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.

Pareidolia

Posted on Tue Jun 09, 2009



Comments

She says, "when I do look at it, it does make me feel tearful..."


...because I was really hungry and that b[oyfriend] wouldn't make me another one.

...and it's comforting to think that if he is there, he's watching over us."


But only when we open the lid to get some Marmite out. When we close the lid to help preserve the Marmite it's not quite as comforting.
Posted by Tah  on  Tue Jun 09, 2009  at  06:14 PM
Man, that's the least persuasive crop yet. I wonder if there's an inverse correlation between US financial/psychological health and the clarity of its pareidolic images of religious icons? Someone should do a study.
Posted by outeast  on  Wed Jun 10, 2009  at  01:10 AM
That may be a Marmite lid but the texture of the "Marmite" doesn't look right to me, far to gelatinous, and not dark enough. No to mention, how do you get it all over the lid without doing it on purpose? It's never happened to my Marmite, not even a little bit.
Posted by Torpid Rat  on  Wed Jun 10, 2009  at  02:19 AM
The face on the tortilla is actually Ringo Starr.
Posted by Christophe Thill  on  Wed Jun 10, 2009  at  02:57 AM
Why would any self-respecting diety appear as a stain?
Posted by Charles  on  Wed Jun 10, 2009  at  07:28 AM
God salami:
Does she need glasses? That salami spells "GOO."
Posted by Big Gary  on  Wed Jun 10, 2009  at  08:23 AM
The air conditioner one looks like a decomposing leper.

The tortilla one looks like Smokey the Bear without his hat.

The salami one is probably actually saying "Oog!", which us a likely sort of sound for somebody to make when they get put through a salami-making machine.

The Hand of God proves that God is a polydactyl. Which is a good bit less cool than if He were to be a pterodactyl.

And I'm not going to say what the griddle one looks like, as children may be reading this.
Posted by Accipiter  on  Wed Jun 10, 2009  at  12:37 PM
"The air conditioner one looks like a decomposing leper."

No! It's Voldemort !
Posted by Christophe Thill  on  Thu Jun 11, 2009  at  06:20 AM
The tortilla face looks like JFK to me.
Posted by Jackie  on  Thu Jun 11, 2009  at  06:03 PM
Might I suggest previous commenters squint a bit harder? It's clear that in each of those pics it's Elvis not Jesus.

Also Elvis might get more on EBay.
Posted by Joel B1  on  Fri Jun 12, 2009  at  08:51 PM
They're not really trying any more, are they?

"Who? The people who report these things or God?"

A little of both 😛.
Posted by JDK  on  Sun Jun 14, 2009  at  11:17 PM
I agree about the griddle one Accipiter :D
Posted by Jeff (if that is my real name)  on  Sun Jun 21, 2009  at  11:38 AM
The Marmite one looks like Mandy Patinkin. About the tortilla one, I'm thinking Gabriel Kaplan.
Posted by Meringue  on  Wed May 09, 2012  at  07:12 PM
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