People are having a hard time figuring out how many girls are in this photo

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By Nasima Khatun

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Optical illusions are one of the world's most mind-boggling things ever and we just can't seem to get enough.

From the iconic blue-gold dress fiasco, all the way down to Yanny and Laurel, the internet seems to be obsessed with debating trivial coincidences and bizarre phenomenons. And this latest optical illusion has stirred up quite a heated discussion online as people try to ascertain how many girls are in this one particular photo.

The image was taken by Swiss photographer Tiziana Vergari and originally shared on Instagram back in 2016 as part of a weekend hashtag project.

But soon after, it started garnering attention because people couldn't quite figure out how Vergari managed to capture such an amazingly confusing shot.

Guesses flooded in with numbers ranging from two, all the way to 14 - I mean, they can't both possibly be right, can they?

The photograph was later shared to Reddit too, and again, social media users took a stab at trying to figure it out.

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Credit: Instagram
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Credit: Instagram
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Credit: Instagram
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Credit: Instagram
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Credit: Instagram

I thought it could be two sets of twins facing each other with a mirror reflecting the image, which would mean that there were four girls, right? Well, I, along with thousands of other hopeful guessers, was wrong.

In the end, it was confirmed by the artist himself, that there were only two girls in the picture, both being his daughters. It was said that the lighting and mirrors gave the image a depth that made it seem like there could possibly be more girls than there were.

As per Simplemost, the viral post went on to be nominated for Instagram Photo of the Year before actually winning the honor.

"There are over 600 million Instagram users, and the number of images posted to the app is almost endless, so narrowing them down is no small feat," read a description for the panel that selects the winner. "But our nominees for the Instagram Photo of the Year are those indelible images that you can’t forget once you see them, tapping into the spirit of a moment in a way others do not.

"They are, simply, the best."

So it's no wonder Vergari's confusing but interesting snapshot managed to snatch the award - considering all the havoc it caused on the platform.

Featured Image Credit: Chris Mellor / Alamy