PLAINS, Ga. (NEXSTAR) — Joe and Jill Biden looked, well, giant in a photo recently taken with former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalyn Carter.
The Bidens met up with the former President and first lady on a visit to Plains, Georgia. They posed for a photo that created an optical illusion mystifying some online.
In it, the Bidens appear nearly double the size of the Carters, as you can see above, while the entire house generally looks almost doll-house sized.
What exactly is going on?
For one, there is a height difference between the couples. According to the Washington Post, the Carters are 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-10, while the President is 5-foot-11 and his wife is about half-a-foot shorter.
The Carters “aren’t tiny people, but they are medium-to-smaller size among presidents and first ladies,” Carter’s biographer, Jonathan Alter, told the Post.
Plus, “when you’re very old, you shrink.”
Jimmy Carter is 96 and his wife is 93.
But there may be more at work here than height differences. The photograph appears to be taken with flash and a wide-angle lens, which can make the subjects appear different sizes. The lack of shadows doesn’t help anything, either.
Despite this plausible explanation, social media couldn’t get enough of the tiny Carters and big Bidens.
“We voted for Biden because he’s a decent human being with sound policies but also because he and Jill are giants who will crush you if you make them angry,” one woman jested.
“Not sure who photoshopped this photo but they did a horrible job,” another chimed in.