Why do we see holy images in food?

by Bob Sassone, Posted Dec 15th 2006 @ 1:14PM

Virgin Mary chocolate And when I see "we" I'd like to make sure you know I mean other people.

People have been seeing images of Jesus and The Virgin Mary in a lot of food the past several years. We had those grilled cheese sandwiches, someone had some chocolate with a holy image on it, someone else had a cinnamon bun, and I think that someone even had a greasy pan that had a holy figure on the bottom of it. And this is on top of images that have been seen in non-food places, like windows and pieces of wood.

In this L.A. Times piece, we learn that the phenomenon is called "pareidolia," which is the perception of patterns where none are intended. Professor Steve Guthrie says it's a survival instinct, and the way that humans are hard-wired. Of course, this all means nothing to true believers, but it's an interesting article nonetheless, especially during this Christmas season.

Filed Under: Science, Food Oddities
Tags: chocolate, cinnamon buns, grilled cheese, GrilledCheese, latimes.com, oddities, religious food, virgin mary