Jesus in your toast makes you normal
Seeing the face of Jesus in a slice of toast does not make you mentally abnormal, a study by the University of Toronto and the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered.
Researchers found the phenomenon of face pareidolia – seeing images of famous people, including Jesus, the Virgin Mary or Elvis in objects such as toast, clouds or clothing – is normal and based on physical causes.
Lead researcher professor Kang Lee said it was common for people to see non-existent features because human brains were “uniquely wired” to recognise faces.
“Most people think you have to be mentally abnormal to see these types of images, so individuals reporting this phenomenon are often ridiculed,” he said. “Even when there’s only a slight suggestion of facial features the brain automatically interprets it as a face.”
Researchers studied brain scans and behavioural responses to individuals seeing faces and letters in different patterns.