Why Do Mirrors Reverse Left and Right?

Mirrors don't actually flip left and right, they just make you look like you're flipped! Imagine standing in front of a mirror and raising your right hand. It looks like the mirror is showing a person with their left hand raised, but that's only because you see the reflection from your own perspective. Mirrors reflect things as they are, straight back at you, it’s just that when you look at it, it feels like it flipped sideways.

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Examples

  1. Raising your right hand in front of a mirror makes it look like you're raising your left hand.
  2. Drawing on a piece of paper and holding it up to a mirror shows the same drawing, but flipped sideways.
  3. Looking into a mirror while wearing a shirt with a pattern on one side makes the pattern appear reversed.

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