Reader Leah Ropp discovered for herself that Jesus can be a little perverse when he decided to turn up in a piece of candy she was sucking on. When she took the Jesus candy out of her mouth, she saw the image, which does in fact look just like Jesus. That is some prime ebay material right there, Leah; I hope you saved it!
Jesus appeared in the Marmite goo on a lid. I have no idea what Marmite is, but it does not look overly pleasant. The family has kept the lid and considers it a sign of Jesus looking out for them. Or maybe he just really likes Marmite.
To see past roundups, click the "Blog" link on the right side of the website.
A few days ago, an apparition of Jesus was sighted in a Nigerian church, and it attracted thousands of visitors. I couldn’t find any actual picture, so the story didn’t make the STTLJ database. More coverage here.
Phil Plait reveals a piece of secular pareidolia. Pareidolia is something Plait has discussed before.
There’s a new MetaFilter post about pareidolia with a bunch of interesting links (including STTLJ!).
This is amazing. Who is the pareidolia champion, Jesus or Michael Jackson? The answer should be obvious.
Pareidolia doesn’t have to be of a face.
I really hope that this is a satirical question. For his sake.
Mary decides to show up in a church again, alongside the Mary Magdalene. The image was just noted when sunlight shines on an altar through the church's stained glass (which, of course, is of Jesus). The two women just now appeared, as they were not noticed for at least 45 years. Maybe Jesus got lonely.
Mary has shown up again lugging around Baby Jesus, this time in the streams of blood down a biker's arms. Doesn't she ever get tired of carrying him around everywhere?
Jesus decided to make himself appear in the corner of a picture, and therefore destined himself to show up on ebay, again. Jesus was being sneaky, though; the image only shows up so clearly when the picture is upside-down. If the picture is rightside-up, the image vanishes. It's almost like there was some psychological phenomenon at work here...
Jesus has just appeared in a couple of crop circles in the UK.
I, uh... what?
A Texas woman has seen images of Mary holding baby Jesus in a couple of rocks. She refuses to believe it can be a simple coincidence, as coincidences are just when "God chooses to remain silent." Truly, God made those images to inspire this one woman to show them off as the unique signs that they are.
Jesus appeared on another rock. The likeness is uncanny, and the person who found it says that the rock image shows "no wear in the features." Which is certainly true, assuming Jesus didn't have a nose.
To see past roundups, click the "Blog" link on the right side of the website.
Friend of STTLJ Plum told me about Henry Poole Is Here, a movie about an incident of religious pareidolia. However, unlike the parody plays mentioned in the last roundup, this one takes itself very seriously. I think this review title demonstrates the attitude of this movie: "Faith and love triumph over skepticism and hopelessness." The movie's existence may be notable, but it does not seem worth watching.
A quick guide on how to tell a human from pareidolia.
Julie from That’s Just Weird also weighs in on how to find Jesus pareidolia.
To add insult to injury, someone made a Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense and pareidolia is on it (#112). I am offended! Though he makes up for it with the Homeopathy element; pay close attention to the "woo" numbers.
