“Droste Effect” is the name given for a specific type of recursive image. It gets its name from the Dutch cocoa powder that pioneered the technique on its packaging. The idea is…
“An image exhibiting the Droste effect depicts a smaller version of itself in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This smaller version then depicts an even smaller version of itself in the same place, and so on.”
So yeah, you’re familiar with the technique even if you didn’t realize it. The Memento movie poster and Sally Draper’s Land ‘O Lakes musings come to mind as the best examples. But what if the internet upped the Droste Effect ante with the power of the almighty GIF? Then things would really get interesting, right? Like meeting Levar Burton for the first time over and over again interesting.
I know what you’re thinking, and yes, the Ron Swanson moustaire GIF does count, but since I just ran it back yesterday I didn’t include it here. Although maybe I should have because — much like cinemagraphs — the pop culture variations of these GIFs are few and far between. I implore all you talented internet folks out there to get to work on more. The Hoff’s magic crotch is only going to disorient me for so long.
Sources: Know Your Meme, Google, Tumblr