Many people experience pareidolia without realizing it. It happens when the brain recognizes familiar shapes or patterns in random or unrelated objects, such as seeing an animal in a cloud or a face on a piece of toast. Scientists believe this tendency comes from the brain’s natural desire to find meaning and patterns in what we see. Facial recognition is especially powerful because it helps us identify people, emotions, and potential threats.

Pareidolia can also be influenced by expectations and confirmation bias. When people are already looking for a particular shape, they are more likely to notice it. The brain can even interpret visual information before we consciously recognize it. Researchers have found that people are naturally inclined to detect faces, even in unclear images or random patterns. This explains why religious figures, celebrities, or familiar faces may appear in ordinary objects.

A related phenomenon called motion pareidolia occurs when people mistakenly perceive movement or patterns in something that is actually still. This can happen when noticing movement in peripheral vision, particularly in darkness or when someone is tired or sleep-deprived. The brain attempts to fill in missing visual information, sometimes creating the impression that something is moving when it is not. People may also instinctively assign emotions and personalities to objects, as seen in simple emoticons.

One of the most famous examples is the “man in the moon,” where the dark and light areas of the lunar surface create the impression of a face. Another well-known case occurred in the 1990s, when a woman claimed to see the Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich that later sold for $28,000. Such examples show how easily the brain can find familiar images in everyday surroundings. In one study, participants reported seeing faces in gray static about 34% of the time, demonstrating just how strongly our minds are primed to recognize patterns.