Maze of Mazes - Lots of really cool mazes that you can print or do on-screen
What was terra firma is now a gaping crevasse.
And into it - his arms raised in terror - plunges a hapless pedestrian on a shard of rock.
The Crevasse: The giant fissure, in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, spans over 250 square metres and appears to show a fault in the earth's crust
In another apocalyptic scenario, a family desperately struggle to cross what remains of a street. They hold hands while balancing on islands of tarmac.
Below them a rushing urban river laps against rocks that glow with volcanic intensity.
But, of course, neither of these scenes is what they appear. They are giant optical illusions conceived by German artist Edgar Mueller.
Hands across the great divide: But the torrent below is not what it seems
He spent five days, working 12 hours a day, to create the 250 square metre image of the crevasse, which, viewed from the correct angle, appears to be 3D. He then persuaded passers-by to complete the illusion by pretending the gaping hole was real.
'I wanted to play with positives and negatives to encourage people to think twice about everything they see,' he said.
'It was a very scary scene, but when people saw it they had great fun playing on it and pretending to fall into the earth.
'I like to think that later, when they returned home, they might reflect more on what a frightening scenario it was and say, "Wow, that was actually pretty scary".'
Hard work: Together with up to five assistants, Mueller painted all day long from sunrise to sunset
Mueller, 40, used acrylic wall paint to create the scene. He trained a camera lens on his work surface to help him fully visualise the idea before painting in the incredible detail to give an impression of depth on the flat surface.
He added: 'The conditions were difficult because if it started raining before a section had dried it could all wash it all away.
'I was very lucky that I managed to get each part done before the heavens opened.'
Scroll down to watch a video of the making of the The Crevasse...
The picture appeared on the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, as part of the town's Festival of World Cultures.
The artist used the same technique to create the street-turned-river scene in the western German city of Geldern.
Use your eyes: The apocalyptic street art by German artist Edgar Mueller
It commemorated the 30th anniversary of an international competition of street painters, which takes place in the city every summer.
Mueller, who has previously painted a giant waterfall in Canada, said he was inspired by the British 'Pavement Picasso' Julian Beever, whose dramatic but more gentle 3D street images have featured in the Daily Mail.
They include a swimming pool chalked on the street so realistically that shoppers swerved to avoid it.
After the corn is harvested most farmers plow down the corn stalks. A few sell them for fall decorations. The ingenuity of New England farmers is a marvel. Several have discovered another way to make money. Their corn stalks become giant mazes. This is a trend becoming popular across the country but I believe it started with our thrifty New England farmers. Corn mazes offer families an opportunity to wend their way through intricately designed fields. It offers farmers another way to earn money to see them through the winter.
These mazes are not amateur efforts. They are designed prior to planting by such professionals as Brett Herbst who have done over 100 mazes. One of those mazes is in Connecticut at Lyman Orchards. It stretches over 3 acres and is cornucopia-shaped. Like to get lost in a puzzle and find your way out? That's what these mazes are all about. No need to worry though. Tired walkers will find plenty of benches to take a rest. At one farm there is a large tower which oversees the field. A guide is stationed there with flags. Lost walkers need only look up to see which direction to go next. If that doesn't help, a volunteer maze rescue person will hurry through the paths and lead the lost out.
At first, the maze looks like it will be easy to get in and out of, but that is deceptive. Even with a map, and clues along the way, most people wind up going around in a circle. The adults take the longest to find their way out. Kids of 8 or older have been seen darting quickly through the twists and turns not fooled by dead ends. At our local maze, several amused adults were led out by grinning children.
A lot of creativity goes into these structures. There are activities within the maze for small children. This is important because small children can panic if they don't find their way out quick enough. So there are jars of bubbles with wands, balloons, stone games and even in one maze, a trivia game section. Each farm lends its own personal touch to the maze creation.
There are mazes which spell out town names, others are designed in the shape of cartoon characters. Some have mini-gardens in the center where weary walkers can sit down and rest before going further.
Going through a maze is a great family fun activity and the price is reasonable also. In Connecticut and Massachusetts mazes stay open until the end of October. Other areas may close sooner according to the weather. Mazes have proven a boon to farmers who also set up stands to sell the rest of their pumpkins, corn and applies. At the end of the season the mazes are plowed down so the earth is cleared for next year's planting. The ground rests under the winter cold and people prepare for the next big holiday, Thanksgiving, with Christmas not far behind.
