pareidolia

My right shoe has a scuff in the exact shape of the Loch Ness Monster, if the Loch Ness Monster were a black leather shoe.

I have a smudge of somethingorother on my living room window that looks like a faerie (or at least what I would imagine one to look like).

I once found a likeness of Richard Nixon in a hush puppy. Really.

Those kooks! Hmph. Everyone knows the Virgin Mary appears only in grilled cheese sandwiches, not pizza. Sheesh!

These pictures are all real, I know because I found them on the internet!

Ooh, glad to have a word for this phenomenon.

A psychological phenomenon by which people perceive random scatter as being a distinguishable object, such as a face.

This is what is going on when people see the Virgin Mary in their pizza.

most recently seen on www.avantgame.com, Jane McGonigal's website. context: "Ceci n'est pas un pareidolia"