A woman claims a gas station bathroom she visited may have had a two-way mirror aimed directly at the toilet. But how can you tell if a mirror is two-way? Alexandria Eliza (@_alexandriaeliza) shared the video last week after noticing something that immediately made her uneasy: two mirrors in the women’s restroom positioned directly across from the toilet. “One-way mirror at gas station pointed only at toilet??” she writes in the text overlay of the now-viral clip. In the video, Eliza presses her finger against one mirror, before panning to a second mirror mounted nearby—both appearing to face the toilet rather than the sink or eye level. The unusual placement, she suggests, raised red flags. She expands on her concerns in the caption of her widely-viewed clip. “This mirror was confusing me bc it’s a random third mirror in the woman’s bathroom pointed directly at the toilet, not even eye level,” she writes. “I checked the spacing thing and there was an obvious difference. And you can see there’s a staff only room directly next to it. Idk call me crazy but it was scary to think it could be one way!!” But the situation appears to be far less sinister than it initially seemed. In a follow-up video, Eliza attempts to peel the mirror off the wall. This reveals that there’s actually tile behind it. The mirror is clearly mounted, not see-through, and not a two-way mirror. While the implication that someone could be watching women in the bathroom doesn’t appear to be true, the clip still struck a nerve online. As of this writing, the video has racked up 22.2 million views. How Do You Test For Two-Way Glass? So, besides trying to take the mirror off the wall yourself, how can you tell whether a mirror is two-way or just oddly placed? The quickest check, according to Western Kentucky University, is the fingernail test. Press the tip of your fingernail against the mirror and look closely. On a standard mirror, you’ll see a small gap between your nail and its reflection. But if your nail appears to touch its reflection directly, beware: two-way mirrors have the reflective layer on the front surface. Reolink says the flashlight test is another, possibly more reliable, option. To do this properly, turn off the lights to make the room as dark as possible, then shine a flashlight directly on the mirror. A normal mirror will reflect the beam at you. If light clearly passes through and reveals space on the other side, though, you should be concerned. There are a couple of other methods people swear by, though they’re less definitive. You can cup your hands around your eyes and press them against the mirror to check if you can see anything. You can also perform the tap test. A regular mirror mounted to a wall usually sounds solid and dull, while thinner glass may sound hollow. Of course, none of these tests are foolproof on their own, but taken together, they can help answer the question quickly and ease your mind. Viewers Express Doubt Despite Eliza’s multiple clips laying out why she believed the mirror might be two-way, plenty of viewers remained unconvinced—especially once she revealed the tiled wall behind it. “I really don’t think people understand how a two-way mirror works,” one woman commented. Another viewer echoed that skepticism, writing, “Literally nobody who thinks this works as a test has ever seen an actual 2-way mirror.” She added, “They are VERY obvious and require one room to be very well lit and the other as dark as possible.” “How’s this a two-way when we can see the tiled wall behind the mirror?” a third person asked. Some commenters offered advice on how to test it more definitively. “If you suspect a two-way mirror, break it,” one suggested. “You’ll either be correct or satisfied.” Another offered a less destructive approach. “Turn the lights off and press a flashlight against the one-way mirror to see the other side,” they said. “Gap theory can be wrong. Cut the light of bathroom and take video with the flashlight,” a third added. “You can see the entire room on the other side.” Even so, many viewers agreed that something about the setup still felt off, regardless of whether the mirror was actually two-way. “Call the police,” one commenter urged. “I am being genuinely serious when I say CALL THE POLICE,” another wrote. “No because why is there two mirrors right next to each other? That’s hella sus,” a third added. Motor1 has contacted Eliza via a direct message on TikTok. We’ll update this if she responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
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