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50 Times People Succumbed To Pareidolia And Saw What Wasn’t Really There (New Pics)
Interview With Expert
Humans tend to anthropomorphize things: we give names to our pets, plushies, and even cars and boats. For me, a pack of colored pens once served as all the X-Men during childhood playtime. Other times, we see things that aren't really there, like faces in rocks or shapes of dogs in the clouds.
We call the phenomenon 'pareidolia,' and it's an interesting way our brains trick us into anthropomorphizing inanimate objects. Have you ever thought that the front of your car looks like a face? That's pareidolia. Want to see some crazy things people spotted and thought they looked like something else? Scroll away!
Bored Panda wanted to understand pareidolia better, so, we reached out to researcher Mark T. Hamilton. He's a Ph.D. student at the MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and has studied why we see faces in things. He kindly agreed to share his research insights with us, so, be sure to check them out below!
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#2
I Had To Move A Lilac Bush In My Yard A Few Years Ago, And I Spotted This Root That Looked Like A Little Dancer. I Liked Her So Much I Kept Her :)
#3
I Found A Mushroom That Looks Like A Little Owl
#4
Hand-Shaped Icicle
#5
My Dog Has A Silhouette Of A Fat Cat In His Fur Pattern
#6
After I Poured Milk Into My Coffee, I Found Snoopy On The Doghouse Under The Moon
#7
Zombie Foot Tree Trunk
#8
My Mum Sent Me These Photos Of A Plant Growing Outside Of Her Work. How Does It Have The Perfect Mouth , Nose But Also Eyes !
Doozle bug 1 year ago
The magnificent Gymea lily. Really amazing and beautiful Australian wolf flowers. The flower spike can go several meters tall.
#9
These Two Rocks Look Like A Mother Breastfeeding Her New Born Child
#10
I Spilled Some Milk And The Puddle Looks Like A Derpy Ghost!
#11
I Found A Leaf Shaped Like A Manta Ray
#12
This Onion Looks Like An Angry Bird
#13
Reflection Of A Dog
#14
A Piece Of Ice Cream Dropped From My Spoon As I Was Scooping And It Looks Like A Tiny Shark
#15
Just A Friendly Little BBQ Bear
#16
The Fuzz On My Sock Looks Like A Flamingo
#17
This Moth Has Spots Like Skulls On Its Wings
#18
This Tree Branch That Looks Like A Dragon
Ethan Smith 1 year ago
that is a dragon, and no one can change my mind, they are just staying VERY still
#19
I Ate Fried Onion Rings With A Roasted Chicken Which According To My Friends Looks Like A Dog?!
#20
Shark Cloud With Moon Eye
#21
Was Going For A Walk Last Night And I Stopped Dead In My Tracks - It Looks Like A Person In The Tree... Creepy Af
#23
My Dog Had A Paw Print On His Paw
#24
My Mosquito Bite Turned Into A Frog Outline
#25
Today's Sun Eclipse As Seen At Sunset Resembled A Giant Cat's Head
#26
A Rock That Looks Like An Old Man
#27
This Chair In The Hospital Waiting Room Is Not Very Happy About Being Sat On
#29
Seedpods That Look Like Tiny Skulls
#31
Cave In Thailand Looks Like A Giant Petrified Snake
#32
I Feel Like The Universe Is Telling Me To Get A Dog
#33
These Water Stains On My Car Look Like Gorillas
#34
Wood You Look At That!
#35
My Mom Sent Me A Picture Of Her Water Bottle With The Caption "I'll Get You Next Time Optimus!"
#36
Somebody In The House
#37
I Can Mark “Dragon” Off My Animal Sightings Checklist!
#38
The Shadow Of That Bike Looks Like A Xenomorph
#39
My Brother Dropped A Watermelon And There Was A Tongue Inside
#40
Dinosaur Or Reptile Head Shaped Rock
#41
This Almond In My Salad Looks Very Unimpressed
#43
Hotel Room Light Is Skeptical Of Me
#44
This Face On My Dog's Paw Pad
#45
Natural Cameo Formed On This Stone
#46
This Rare Bird I Spotted - Leafus Flukus
#47
This Pregnant Mouse's Butt Looks Like A Mouse
#48
Emo Eggplant
#50
Afraid Of The Spring
#51
My Car Resembles Toothless From 'How To Train Your Dragon'
#53
I Pulled A Skyrabbit, It Got Scared And Jumped Away
#54
Such A Pleasant Smile On This Little Guy…
#55
I Found A Creepy Face In My Spade
#57
Psbattle: These Kissing Cacti
#58
The Inside Of This Eggplant Looks Like A Butterfly
#59
Is That A Dog In My Beer?!
#60
Thought I Found A 'Workplace Injury' In My Chinese Food Today
#61
This Banana Cast A Perfect Animal Shaped Shadow
#64
This Cloud I Saw In China Looked Like A Dragon
#65
This Tree Kind Of Looks Like A Mastodon
#66
This Wood Chunk Looks Like A Human Heart
CurlyCucumber 1 year ago
That is the heart of my ex 🤣🤣🤣 just kidding he would be all petrified
#67
Naan Bread Or Alien Head?
#68
Just Realized This Picture I Took Looks Like A Silhouette Of The Grinch
#69
This Piece Of Gum Stuck To The Floor At Home Goods Looks Like A Sparkly Black Cat
#72
This Cherry Looks Like A Baby Duck
#73
Poured A Bowl Of Soup For Myself And Saw A Duck
Vivian McBride 1 year ago
Whai I'm wondering, is how do you eat the chunks of corn in this soup?
#74
This Happy Little Guy In My Ravioli
#75
The Ice In My Coffee Made A Smiley Face
#77
My Frenchie’s Butt Looks Like A Koala
#80
"Hey, Check Out This Cool Stick I Found"
Moose or deer?
#81
Found A Sea Snail That Looked Like It Had A Giant Eyeball
#83
Black Frog Hiding
#85
The Reflection Of The Mirror Looks Like A Duck
#86
Reflection At The Hospital Looks Like An Angel
#90
Squeezed Out Some Sunscreen In The Shape Of A Baby Squid!
#91
My Moisturiser Came Out Looking Like A Fish With Gills And Everything
#93
Buddha Visiting Our Local Taqueria
#94
I Will Never Unsee This Now
#95
Fridge Was Leaked And The Puddle Of Water Looked Like A Women
#96
Ear-Shaped Wood Piece At Wreck Beach That I Found
#98
This Plastic Bag Is Looking At Me
plastic bag kind reminds me of a ghost? or a polar bear? what do you think?
#99
Proceeds To Eat The Cute Chicken Dog
#100
My Feelings About Eating This Are Split Down The Middle
#102
This Stain On A Bathroom Door Looks Like A Face
#104
My Husband Called Me Over While Cooking Because His “Steak Looked Like A Capybara”
and it did
#105
Saw A Cloud That Looked Like A Cat Today!
#106
Well Isn't It A Mountain!
#107
Upset Plastic Bags From Work
#108
Baby Yoda In My Liquid Soap Spill
#111
This Chip Looks Like It's Begging For Its Life
#113
So Cute
#114
Found A Cow In Pork
#116
The Pad Of Butter I Was Using For My Toast Looks Like A Parrot
#117
My Backpack Looks Like A Burping Gorilla
#119
Hmmm
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Serena Myers 1 year ago
I thought this was a plastic bag on our driveway, was about to go out and pick it up, then realised it was our Yuki!! x I-thought-...c0-png.jpg 
Serena Myers 1 year ago
I thought this was a plastic bag on our driveway, was about to go out and pick it up, then realised it was our Yuki!! x I-thought-...c0-png.jpg
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