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From unforgettable uses of mirrors in movies to important mirrors in scientific history, these are our picks for the top 10 most famous mirrors. 10. Chinese magic mirrors According to the United Nations, they are "some of the strangest objects in the world." Chinese magic mirrors appear ordinary, but when held in sunlight, the mirror and bronze back become "see-through," casting reflections of written characters. Magic mirrors date back to at least the 5th century, yet are still written about in contemporary physics journals. |
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9. Michael Jackson : Man in the Mirror Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" was released in January 1988. The song was number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 list for two weeks straight. Following Jackson's death in 2009, the song once again climbed the charts and was up to number 2 in the UK. This song is also the most downloaded song ever for iTunes, with over 1.3 digital copies sold. 8. Hamlet (1996) William Shakespeare's "to be or not to be" soliloquy is perhaps the most famous self-reflective passage in world literature. Kenneth Branagh gave it the setting it deserves when he directed himself in Hamlet: staring into a full-length mirror within a throne room of mirrored doors. |
7. Palace of Versailles
Built in the late 17th century during the opulent reign of King Louis XIV of France, the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles is one of the world's most mirrorific architectural wonders. The illustrious hall features 17 glass doors and 357 mirrors.
6. Girl before a Mirror
Mirrors have long been prominent symbols within the history of Western art, from the Venuses of Titian, Rubens, and Velasquez to Charles Gilbert's eerie memento mori All is Vanity. Picasso's Girl before a Mirror, painted in 1932, famously brought a modern eye to a timeless symbol.
5. Newton's reflecting telescopes
Wait, wasn't Galileo the telescope looker and Newton the falling apple watcher? True, but a lesser-known fact is that it was Isaac Newton's idea for the reflecting telescope, which replaced curved lenses with curved mirrors, that helped to minimize the chromatic aberration or planetary "halos" seen in refracting telescopes.
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4. Through the Looking-Glass The looking glass in the title of Lewis Carroll's 1871 sequel to Alice in Wonderland is one of the most famous mirrors in literature. Alice steps through it into an often backwards world - and into a well-deserved spot on our list of celebrity mirrors. 3. Taxi Driver Yes, Travis Bickle, we're talking to you. Robert DeNiro's turn as the titular taxi driver in Martin Scorsese's 1976 thriller earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor. His "you talkin' to me?" threat is still one of cinema's most riveting mirror scenes. |
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2. Mirror of Erised
As one of the best-known mirrors in movies and in literature, the Mirror of Erised's double duty earns it the number two spot in our famous mirror list. Dumbledore can never have enough socks. We can never have enough mirrors - or Harry Potter.
1. Last But Not Least: Snow White
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Magic mirrors have appeared in fairy tales and epic poetry from Beauty and the Beast to The Faerie Queene, but the fairest and most famous of them all will forever remain that of Snow White. |
