Distorting mirror

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A distorting mirror, funhouse mirror or carnival mirror is a popular attraction at carnivals and fairs.{{cite web|url=http://www.carnivalmirror.com/|title=What is a Carnival Mirror?|accessdate=4 September 2009|date=August 19, 2009}} Instead of a normal plane mirror that reflects a perfect mirror image, distorting mirrors are curved mirrors, often using convex and concave sections to achieve the distorted effect.{{cite book|last1=Rossing|first1=Thomas D.|last2=Chiaverina|first2=Christopher J.|title=Light science: physics and the visual arts|publisher=Springer|date=September 24, 1999|pages=53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jpH1_dCT_UcC&dq=carnival+mirror&pg=PA53|accessdate=2011-09-14|isbn=978-0-387-98827-6}} Because of their distorting properties, they are sometimes featured in fiction as a literary device, such as in Hans Christian Andersen's 1844 fairy tale The Snow Queen.{{cite book|last1=Westfahl|first1=Gary|title=The Greenwood encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy: themes, works, and wonders|volume=2|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2005|pages=529|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JXnz9x9sO4C&dq=carnival+mirror&pg=PA529|accessdate=2011-09-14|isbn=978-0-313-32952-4}}

Distorted mirrors are used as a metaphor for describing Wikipedia,{{cite Q| Q30090192}} personalized medicine{{cite Q| Q111035080|doi-access=free}} and social media which rather than reflecting society, tend to distort our perceptions of reality and social norms.{{cite Q| Q131843666}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-a-small-but-vocal-minority-of-social-media-users-distort-reality-and-sow-division|website=pbs.org|quote=Mark Zuckerberg has said that social media is a reflection of society. But it's more like a funhouse mirror distorted by a small but vocal minority of extreme outliers|title=How a small but vocal minority of social media users distort reality and sow division|first=John |last=Yang|year=2024|publisher=PBS}}