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The definition of pareidolia is pretty broad. It's a psychological phenomenon that causes people to see or hear a vague image or sound as something significant. On the internet, however, we're mostly presented with examples of facial pareidolia, as it is arguably one of the easiest ones to spot. But it would be a crime against our curiosity if we focused solely on this type of the phenomenon. To remind you that there is way more than meets the eye, Bored Panda has collected a list of things that resemble other things. A stadium that looks like a UFO? A blob of ice that resembles an eye? Sounds pretty simple, but hold on. Most of these camouflages are so good, they might require a double take!

#1

The Fog Made The Stadium Look Like An UFO

The Fog Made The Stadium Look Like An UFO

Lubyanchenko Report

#2

The Corrosion On This Water Tap Looks Like A Map

The Corrosion On This Water Tap Looks Like A Map

Luke-Skywalk Report

Artists are known to have been playing with this phenomenon for hundreds of years. For example, take Leonardo da Vinci. "If you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills," he once said. "You will also be able to see diverse combats and figures in quick movement, and strange expressions of faces, and outlandish costumes, and an infinite number of things which you can then reduce into separate and well-conceived forms."

#3

These Coatis Look Like A Hord Of Mini Brachiosaurus Strolling Around

These Coatis Look Like A Hord Of Mini Brachiosaurus Strolling Around

lucao_87 Report

#4

The Way This Picture Of A Frozen Puddle In My Backyard Looks Like A Landscape From The Perspective Of A Plane

The Way This Picture Of A Frozen Puddle In My Backyard Looks Like A Landscape From The Perspective Of A Plane

SigmaNukem Report

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troux avatar
Troux
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can only see the aerial shot, can't picture a puddle!

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varwenea
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The cracked rock on the foreground gives it away though. Without that, it's quite cool.

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A B C
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hadn't seen that part in the beginning and the picture was perfect, but then scrolled down... Yes, the broken rock fails the "perfect illusion"

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StarKitten
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't deny it, you want to step on that white ice and crack it to shards.

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This Lil Raccoon
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is more birds eye view than Ariel view. It's more slanted whereas Ariel is more straight down. I may be wrong tho

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AloofFox
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you don't look at the bottom 1/4 it looks EXACTLY like it! I was so confused like 'what? This IS a view from a plane.'

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Evripidou Maria
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually thought Iwas looking at a landscape before reading the desc.

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Vincent Jay
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you had not revealed that this is a puddle, I would have guessed that it's a portion of Siberian landscape.

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Fajar Kurniawan
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Before I read the description, I tought it's indeed airplane photography

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ForkNBeans
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish your foot was there for context. Hard for me to see as a puddle...

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Angie Wang
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That took me a whole minute to figure out. Just wow. That's amazing.

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R L
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one amazed me- after it mentioned aeroplane view I struggled to see it for what it actually was.

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Monika Soffronow
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Quite right, sir. It is indeed a landscape as seen from an extraordinarily teeny-weeny plane.

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Hobbit Girly
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At first I thought it was black and white...that's so cool tho! I love tiny things that appear to be big things!

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Paul Purczel
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It looks so much like a disaster zone image that you see on news websites after a flood has torn apart a region. Wow!

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Magpie
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fractal the environment is very fractal, from blood vessels to mountains via everything.

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Or Dali. He would sometimes place an image on his canvas, and allow its form to suggest another that he would then paint within the first form, producing a double-image. This had often been done in the past as well. For instance, by the 16th-century Italian Mannerist, Arcimboldo. But in this regard, Dali was special. He would not stop. The great surrealist would repeat the process until he had produced triple and quadruple images. For him, the possibilities were endless.

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#5

Half Of All Boxing Photos Look Like Gay Weddings

Half Of All Boxing Photos Look Like Gay Weddings

Ethan Miller Report

#6

At The Time Of Washing He Looks Like A Polar Bear

At The Time Of Washing He Looks Like A Polar Bear

attheisstt Report

Interestingly, researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland have found that religious people and those who believed in paranormal phenomena saw faces where there weren't any more often than the non-religious and the skeptics. In one part of the test, the subjects had rated the face-likeness and emotional expression of the faces they saw. The set of supernatural believers was more likely than the skeptics to rate the illusory features as very face-like and emotional. I guess this explains at least a few of those UFO or Big Foot sightings that some people swear by.

#7

The View From My House Looks Like A Painting

The View From My House Looks Like A Painting

Sjokade Report

#8

This Cloud That Looks Like A Feather

This Cloud That Looks Like A Feather

mrashtail Report

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#9

Inside Of A Cheese Grater Look Like The Backdrop To A P Diddy Music Video

Inside Of A Cheese Grater Look Like The Backdrop To A P Diddy Music Video

lovemycake Report

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#11

These Flowers Look Like A Group Of Tiny 3D-Rendered Chickens Wearing Glasses And Holding A Cake

These Flowers Look Like A Group Of Tiny 3D-Rendered Chickens Wearing Glasses And Holding A Cake

oldgood_isaac Report

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Phoebe Bean
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see fantastic creatures with tiny eyes with mouth wide open and white tongues. With green hair. Or green ears with hats.

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#13

High Definition Photo Of The Blood Vessels In The Human Eye Look Eerily Like A Forest

High Definition Photo Of The Blood Vessels In The Human Eye Look Eerily Like A Forest

ethan_kahn Report

#14

I Almost Had A Heart Attack This Morning

I Almost Had A Heart Attack This Morning

Report

#15

This Boiled Egg That Exploded While Cooking And Looks Like A Snail

This Boiled Egg That Exploded While Cooking And Looks Like A Snail

monkeyman9608 Report

#16

This Jellyfish I Caught A Picture Of, Looking Like It's In Space

This Jellyfish I Caught A Picture Of, Looking Like It's In Space

Kxaxt Report

#17

The Snow On Top Of This Mountain That Looks Like A Lizard

The Snow On Top Of This Mountain That Looks Like A Lizard

mcspecies Report

#18

Pumpkin Looks Like A Watermelon Shaped Like An Apple

Pumpkin Looks Like A Watermelon Shaped Like An Apple

WhovianSushi Report

#19

This Bale Of Hay Looks Like A Hole In The Ground

This Bale Of Hay Looks Like A Hole In The Ground

sunnyCr Report

#20

Busses Carrying Pilgrims In Mecca Look Like Cassette Tapes

Busses Carrying Pilgrims In Mecca Look Like Cassette Tapes

AMDonline Report

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lilgand avatar
Phoebe Bean
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Are we there yet?" (Sorry for children and adults getting so anxious to get there.)

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#22

Took A Photo Of My Parents Dog, She Looks Like A Wall Mount

Took A Photo Of My Parents Dog, She Looks Like A Wall Mount

Jeenyus6 Report

#23

Thought This Snowbank Looked Like A Mountain Range (I Photoshopped The Background In The Second Picture To Prove It)

Thought This Snowbank Looked Like A Mountain Range (I Photoshopped The Background In The Second Picture To Prove It)

greencanoe Report

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Max L.
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Son if you were captioning you photoshopped the houses in, no difference.

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#24

This Paper, Three Times Printed On By A Malfunctioning Printer, Looks Like It's Full Of Ancient Hieroglyphs

This Paper, Three Times Printed On By A Malfunctioning Printer, Looks Like It's Full Of Ancient Hieroglyphs

munnimann Report

#25

This Tinned Peach Half In Syrup Looks Like A Massive Cracked Egg

This Tinned Peach Half In Syrup Looks Like A Massive Cracked Egg

quite-the-contrarian Report

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anisub
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

we have a dessert which is one of these peaches on junket and we call it false sunny side up^^

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#26

A Bit Of Toothpaste That Looks Like A Baby Monkey Holding Onto My Toothbrush

A Bit Of Toothpaste That Looks Like A Baby Monkey Holding Onto My Toothbrush

SkyKing015 Report

#27

Fallen Down Tree In Port Elliot Looks Like A Dragon

Fallen Down Tree In Port Elliot Looks Like A Dragon

Jackabeetwentytwo Report

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Casper Slinkman
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So the adult is blurred, but the kids face can be shown to the world? Shouldn't that be the other way around?

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#28

Photo I Took Of A Lake Through The Lense Of Binoculars Looks Like A Planet

Photo I Took Of A Lake Through The Lense Of Binoculars Looks Like A Planet

bob202t Report

#29

My Friend’s Smoked Cauliflower Looks Like An Explosion

My Friend’s Smoked Cauliflower Looks Like An Explosion

orkenbjorken Report

#30

When Your Travel Pillow Makes You Look Like Shakespeare

When Your Travel Pillow Makes You Look Like Shakespeare

Mopninja Report

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#31

The Arrangement Of These Bubbles Looks Like Europe And Asia

The Arrangement Of These Bubbles Looks Like Europe And Asia

edd010 Report

#32

This Tree Looks Like A Man Waiting To Cross The Road

This Tree Looks Like A Man Waiting To Cross The Road

awdouglas Report

#33

This Rock Looks Like A Iguana Head

This Rock Looks Like A Iguana Head

vapingbull Report

#34

Frost On My Window Looks Like A Dr. Seuss Drawing

Frost On My Window Looks Like A Dr. Seuss Drawing

wiinkme Report

#35

These Tinted Windows Make It Look Like We’re In The Ocean

These Tinted Windows Make It Look Like We’re In The Ocean

Enoughrose Report

#36

My Mom Found A Flamingo In Her Bell Pepper

My Mom Found A Flamingo In Her Bell Pepper

dd12939 Report

#37

Processing Blood Oranges Looks Like A B Horror Movie Prop

Processing Blood Oranges Looks Like A B Horror Movie Prop

hekabip Report

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Stimpy
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If an industrial accident ever happened there, nobody would even notice. They'd just be like "hey, Joe just stopped turning up to work!" and place a new intern at that machine

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#38

The Snow/Ice In This Pic Looks Like The Ocean

The Snow/Ice In This Pic Looks Like The Ocean

schweermo Report

#39

The Inside Of This Tomato Looks Like A Strawberry

The Inside Of This Tomato Looks Like A Strawberry

reddit.com Report

#40

This Picture That I Took Mid Firework Show Looks A Lot Like Space

This Picture That I Took Mid Firework Show Looks A Lot Like Space

Piasas Report

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#41

"Oil Spill", Oil Dropped Into Water Looks Like An Eye

"Oil Spill", Oil Dropped Into Water Looks Like An Eye

spicedpumpkins Report

#43

The Morning Rain Makes It Seem As Though The Guy In This Ad Is Sweating Profusely

The Morning Rain Makes It Seem As Though The Guy In This Ad Is Sweating Profusely

itsmelen Report

#44

My Amputated Leg Looks Like A Butt

My Amputated Leg Looks Like A Butt

etc_etcmashedpotatos Report