'Ain't no way I'm risking my own mental health like this'
The previously trending “true mirror” is regaining popularity on TikTok.
On June 3, John Walter (@truemirrorco_jwalter), the founder of True Mirror Co., shared a video on the digital platform in which his cousin Michael finally gets to look at his true reflection after hearing about it for years.
@truemirrorco_jwalter imagine growing up hearing about this crazy mirror your cousin (once removed) created (reInvented actually), and then finally seeing it. fun stuff at a memorable family gathering truemirror ♬ original sound – truemirrorco
“Oh wow. My hair is all going the wrong way,” Michael says upon first taking in his reflection. “That’s so weird. This is how other people see me … I feel like I’m not as symmetric.”
Walter tells Michael to look into a regular mirror and pay particular attention to his eyes.
“Notice your eyes there,” Walter says. “See how there’s no expression in them right now? This is what happens in mirrors. It takes away our expressions. We tend to just stare.”
Once Michael shifts back to the true mirror, Walter says, “So look at me. This is how I see you … your face communicates.”
As the video progresses, Michael looks to be growing more comfortable and fond of his true reflection.
“I’ve heard about this my whole life and I’ve heard that, you know, my cousin invented it, so I’ve always wanted to see it,” he says.
In 1982, 10 years before forming his company, Walter became the first person to “independently” discover that the creation of an unreversed “true image reflection” was possible by “putting two mirrors together at right angles.” The idea, Walter notes, was actually patented in 1887.
“He found that using front surface mirrors could remove the seam between the mirrors, and he knew that he could make a real thing with it,” reads an explanation on True Mirror Co.’s website. “That seam is critical, it goes right through your eyes, which with regular mirrors, makes it very difficult to make real eye contact with yourself. With the front surface mirrors, and many, many trial and errors, he now can produce an optically perfect, seamless true image mirror.”
This isn’t the first time Walter’s revelatory contraption has gained popularity on TikTok. In January, a video of Riverdale actress Ashleigh Murray‘s emotional response while taking in her true reflection went viral.
Murray smiles widely upon recognizing that this is the way others actually perceive her.
“So what it does is gets the messaging right in your eyes, and it comes across to your smile,” Walter explains to her. “When you smile, the light in your eyes actually tells why you’re smiling. We use that to understand each other, you know, and we’re really good at it.”
‘Wow! I really saw the change in his eyes after you mentioned it! How interesting!’
“We need those mirrors at home! So healing!!” @iconhaze wrote.
“Ain’t no way I’m risking my own mental health like this,” @kashriven commented.
“Wow! I really saw the change in his eyes after you mentioned it! How interesting!” @katthemom3 wrote, to which Walter replied, “it’s a really big difference if the person engages with themselves, just like it’s a big diff if you stare vs engage w another person.”
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