Pareidolia

Satellite photo of a mesa in the Cydonia region of Mars, often called the "Face on Mars". This was given as evidence of extraterrestrial habitation. Later higher-resolution photos from other viewpoints demonstrated that the "face" is in fact a natural rock formation.

Pareidolia /pærɪˈdoʊliə/ parr-i-DOH-lee-ə) is a word from Ancient Greek to describe the phenomenon, that the human mind often perceives familiar patterns in a stimulus, even when they are not there.

Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, the "man in the moon", the "moon rabbit", and hidden messages within recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds.

Pareidolia is a special case of clustering illusion.

Pareidolia Media

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  The Danish electrical outlet looks like a happy face.

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  A more detailed photograph taken in different lighting in 2001 shows how it is a natural rock formation.
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  Map of Martian "canals" by Percival Lowell

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  The Jurist by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1566. What appears to be his face is a collection of fish and poultry, while his body is a collection of books dressed in a coat.

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  Salem by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1908), a painting notorious for the belief that the face of the devil was hidden in the main character's shawl

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  Given an image of jellyfish swimming, the DeepDream program can be encouraged to "see" dogs.

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  Cross-section of male nematode worm Ascaris

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  Many internet memes about Among Us exploit pareidolia, by showing everyday items that look similar to crewmates from the game.