Hoax Museum Blog: Pareidolia

Monthly Pareidolia Roundup—Jesus on columns, floorboards, etc. —
Jesus on a Column
A shadow cast by a chandelier onto a column, that's next to a statue of Jesus in the school chapel of the Ursuline Academy in New Orleans. Some say the shadow looks like Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. Strangely, the shadow has been casting this shadow for years, but no one noticed before that the shadow resembled anything in particular.


Jesus Dead Ray
A dead cownose ray found by Erica Scheldt on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. She saw an image on it that at first she thought resembled a homeless man. Then she decided it was Jesus. She left it at the beach.


Plaster Wall Jesus
While working on a house in Eldroth, North Yorkshire, painter Sam Dalby moved a stereo and noticed that the plaster on the wall behind it hadn't been finished, creating an image that resembled a bearded face. And obviously a bearded face = Jesus. Dalby took some pictures of the face, then covered it with two coats of off-white emulsion.


Floorboard Jesus
Elaine Ferguson was cleaning the floor of the Old Swan Inn in Paisley, Renfrewshire when she saw a mark in the floor boards. Yup, it was Jesus!


Virgin Mary in the Sky
Kevin McAleese was walking along a beach in New Jersey when he took a picture of the sky with a cellphone. When he later looked at the photo, he could clearly see the shape of the Virgin Mary. (I'm not seeing it at all.)


Plastic Glass Virgin Mary
A family in Colombia noticed a funny brown stain on their plastic spiderman glass. It was the Virgin Mary, who had materialized directly between two pictures of Spiderman.

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012.   Comments (0)

Burnt Toast With Image Of Romney Shaking Hands With Satan — This auction managed to generate some attention from the internet — enough to get it pulled from eBay. Try as anyone might, no one could see the image the seller claimed was there. And the guy wanted $88.40 just for shipping. Apparently the auction was really just a thinly veiled anti-Mormon diatribe. Link: gawker.com.


Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012.   Comments (1)

TV Screen Jesus — This might be in the running for the stupidest pareidolia ever. Floridian Guerda Maurice was watching the Bachelor on TV when she saw a design she wanted to take a picture of. (A design? I have no idea what she means by that.) So she picks up her phone and takes a picture of the TV screen. Later she looks at the picture she took and sees "Jesus picture". That is, there was a reflection on the screen that she thought looked like Jesus. She was so excited that she made a locket out of TV Screen Jesus. Link: wtsp.com. (Thanks, Bob!)




Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012.   Comments (2)

Face of ET Found in a Log — Ken Dobson of Chiseldon was sawing logs with a chainsaw for firewood when he saw the face of ET staring back at him from the log he just cut. Dobson doesn't say anything about believing the face to be a message from extraterrestrials. (So by American standards he's clearly nuts! Isn't it obvious this is a sign from ET?) Nor does he have plans to sell this on eBay. Instead he wants to have a professional slice more pieces from the log to see if he can get a couple more faces out of it to give to his sons. Link: BBC News. (Thanks, Hudson!)


Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012.   Comments (0)


$8100 George Washington Chicken McNugget — Three years ago, Rebekah Speight of Dakota City and her kids were at McDonalds, where they ordered some Chicken McNuggets. One of the McNuggets went uneaten, but just as she was about to throw it out, Rebekah noticed that it resembled George Washington. So she took it home and kept it in her freezer.

And just a few days ago, this decision paid off when she managed to sell the GWCM for $8100 on eBay. But she's not keeping the money. It's all going to a charity to send children to summer church camp. Where they'll spend their time looking for the face of Jesus in tree stumps and the Virgin Mary in water stains.

Actually, I can definitely see the resemblance between the McNugget and the former president. Though is it that the McNugget looks like George, or George looks like a McNugget? (link: telegraph.co.uk)


Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012.   Comments (2)

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012.   Comments (4)

Pareidolia Round: September 2011 — concrete jesusVirgin Mary Sea Shell
Felicia Avila of Rio Grande Valley found a sea shell that she says bears the image of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. valleycentral.com

concrete jesusVirgin Mary Rock
Tammy Tollett was vacationing in Lake Tahoe when she found a rock that she believes looks like the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. She says this is the real deal (unlike, presumably, all those other phony pareidolia). orlandosentinel.com

concrete jesusConcrete Jesus Face
The face of Jesus materialized on Mary Vasquez's concrete patio. She's lived in the apartment for 18 months, but only noticed the Jesus face recently. Apparently she first tried scrubbing the face off her patio with soap. When that didn't work, she called the local newspaper. the33tv.com.

concrete jesusJesus on Cross
Clay Perry recently made a 7-inch cross from some leftover scraps of poplar wood. Then the grandfather of his nephew noticed it appeared to have the face of Jesus on it... right where the face should be at the top of the cross. Personally, I'm not seeing it. 11alive.com.

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011.   Comments (2)

Michael Jackson in Clouds — New Michael Jackson pareidolia (jackodolia). A 43-year-old builder from Stafford "who happens to be a bit of a skeptic" took this picture of his car. He intended to send the picture to a car sales magazine, until he noticed the image of Michael Jackson formed by the reflection of clouds on its hood. (youtube)


Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009.   Comments (8)

Margaret’s Stain — A stain, shaped like a human body, can be found on the concrete floor of the Athens Mental Health and Retardation Center in Athens Ohio. According to legend, this stain marks the location where the body of a patient, Margaret Schilling, lay undiscovered for several weeks back in 1979.

A team of forensic scientists recently tested the stain to determine whether it's a genuine human decomposition stain, or if it was created artificially. They published the results of their investigation in the Nov 2008 issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences (vol 53, no. 6), "Analysis of Suspected Trace Human Remains from an Indoor Concrete Surface."

Their conclusion: Yes, it's a human decomposition stain, although the stain has been made more prominent over the years by attempts to remove it:

Margaret’s body was probably in contact with the area of the stain for a period of 4–5 weeks. During this time, significant decomposition is known to have occurred, indicating that the room was apparently warm enough to facilitate bacterial degradation. During this time, anaerobic bacterial decomposition could have taken place in the contact areas between the concrete and the heavier, fatty areas of Margaret’s body, such as the buttocks, back and shoulders. Bacterial action is supported by the oddnumbered fatty acids found in the residues. Such decomposition, facilitated by the moisture naturally present in Margaret’s body, formed free fatty acids from the lipids in her subcutaneous tissue. This process may have been accompanied, in part or in whole, by the basic conditions provided through contact with the concrete. During the 4- to 5-week period in which the free fatty acids were being formed, and in any subsequent washing over the years, at least half of the sodium ions were displaced by calcium ions from the concrete. The result is a waxy residue of mostly calcium palmitate which is up to 2 mm thick in certain areas of the stain.In most areas of the stain, the waxy residue also resides in surface pores in the concrete, consistent with the suggestion that removal of the stain was attempted on at least one occasion.

At some point since the removal of Margaret’s remains in January of 1979, the floor has likely been treated with an acidic chemical— probably Blu-Lite (20.5% phosphoric acid)—to lighten the color of the waxy residue and of the concrete. The chemical etching was not uniform across the entire floor surface, however, but was selectively restricted to a shape that resembled the apparent outline of a human body.

What a great way to be remembered -- by the stain you left on the floor. (via Legends & Rumors)
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009.   Comments (10)

Jackodolia — More Michael Jackson pareidolia, or "Jackodolia".

The Edison family of Brazil prepared a roast last Saturday, but neglected to do the dishes for a day. Then they noticed that the face of Michael Jackson had mysteriously appeared in the roasting pan. Link: terra.com.br via ceticismoaberto
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009.   Comments (11)

Michael Jackson seen all over — The guy may be dead, but he's showing up all over the place. Michaeljacksonsightings.com has a few blurry pictures of the back of someone who vaguely resembles Jackson. They offer this as proof that Jackson faked his death.

A family in Stockton, California have noticed an image of Michael Jackson in a tree stump in their front yard. They swear the image only appeared on the day he died. (I'm not seeing anything at all.)


Then there's the ghost of Michael Jackson, which you can see in the video below. To me, it looks like someone's shadow.


Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009.   Comments (10)

Pareidolia Roundup (June 2009) — Virgin Mary Air Conditioner
Antonia Ruiz of Texas noticed a stain on her air conditioner that looked to her like the Virgin Mary. Therefore, she built a shrine around the air conditioner.


Cheeto Jesus
A bag of Cheetos bought by Dan Bell at a North Texas gas station yielded this "praying Jesus". The couple have nicknamed it "Cheesus." (Note: there was a similar Cheesus in the news last year.)


Tortilla Jesus
Lloyd Osborne's wife had thrown away the packet of tortillas, but he "resurrected it from the bin" and found a tortilla inside bearing the "almost unmistakable" image of Jesus. (The article notes that one of the most famous examples of food pareidolia was the Jesus Tortilla of 1978).


Cheese Toast Jesus
Linda Lowe's boyfriend prepared her a cheese toast snack, but she didn't eat it because she noticed the face of Jesus "visible in the bubbled and burned cheese." She says, "when I do look at it, it does make me feel tearful. That there is a Jesus and he is real."


God Salami
South Florida resident Nancy Simoes was flipping pieces of salami in a skillet when she saw that one of them had the letter "G" on it. Then she saw an "O" and then a "D". The salami pieces spelled "DOG". or "GOD". One or the other. She says that she realizes people will think she's crazy, but "I can't make this up... it's there in the burn marks."


The Hand of God
Paul Grayhek of Coeur d'Alene had a rock formation in his backyard that looked like a right hand. He called it the "Hand of God." He tried to sell it on eBay. Or rather, he tried to sell the rights to it (including the movie and literary rights), although the formation itself would remain in his backyard. He had no luck (just hoax bids).


Marmite Jesus
The Allen family of Ystrad, Wales noticed the face of Jesus on the underside of the lid of a Marmite jar. Mrs. Allen said, "We've had a tough couple of months; my mum's been really ill and it's comforting to think that if he is there, he's watching over us."


Greasy Griddle Virgin Mary
While cleaning the griddle at the Las Palmas restaurant in Calexico, workers noticed an image of the Virgin Mary. The griddle was promptly retired from service and placed in a shrine in a storage room.
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009.   Comments (13)

Britains Got Talent… and Ghosts — People who spend far too much time staring closely at the TV have identified an extremely small, blurry dark shape that appears to move rapidly across the stage during a semi-final performance on Britains Got Talent. (Embedding is disabled on this video, so you've got to go to YouTube itself.)

It took me a while to even be able to see the "ghost." It starts at 0:51, at the right side of the stage. By 0:53 it's gone, darting off the left side of the stage. (Warning: it's really, really small!)

I think it's just a lighting artifact. Dave Tolomy, who gave me a heads up about it, thinks it may be something an audience member is holding up. Or maybe it really is a ghost! Decide for yourself, if you have nothing better to do.

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009.   Comments (8)

Pareidolia Roundup: March 2009 — The Divine Cushion
The "face of Christ" appeared in a cushion attached to a priest's chair, located in a Roman Catholic church on the French Indian island of Reunion. Parish priest Daniel Gavard said, "This is not a miracle, it's a sign of God." So what, exactly, is the meaning of the sign? God likes comfy chairs?

Dead Dad in Ultrasound
Marion McAleese thinks the arm of her dead dad can be seen in this ultrasound, cradling her unborn child. She says, "You can see four fingers on the baby’s face as if a hand is cradling the baby’s head. There is also an arm under the baby’s bottom." She also says she now believes in spiritualism. I guess she didn't before. It's amazing how some people form their religious beliefs entirely on the basis of blurry images.

Jesus Rock
This can be found along Keel Mountain Road in Huntsville, Alabama. Apparently people have been driving past this for decades, but the face was only noticed recently, by one Shirley Maples.

Potato Chip Jesus
A potato chip bearing the image of Jesus Christ was recently served to Brian Hershey of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania while dining at a CR Bucks restaurant. His wife sees the chip as "an indication that she and Brian need to stop smoking." I'd say that's true if what they're smoking is making them see Jesus images on potato chips.

Car Dealership Jesus
Spotted at the Jarrett Ford Lincoln Mercury in Dade City, Florida. The door was hung ten years ago, but as is often the case with such things, the image was only spotted recently. Some of the employees swear it is the spitting image of Christ. Others think it looks like Sasquatch, "Christ in a Jedi outfit," or a "Persian king."

Ice Formation Mary
A chunk of "Virgin Mary" ice formed outside the trailer home of Lionel Gonzales in Plymouth, Indiana. Gonzalez couldn't explain how the ice, which was frozen to the wall of his home, had formed, since it was beneath a window cover and (according to him) no water dripped there.

Virgin Mary Stone
Sergio Romero of Pocatello, Idaho says that as he was polishing this stone, he realized it had an image of the Virgin Mary on it. (I'm just not seeing it.) He also says he wasn't religious before, but is now thinking of going to church. He's also thinking of putting the stone up for sale.

Virgin Mary Brain Scan
A scan of Pamela Latrimore's brain contains a dark spot that kinda looks like the Virgin Mary, according to Pam's sister-in-law, who first noticed the shape six years after the brain scan was taken. Latrimore hopes to raise some money to help pay her medical bills by auctioning off the brain scan.

(Thanks to Cranky Media Guy for his contributions!)
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009.   Comments (10)

Pareidolia Roundup: December 2008 — It's been a while since I've done a pareidolia roundup, so a few of these are a couple months old.

Virgin Mary in Salsa Stain
"Elvia Alvarez was recently using her blender to make salsa in her kitchen. Some of the salsa splattered onto the wall, creating what Alvarez says is the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since this happened. Alvaraz says it's a sign that people need to be nicer to each other." Funny. I thought it was a sign she needs to be more careful when making salsa.

Jesus in Guitar
Employees at International Music and Sound in Ludington, Michigan are seeing the face of Jesus in the grain of a guitar. The guitar, which is made out of maple wood, is manufactured by the Washburn Company.

Jesus on Doggie Door
Roger Bowman was about to put his dogs down. But then he saw that the face of Jesus had formed on their doggie door, so he changed his mind. Now he's decided to sell the divine doggie door on eBay. Bidding is currently at $1185. No word on what will happen to the dogs once the door is gone.

Celestial Smiley Face
Astronomers have been abuzz about a rare alignment of Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon that creates a giant smiley face in the night sky. Is no one going to say it looks like Jesus?

Jesus Face in melted chocolate cookie
"Lois Preira, of Ullswater Road, was enjoying a cookie and a cup of tea when she noticed a face in the melted chocolate on the plate." Whose face could it be? Why Jesus, of course!

Obama on Toast
Some guy claimed that the face of Barack Obama "miraculously appeared" on a piece of wonder bread he was toasting, the day after Obama was elected president. Even more miraculous, he managed to sell the "Hope Toast" on eBay for $205.

Jesus or Shakespeare on Banana Peel
Theresa Smith writes: "I was at work getting ready to eat my banana... I peeled it and happened to look at it and noticed a face on the peel! But what I saw was just half the face.. once I put the peel back onto the banana I couldn't believe what I saw! It's Jesus on the banana! It could be Shakespeare too depending on your point of view."

Buddha in Wasp's Nest
Cambodian Buddhists in Rochester, Minnesota noticed that a wasp's nest built in the eaves of their temple looked like Buddha. One monk, Moeun Ngop, said that the wasps were trying to communicate Buddha's message. Would that message be, it's time to hire an exterminator?

Virgin Mary in Hospital Window
Back in September, crowds gathered outside Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts to see what looked like the image of the Virgin Mary in a second-story window. But one of the Sisters of Providence, who dropped by to check it out, was actually kinda skeptical. She said it might be nothing more than "the illusions which light and shadows can cause."
Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008.   Comments (12)

Pareidolia Roundup: September 2008 — Coffee Stain Christ
Four years ago Sam Marinos had a cup of coffee with his wife. When he was done he turned the cup upside down to allow the grounds to run down the side of the cup -- which is some kind of tradition in his family. He was then "stunned" to see that the grounds had formed what looked to him like the face of Jesus. He's now considering selling the Jesus cup on eBay.

Drywall Jesus
Omar Craddock was doing some work in a client's kitchen when he spotted the image of a face in the drywall mud on an unfinished wall. He immediately thought: Jesus! His brother-in-law, who was with him, is remaining more skeptical, refusing to put a name to the image. But both agree that "For drywall finishing this was a pretty exciting day."

Virgin Mary Grape
Becky Ginn was about to throw away some rotten grapes, but before she did she turned one over and thought, "oh that looks like the Virgin Mary." The grape is now preserved in her freezer. She insists that she has no intention of trivializing the experience. I assume this means she won't be selling it on eBay.

Oyster Shell Jesus
An Orlando woman, while walking down the beach, found an oyster shell that appears to show the face of Jesus. She also found a shell showing the Virgin Mary. "The woman claimed she has had nothing but good luck since finding the shells." I'm not sure if the thumbnail shows the Jesus or Virgin Mary shell, because I can't make out anything in it.

Water Stain Jesus
Seen at a One Stop Body Shoppe in Arkansas City, Kansas. According to the manager: "A client was laying here looking up and told me, Michelle, you have Jesus on your ceiling. I just kind of looked at her, and she said you do, Jesus on the ceiling." The water-stained ceiling tile may soon be headed to eBay.

Thanks to Cranky Media Guy and Stannous Flouride!
Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008.   Comments (29)

Darwin Smudge Draws Evolutionists — I couldn't resist linking to this piece from The Onion:

A steady stream of devoted evolutionists continued to gather in this small Tennessee town today to witness what many believe is an image of Charles Darwin—author of The Origin Of Species and founder of the modern evolutionary movement—made manifest on a concrete wall in downtown Dayton...

Despite the enthusiasm the so-called "Darwin Smudge" has generated among the evolutionary faithful, disagreement remains as to its origin. Some believe the image is actually closer to the visage of Stephen Jay Gould, longtime columnist for Natural History magazine and originator of the theory of punctuated equilibrium, and is therefore proof of rapid cladogenesis. A smaller minority contend it is the face of Carl Sagan, and should be viewed as a warning to those nonbelievers who have not yet seen his hit PBS series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

Still others have attempted to discredit the miracle entirely, claiming that there are several alternate explanations for the appearance of the unexplained discoloration.

"It's a stain on a wall, and nothing more," said the Rev. Clement McCoy, a professor at Oral Roberts University and prominent opponent of evolutionary theory.

(Thanks, Big Gary!)

Previous pareidolia humor:
Toast appears on Jesus Christ
Jesus face in ozone hole

Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008.   Comments (6)

Big Footprint Found — Harold Jackson, a resident of Cookeville, Tennessee, found an indentation on a rock on his property. It looks vaguely like a footprint... a very big footprint. 11 inches across and 15 inches long. The article says he took it home. (I assume he must have made a cast of it and taken that home.)

The surprising thing is that he doesn't think it's a Bigfoot print, though his friends do. He thinks it's a footprint of a Native American.

So how tall would this Native American have been if his feet were 15-inches long? According to WikiAnswers, a person's foot is usually 15% of the height of his body. Therefore, this Native American would have been approximately 100 inches tall, or 8.3 feet.
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008.   Comments (28)

Pareidolia Roundup: August 2008 — It's time for the monthly pareidolia roundup:

Toronto Virgin Mary
Christopher Moreau was having a beer in his garden, when he realized that scarring on a tree limb in his yard looked kind of like the Virgin Mary. His neighbor is a bit skeptical, but doesn't really care as long as the religious sightseers stay out of her yard.

JC in Cell Phone
Pensacola resident Linda Square thinks an image stored on her cell phone shows her in silhouette with Jesus Christ beside her. She swears that no one sent her the photo, and she didn't take it herself. The phone created it! Congratulations to anyone who can see ANYTHING in this image.

Jesus Wood
Nadine Ostroff calls this round slab of sycamore her "Jesus Wood." She's had it for 12 years but only recently decided to go public with it. Back then people might have thought her a bit odd for having a Jesus Wood, but nowadays it's no big deal.

Rockwell Jesus
Members of Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Rockwell, North Carolina think there's an image of Jesus in a knot on an oak tree in front of their church.

Knotty Virgin Mary
Antonina Filipertis of Lockport, New York heard a voice in her head telling her to "Look in your tree." She did and, lo and behold, saw images of the Virgin Mary in the knotholes of the tree. She's still hearing the voices in her head. People tell her that she's blessed.

Basswood Jesus
At first David Reed of Birch Run, Michigan couldn't see the Jesus face in the tree in his front yard, though his girlfriend kept pointing it out to him. But now it's clear as day to him. He says, "If the price is right, I might be willing to part with it."
Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008.   Comments (13)

Pareidolia Roundup — Once again, it's time to play spot the blurry face resembling the iconic image of Jesus (or the Virgin Mary, or whatever).

Cat Fur Jesus
The Johnson family of Indiana recently adopted a kitten. To their surprise, they discovered that the fur on its side contains a pattern that looks like the face of Jesus. They admit that people who don't see it "might think we are weird crazy or something," but they're fine with that. I'd say they haven't quite reached the weird crazy stage yet. Maybe just a bit weird cuckoo.

Cheesus
Kelly Ramey of High Ridge, Missouri found Jesus in a bag of Cheetos. "I looked at that and I thought, 'Oh my that looks like Jesus on the cross.' It was just like wow," she says." Wow is right! Her friend, however, thinks it looks like a horse's head.

Virgin Mary in Sink
Found by a plumber working in a Salinas, California restaurant. "The new owner of the restaurant says the building has housed several different businesses and he sees the image as a blessing of hope for the new restaurant." I don't know about blessings, but they definitely need some bleach cleanser.

An Angelic Image
Recently an "angelic image" (left) was spotted in the window of a Color Tile store in Porterville, California. Huge crowds started turning out to see it, but within a few days the image was gone. Luckily, someone else spotted an image of Christ on the cross in a nearby palm tree (right). "To have two sightings in the same place — it confirms that the image on the window was not fake," said one onlooker. You can't argue with logic like that.

Allah Meat
A diner at a restaurant in northern Nigeria was about to sink his teeth into a piece of gristle, when he noticed the Arabic word for God in the meat. The restaurant then found three more pieces of gristle that also bore the name of Allah. The owner of the restaurant says, "When the writings were discovered there were some Islamic scholars who come and eat here and they all commented that it was a sign to show that Islam is the only true religion for mankind."
Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008.   Comments (12)

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