Why is it that when you look in the mirror left and right directions appear flipped, but not the up and down?
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A mirror flips left and right, but not up and down
2 Answers
Imagine a mirror placed on the floor. Your face, looking at it, will be pointed downwards; but the face "in the mirror" is "looking" up.
The other answers here are great — I just wanted to make sure we discard the assumption that the mirror is placed on a wall!
Because your eyes are set left and right and how you relate to the mirror.
When you turn a picture to reflect in a mirror, you usually turn it left or right. If you turned it vertically, the up and down reflection will be opposite, but left and right will still be the same.
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Imagine a mirror placed on the floor. Your face, looking at it, will be pointed downwards; but the face "in the mirror" is "looking" up.
The other answers here are great — I just wanted to make sure we discard the assumption that the mirror is placed on a wall!
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