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 the bias of the human mind towards perceiving familiar patterns in stimuli even when the patterns are not really 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.

Etymology

The word comes from Ancient Greek.

Pareidolia Media

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  A more detailed photograph taken in different lighting in 2001 clarifies the "face" to be a natural rock formation.
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  Map of Martian "canals" by Percival Lowell

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  Pareidolias in the moon

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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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  Illusory woman in the Niğde Alaaddin Mosque portal

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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 nematode worm Ascaris

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  Many Internet memes about the online game Among Us exploit pareidolia, by showing everyday items (in this case, a trashcan) that look similar to characters from the game.