shrinking mill

Ontario landmark that appears to shrink as you get closer has people perplexed

An imposing food processing factory that has long served as one Ontario town's most peculiar landmark is now having its 15 minutes of fame on social media.

The colossal industrial facility has been milling flour on King Street in Port Colborne for more than 120 years, operated by American company Archer-Daniels-Midland for the last 27 of them.

But, what it may be most known for by locals is the optical illusion it presents for drivers approaching it from a certain angle — a sight that is apparently quite novel for audiences on TikTok, where videos of the property have been racking up tens of millions of views.

@shannonb129 Shrinking Mill.. optical illusion. #portcolborneontario #mindblown #shrinkingmill #fyp #niagara #portcolborneontario ♬ original sound - 12345678910

Multiple clips shot from cars driving up to the mill from the southern Ontario city's Lakeshore Road have been shared to the platform, one of which was cross-posted on X last week, where it's since been viewed nearly 16 million times.

In the post, the person filming explains that the building is known as "the shrinking mill," calling it "a mystery... no one really knows how it works."

As the vehicle gets closer to the structure — which is framed perfectly if travelling eastbound, appearing at the end of the road before it curves to the north —it truly doesn't appear to get any larger, which the video creator notes one would expect it to as they get closer.

Not only that, but at a certain point in the drive, the site actually does look to be getting smaller, an effect that drastically intensifies as the car is about to reach the bend in the road.

As we turn the corner, it becomes apparent that the plant is located not at the road's edge, but on a peninsula across a small bay on Lake Erie that the road meanders around.

"It doesn't even make sense, look how small it is!" the narrator exclaims.

Many replying to the video claim to have watched it countless times, still unable to figure the video out.

Others pointed to the Ponzo illusion, in which things can appear a different size than they truly are due to perspective and other surrounding parts of a scene, like the background, which can end up creating a false sense of distance.

Regardless of the explanation, the mill has clearly long intrigued passersby, and will continue to do so for years to come.

For anyone who wants to check out the ADM Milling trick of the eye themselves, it is just a two hour drive south of Toronto, just before Fort Erie and the Peace Bridge crossing into Buffalo.

Lead photo by

@Evinst3in/X


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