A person experiencing pareidolia sees something meaningful in random everyday objects. Our visual system is hardwired to search for faces quickly; hence, it sometimes activates even if there isn’t any real face.

In a 2020 study published in the journal Psychological Science, the authors mentioned, “The human brain has evolved to rapidly detect the presence of other people in our environment and to make inferences about qualities such as their personal identity, emotional state, and direction of attention on the basis of specific sensory cues.”

To put it simply, pareidolia happens when our brain tries to make sense of the world by finding familiar faces or patterns, even where they don't actually exist.

Imagine walking along a dimly lit street late at night, and you notice a figure standing under the streetlamp. Instantly, your mind would start to assess their posture and facial expressions. Based on these sensory cues, one could infer that there is a person over there. However, when you go closer, you realize that it is nothing more than just a shadow made by a tree branch.

Instances of Pareidolia go back many years. In 1976, a space celebrity was born when a scenic view of Mars was captured from orbit by NASA's Viking 1 mission. During a press release back then, NASA said the formation "resembles a human head." In the picture, there was a standout surface element that looked a lot like a face.

Later, NASA explained how some data had gone missing when the spacecraft transmitted the image to Earth. They mentioned, “Bit errors comprise part of one of the 'eyes' and 'nostrils' on the eroded rock that resembles a human face near the center of the image. Shadows in the rock formation give the illusion of a nose and mouth.”

Another picture released by NASA that gained attention within days after being taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory shows a spinning neutron star surrounded by a cloud of energetic particles about 17,000 light years away from earth. When the photo was released in 2009, many people saw a hand-like structure in the X-ray emission.

People have noticed pareidolia even on banknotes due to the intricate engravings and printing designs. One example is the 1954 Canadian dollar bill series, which was known for the "Devil's Head" variety among collectors.

On the front of these notes, patterns in Queen Elizabeth II's hair looked like a grinning face. This got so much attention that the design was modified in 1956 so that it did not have this effect anymore.

Renaissance painters and illustrators often employed pareidolia.

According to his writings, Leonardo da Vinci described pareidolia as something that could be useful to artists. He noted, “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 them a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills. You will also be able to see diverse combats and figures in quick movement, strange expressions of faces, outlandish costumes, and an infinite number of things, which you can then reduce into separate and well-conceived forms.”

Pareidolia objects are quite popular in online marketplaces and attract collectors and enthusiasts who are fascinated by these unintended visual effects. For instance, a chicken nugget that looked like President George W. Bush sparked a bidding war on eBay in 2012.

After the auction featuring more than 70 offers, the presidential poultry was ultimately sold for an astounding £5,000 (approximately $6,479 today).

Diana Duyser, from the US, put a grilled cheese sandwich up for auction on eBay in 2004. The sandwich, which she claimed bore the image of the Virgin Mary, garnered 1.7 million hits. It eventually sold for a whopping $28,000.

Pareidolia objects are not only entertaining but can also help you earn a quick buck. Which one of these photos left you mesmerized? Have you ever noticed a face on some unusual object? Tell us all about it in the comments below!