Pareidolia is the psychology term for seeing faces in random patterns. This usually gets air time due to some vaguely Christlike shape in a stain or something, but not every instance has to be religiously motivated. I don’t want to ignore those secular ones, because, after all, I hate to let anything go to waste.
Behold!
This picture, taken by Mitchell Whitney, was snapped right after an, um, incident that required some vigorous plunging. The only conclusion is that the toilet itself was relieved when it was all over as well.
I have a series of puns all trying to push their way out of my brain, but I’ll let them go because it’s been an exhausting week. I’m pooped.
Tip o’ the plumber’s helper to Dan Durda.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Open wide.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Picasso’s “Scream”. Life is such a canvas anywhere you “go”.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
What a moving sight!
July 29th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
that would be Munch
July 29th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
And now we know why he was screaming.
Open wide and say “ewww”.
Unfortunately, this thread has the potential to degrade even further into bathroom humor. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Glad to see you’re still rooting out cases of pareidolia!
July 29th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I think this is what inspired 2 Girls 1 Cup.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Awww… but he looks so happy. I don’t see a screaming face here. I see a very jolly fat man.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Tom K. somehow beat me: I was also thinking of the “Scream” mask, which is, btw, also very appropriate in this context!
July 29th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
DrFlimmer:
No, it’s Moses, from South Park.
http://www.google.com/images?q=south+park+moses
July 29th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
should I hang my head that the first thing I saw was not a face at all but instead one of the original shock websites, goatse? So does that make it Goatsedolia?
July 29th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
This post would not be approved by 1960s censors.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
FWIW, the marks are certainly from the rubber part of the plunger, and not anything icky.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
@Phil
Don’t you mean “Beholed”?
Oh, and Phil. Seriously? The Guild’s new video, “Game On“, only gets a tweet and no blog post love?
July 29th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
The BA said: Pareidolia is the psychology term for seeing faces in random patterns.
I thought pareidolia was seeing patterns or “significance” (faces included) in randomness…not just “seeing faces”.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
I hope one of those puns was “pareiBOWLia!”
July 29th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
As this site is all about facts and eliminating misinformation, I must point out that “The Scream” was painted by Edvard Munch, not Picasso.
July 29th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Have followers started lining up yet to pray to the porcelain god?
July 29th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Coprophageidolia!
July 29th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
It’s the Porcelain God I pray to when I’m sick!!
July 29th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Looks like a yawnin, sleepy dude to me!
“I’m pooped!” Good one!
July 29th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Hey, don’t hurl that blasphemy toward my white idol. His room is sacred. It’s not somewhere you go to just dump your feelings!
July 29th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
A complete website dedicated to this phenomena with crowd sourced content:
Http://www.happychairishappy.com/
July 29th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
The BA himself:
Sure, ruin a good line of humor with these so-called “facts”. You’re an astronomer. What do you know about plumbing?
Hey, a search for “scatological astronomy” actually beings up numerous hits (not really that surprising), and several of your posts appear on Google’s first page of that search, if you leave off quotes.
July 29th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Buncha highbrows. It’s obviously the Home Alone kid.
July 29th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I’ve a hunch Munch brunched on a Crunch before lunch.
July 29th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
The clown’s been eating pencils again.
Seriously, those are some scary skidmarks.
July 29th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Open wide and flush.
July 29th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Oh, this is definitely one that should be added to the “Faces in Places” blog! =D
July 29th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
I see Kirby.
http://pressthebuttons.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/08/29/kirby.jpg
July 29th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
It’s /obviously/ the work of Jesus. Duh.
Isn’t Jesus the name of your plumber?
July 29th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
http://bit.ly/bsR2Vk
July 29th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Oh, so *that’s* what inspired Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. It would also explain the water damage on the version displayed in the Munch Museet.
July 29th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
It’s Ralph! As in, “I’m going to talk to Ralph on the big white phone!”
July 29th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Proves that pareidolia is a bunch of crap!
July 29th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
…hmmm…I may have dined at the establishment that was the cause of this particular image…similar effects, dontcha know…
July 29th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
All hail the porcelain throne.
Been there. Done that.
2. Tom K.
Personally, I’ve liked Van Goges Starry Night. That dude had to be tripping hard. If I had 1/10th his ability, there would be some really good paintings from my garage. So many faces to paint. So little talent to accomplish that. Thank the porcelain gods for pareidolia.
Gary 7
July 29th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
If you turn it upside-down, it’s a headless chicken.
July 29th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
A less icky but still cool pareidolia (or paradolia as he calls it) here…
http://picasaweb.google.com/beyondonesken/JamesBay3rdTrip#5494692670658640402
Reminds me of the mask in V for Vendetta.
July 29th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Ah, so this time I can’t say Holy Crap?
July 30th, 2010 at 12:56 am
Hey guys, show some respect. That’s my God you’re talking about. Many a time I’ve had my head in the bowl going “Oh my God” – and usually promising not to do something again!
July 30th, 2010 at 2:06 am
I wonder if he’s just looking up an old friend?
July 30th, 2010 at 4:36 am
Reminds me of an old song “On the way down” by Danny Draino. What a waste.
July 30th, 2010 at 10:01 am
I’m surprised all the above are not punctuated with COLONS and Semi-COLONS; if you’d like I’ll di-rectum!
July 30th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
I found a good example (I think so anyway) of Pareidolia on our bathroom floor, got a picture before the missus mopped it off
http://www.templedene.co.uk/Pareidolia.htm
I know what I think it looks like, but I will leave it to you to decide for yourselves. I’d hate to influence people.
July 30th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
#10 Ken B: “No, it’s Moses, from South Park”. Who is, of course, the MCP from Tron.
July 30th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
This really needs to be submitted to “Happy Chair Is Happy–Faces in Inanimate Objects.”
http://happychairishappy.com/
July 31st, 2010 at 12:59 am
That’s my son for you. He’s just as odd as his old man.
July 31st, 2010 at 1:01 am
Way to go Mitch.
July 31st, 2010 at 2:39 am
I guess this may be taught in public school. Just like creationism…
http://richarddawkins.net/articles/492455-school-board-might-ok-teaching-creationism
August 2nd, 2010 at 2:54 am
jesus is everywhere
October 6th, 2010 at 7:57 am
I imagine you have to have seen this, but just in case:
http://jesustoasters.com/
You can make your own pareidolia on toast.