Here’s a trick for almost instantly solving those “Can You Spot the Differences” puzzles.

Do the cross-eyed “stereovision” trick! Remember those Magic Eye puzzles? You kind of looked “through” two pictures till they combined to make a 3-D image? The “differences” will pop right out at you!

Obligatory warning: Always check with your eye doctor before attempting such foolishness!

It’s just like making the two images virtually overlap … and you can “see” something funky about some areas. They look fuzzy. As if something’s floating where it’s not supposed to be. Find all the funny/fuzzy spots … and, presto, you’ve solved the puzzle. A careful look should pin down the specifics.

Here, try it on this picture I created. It’s me with a SpongeBob ice cream treat near a sign that kind of seems awfully apropos. Stare not at either picture, but between them, and kind of look “through” the screen — or kind of go cross-eyed. The trick is to adjust your eyes untill the left and right images overlap. Tracking something prominent that stays the same (like the word “Watch” on the sign) seems to help. Good luck! Oh, you should find 7 differences.

Three notes not to be taken lightly: (1) Life Magazine won’t be in newspapers any more. But you can still find Life’s Picture Puzzles online or in books. (2) You can try this with the online puzzles, but since the ones I saw were stacked on top of each other, you’ll have to turn your computer sideways. Or your head. But not both. (3) Always check with all your doctors AND Best Buy’s Geek Squad before doing any such foolishness!