When you look up at the sky full of fluffy clouds, what do you see? An elephant holding a balloon? Or perhaps a dragon spewing fire? This is nothing strange, as our brains are programmed to recognize familiar patterns and shapes in what we see. The phenomenon, called pareidolia, helps us make sense of the world and avoid danger.
Bored Panda gathered many more similar examples where people saw things as other things, assigning meaning when there might not be one. Scroll down to find them, and be sure to upvote the ones that mess with your eyes and brains the most!
While you're at it, don't forget to check out a conversation with associate professor from UQ’s School of Psychology, Dr. Jessica Taubert, who kindly agreed to tell us more about the phenomenon of pareidolia.
#1 I Visited Vulcan, Alberta And All Their Streetlights Are Shaped Like The Starship Enterprise
Image credits: RazeTheIV
#2 My Cat Looks Like A Lemur
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#3 Found A Caterpillar That Looks Like A Leaf
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Associate professor from UQ’s School of Psychology, Dr. Jessica Taubert, explains that pareidolia describes "the perception of anything meaningful that isn’t actually there."
Even though it’s something all people have, not much is known about the phenomenon. Neuroscientists have some understanding of where it can happen in the brain and are sure that it’s an evolutionary skill that was valuable for us in the natural world to identify faces and other threats.
#4 This Buff-Tip Moth Disguised As Birch Wood
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#5 This Gekko In Madagascar That Looks Like A Wilted Leaf
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#6 This Flower Looks Like Icing
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"Face pareidolia is the most common example of pareidolia, which most people will be familiar with, but occasionally we see animals or bodies (or body parts like hands)," says Dr. Taubert. "Our visual system is optimised for detecting faces because they are uniquely important visual stimuli. A side effect of this hypersensitivity is that we often see faces where there are none."
"In the case of faces, the advantages of rapidly detecting a potential social agent (who might be a friend but could equally be a foe) outweigh the disadvantages associated with mistaking a mop for a face. Indeed, there is no real downside to seeing faces in noise or in ordinary objects. That’s why even if you are very prone to seeing face pareidolia, there is no corrective mechanism—just enjoy," adds Dr. Taubert.
#7 Found A Really Cool Stick Looks Like A Good Wizard Staff
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#8 I Found A Rock On A Beach That Looks Like A Beach On A Rock
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#9 The Dog I'm Sitting Looks Like Scooby Doo
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Interestingly, making out objects on the moon’s surface also has its own category: lunar pareidolia. People often see light and dark patches of the moon and interpret them as familiar shapes. In some European countries, people see a ‘banished man’ carrying a bundle of sticks, while in Asian cultures they observe a rabbit.
#10 My Hair Looks Like It’s Been Caught In A Zipper/ Fits In Between Gears
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#11 Icicles On This Cat Statue Look Like Fur
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#12 My Dogs Eye Is Star Shaped
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Hermann Rorschach was also inspired by people’s ability to see meaning where there isn’t. His Rorschach inkblot test, where people are influenced or guided by specialists to see things in ink splotches that reveal their unconscious thoughts, is an example of directed pareidolia. This test is still used in practice by some psychologists to diagnose schizophrenia.
#13 Our Homegrown Pepper Looks Almost Exactly Like A Boot
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#14 This Mushroom That Looks Like A Glove Punching Through My Planter
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#15 This Leaf Has Flower Tattoos
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Despite many optical examples, pareidolia isn’t limited to visual perception and can also happen with sounds. It occurs when we misinterpret bird songs, white noise, or running water as human speech. We also can mishear lyrics or words that don’t exist.
#16 A Seastar Growing Back 4 Arms Looks Like A Shooting Star
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#17 Match I Burned Turned Into A Microphone With A Stand
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#18 Southern Los Angeles Looks Like A Computer Motherboard
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Generally speaking, pareidolia is a type of apophenia, which is a broader term for finding meaning in random data. It’s our human nature to make connections in a world that can feel chaotic and out of order. However, when it becomes extreme, it can be a sign of mental illness like bipolar disorder, severe depression, and schizophrenia, which make people lose touch with reality.
#19 I Spilled Diet Coke Under My Desk At Work And The Bubbles Formed A Lowercase E
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#20 This Pine Wood Has An Arrow Pointing To What Was The Center Of The Tree
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#21 Found A Stick That Looks Like A Wizard Staff
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At the same time, experts see a positive side to apophenia and pareidolia. “We think pareidolia may enhance focus, creativity, and innovation because you’re seeing things in a different way. If this turns out to be the case, building pareidolia skills could be very useful in helping to solve problems in many areas of society,” said Susan Magsamen, director of the International Arts and Mind Lab at the Petersen Brain Science Institute.
#22 I Have The Shape And Texture Of A Feather At The Bottom Of My Iris
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#23 I Thought The Roots Of This Dead Orchid Look Kind Of Like A Facehugger
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#24 This Butterfly Looks Like A Leaf
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“Often we underrate different ways of interpretation or unique perceptions,” she continued. “Think about all the problems that you could address by having better ability to interpret ideas and learning how to communicate and collaborate more effectively. Could something as simple as pareidolia be a tool that could help do that?”
#25 Accidentally Made My Eggs Like This, Looks Like A Tree With Oranges
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#26 Found These Rusty Pliers In The Yard, Looks Like Wood
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#27 This Spider That Looks Like A Ritz
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#28 Nice Leaf
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#29 My Pancake Looked Like A Brain
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#30 This Portal Crane, That Looks Like An At-At
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#31 This Carrot Looks Like Those S Designs We All Used To Draw In Middle School
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#32 This Rotten Melon Looks Like A Colorblindness Test
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#33 Refilled Soap Dispenser Resulted In Overnight Fungi Shape
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#34 This Whole Bag Of Chocolate Chips Looks Like Tiny Sherlock Pipes
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#35 My Son Took A Picture Of A Cloud That Looks Like A Fighter Jet
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#36 Moisturizer Came Out Looking Like A Tiny Leaf
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#37 A Hot Pepper Shaped Like Fire
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#38 This Tree That Looks Like A Whisk
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#39 The Frost I Scraped Off My Car Looks Like Fabric
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#40 My Mayo Looks Like The Sorting Hat From Harry Potter
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#41 This Tiny Freckle On My Hand Looks Like An Asterisk *
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#42 This Red Pepper At The Grocery Store Looks Like It Had Stitches In Two Places
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#43 Heart Shaped Bubble Formed In A Bottle Of High-Viscosity Liquid
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#44 I Found Something At The Beach That Looks Like A Real Life Topographical Map
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#45 There’s A Bubble Under My Glass That Looks Like A Pool Of Mercury
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#46 Bruise On Back Of My Leg Looks Like The Monster Logo
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#47 Picture I Took Of The St. Louis Arch Looks Like A Futuristic Space Station
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#48 This Plant Looks Like A Giant Asparagus
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#49 The Shadows/Light Under My Door Looks Like A City Skyline
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#50 Time To Stop Drinking
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