matrix bring out when you get too close to the truth? Who's to say?
âDid it make me feel better? Yes. Do I hope it makes you feel better? Yes.â
She also pointed out that the incident took place two days after Halloween, saying: âIs that important? No.
âBut did it feel important at the time?
"Yes.â
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