Omni Brain

We all know, thanks to Dan Simons and Chris Chabris (unless you've been living under a rock), that if we're really paying attention to something we can miss something else entirely... like a gorilla walking into the middle of a room and banging on its chest. Check out the video here. (Clearly this won't work for you now since you know what to look for, but there are some other examples on Dan Simons'' site that you can check out as well.)

In any case ... on to the main story here which is really the complete opposite of Inattentional Blindness. This time the gorilla suit was meant to bring as much attention as possible to a great cause. Here's a snippet from the San Francisco Chronicle:

The Holubs were among more than 400 people who turned out for the first Great Gorilla Run through Golden Gate Park. The 4.3-mile race, which began shortly after 9 a.m., was billed as good fun for a good cause: The Gorilla Organization, which sponsored the race, was established under a different name nearly 30 years ago to save endangered gorillas in Africa. There are only about 700 mountain gorillas left in the wild, the organization says.

The event started in London in 2003 and has raised about $2 million. The San Francisco gorilla run was the organization's first such event in the United States. The number of runners was limited to just over 400 because the organization ran out of gorilla suits -- provided with the $100 entry fee.

Jillian Miller, executive director of the Gorilla Organization, which was inspired by the work of the late American primatologist Dian Fossey, took in the spectacle of people dressed as their closest living relatives. Smiling, she said, "What is it about gorilla costumes that make people so happy?"