A video depicting what appears to be an infinite or never-ending staircase has been circulating on social media platforms. In the footage, individuals ascending the staircase appear to emerge from the bottom as they reach the top. This fact-checking article seeks to investigate the truth behind these intriguing claims.
Claim: The viral video depicts a never-ending staircase.
Fact: This video showing a so-called never-ending staircase is not a real architectural anomaly but a product of clever video editing, visual effects, and sound effects. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
We began by scrutinising the comments section where a user identified the phenomenon as the “Escherian Stairwell.” Subsequently, an internet search directed us to a YouTube video (here and here) uploaded 10 years ago by a user named Michael Lacanilao. This video, which appeared to be an episode of a show called “Can You Imagine,” focused on unique features at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
In the video, the host describes the said “Escherian Stairwell” and claims it was developed by a Ugandan architect in 1968. The host then introduces this architectural marvel to a group of unsuspecting students, stirring astonishment and disbelief.
Further online exploration led us to another video by Michael Lacanilao in which he revealed that the entire “stairwell” concept was an elaborate hoax. The video, titled “The Escherian Stairwell: Building a Modern Myth,” exposed that the mystifying stairwell does not exist at RIT, and the entire episode was a product of astute video editing, visual effects, and sound effects.
The illusion was so convincing that the YouTuber Captain Disillusion did an in-depth deconstruction, demonstrating how the video was cleverly crafted to create a convincing myth of the “Escherian Stairwell.”
Furthermore, we learned that the whole idea is based on an optical illusion and an impossible object created by Lionel Penrose and Roger Penrose. It is called Penrose Stairs. You can learn more about it here.
To sum up, the stairwell appearing in this video is popularly known on YouTube as the “Escherian Stairwell,” which is not a real architectural feature but a well-crafted video illusion.
