Reflecting on refractors

I don't think this falls under the "secret shame" category. But I've been a little reluctant to confess a bit of information: I have a hard time telling a refractor card from a regular chrome card.

I'm not actively collecting the Topps Chrome set from 2008, but I do pick up some packs here and there just because I can't resist. It's chrome! But I can go months before realizing that a card in my possession is a refractor.

Just today, while continuing my never-ending attempt to sort my cards, I discovered that the Dustin Pedroia card up there was a refractor. It's a good thing Topps mentions it's a refractor on the back, or I'd be as clueless about this card as how the Arizona Cardinals got to the Super Bowl (I can name three players on the team. Maybe four).

Then it dawned on me: how many chrome cards had I thought were doubles were actually refractors? I immediately headed to the basement and dug through my 2008 dupes. I found two refractors smiling back at me.

There was Lance Berkman (the scanner refuses to line up chrome cards correctly). The refractor is on the right. Um, I think.

And there was Kelly Johnson. Again, the refractor is on the right. I think.

I'm not a complete idiot. I know what the difference is between the regular chrome and a refractor. The refractors glisten in a rainbow-like way when you hold it up to the light. I just have a hard time noticing it right away. It's kind of like those 3-D pictures where you have to blur your eyes to get the 3-D effect. I always had a hard time with those.

I've only been dealing with chrome cards for a couple of years. Chrome first came out during the dark ages of my card collecting, so it's all new to me. My question: think back to when you first became aware of chrome cards and refractors. Did it take awhile for you to notice the difference between the two cards right away? Did you have to look at the back first to tell whether they were refractors or not?

Thank goodness for xfractors. There's no mistaking what those are.