Our pattern-recognizing brain can be a little too eager to help us and will just tell us what it thinks we see. As a result, we’ll happily accept a further on, black cat as just a shadow and a series of scratches on a boat as a wonderful image of a tropical island. So it would be best to always look twice, not just when crossing the street, but when seeing almost anything.

The mildly interesting subreddit, on top of being quite humble, gathers the best happy little coincidences our brains and eyes put together. So scroll down and get comfortable, since you’ll probably be staring at some of these for a bit. Make sure to upvote your favorites and if you want some more things that look like other things, Bored Panda has got you covered, you can find them here and here. 

#1 This Agate That Looks Like A Wildfire

Image credits: Magnetron85

#2 The Mushroom On This Dog's Snoot Looks Like An Upvote

Image credits: PaperTronics

#3 The Way The Sunlight Reflects Off My Vase Makes It Look Like Smoke

Image credits: SimpleSpyder

Some illusionists even try to get people to “fall” for these tricks through knowledge of psychology and clever design. One of the better-known, intentional examples is the Rabbit-Duck illusion, which is a sketch of either the head of a rabbit or a duck. The same person can respond that they see different woodland creatures at different times of the year, though this may be because there is no actual reward for saying that you can recognize both, just the expectation that you see something. 

In the case of the rabbit-duck, duck-rabbit, or however you prefer to call it, the brain is creating a full image out of disparate pieces. Like the images here, it’s just our mind trying to figure out what is going on, while filtering everything through what we already know. Unfortunately, our brain can only work with what our senses give it, and once it’s made up its (or our) mind, it might be disinclined to help you see what’s actually happening. So in the case of the two cats, it might not notice the second cat because it’s already ‘established’ that the first cat’s shadow is visible.

#4 The Way The Light Shines Through The Bookcase Makes A Cityscape Shadow

Image credits: Mitchdavismann

#5 I Present To You The Rare And Wonderful Dogtopus

Image credits: lospolloshermanas

#6 Pen Made Of Recycled Water Bottles Casts A Shadow Of A Water Bottle

Image credits: Tyler__Harris

Camouflage works in similar ways, by hijacking the methods our mind uses to determine what is what. Once we have accepted that a clump of bushes is a clump of bushes, it will fade into the back of our minds. We might only start to see the hypothetical camouflaged man if we are actively looking for someone or something that may be hiding in the clump of bushes. Animals use this strategy to great effect, while humans, as usual, just copy their homework to replicate the patterns, colors, and shapes found in nature.

#7 Sunlight Through This Fountain Looks Like It Is Pouring Lava - l'Aquila, Italy

Image credits: daenel

#8 My Friend's Snake Has The Superman Logo Naturally Emblazoned On Its Skin

Image credits: backdoorwolf

#9 These Fishnet Stockings Made From The Table’s Shadow

Image credits: Nicky-Al-Dente

Sometimes nature itself conspires to trick and confuse us. For example, a mirage is caused by light bending in such a way that a human, normally depicted as tired and thirsty, sees reflections of things further away or in the sky. Often in popular media, the person, no doubt wandering through the desert, sees an oasis and drags themselves towards it only to find more desert. This is actually not a mirage, simply some sort of psychosis. A real mirage is just the bending of light that can actually be caught on camera. Mirages aren’t limited to the desert and can be found near large bodies of water as well. 

#10 The Colors In This Piece Of Agate Look Like A Sunset

Image credits: forged_elements

#11 The Inside Of My Red Onion Looks Like A Lotus Flower

Image credits: Ban_Pending

#12 Frozen Feature Shaped Like A Mushroom

Image credits: pete_ohara

Mother nature wasn’t done with just mirages, certain illusions can also be found near obstructed horizons, where our brains create a slope on a hill that is actually stable. This is sometimes referred to as a gravity hill, though it’s a lot less sci-fi than it sounds. It is also sometimes called a magnetic hill, though neither gravity nor magnets have anything to do with it. It’s caused by surrounding items appearing straight when they are actually leaning, making the ground appear like it’s sloping in one direction or another. 

#13 This Bubble In A Frozen-Over Ice Fishing Hole Looks Like The Moon Rising Over A Forest

Image credits: JephriB

#14 The Sunset Lighting Makes It Look Like Firebreath

Image credits: PoonSwoggle

#15 My Blinds Reflection Looks Like Lunar Phases On My Wall

Image credits: spaniard702

We sometimes create these illusions ourselves, like the watercolor effect. It comes about when a colored line on a white background appears to ‘bleed’ parts of itself into the white area. Our eyes see this similar to a watercolor painting, where the edges of the brushstroke are lighter than the center. While this actually happens when using watercolors, in the watercolor illusion, the colored lines do not actually have a pale border of any sort. While it is less understood than the others mentioned here, scientists believe it could be a result of our brain ‘splitting’ the image into a background and something placed upon it, i.e. the line. 

#16 My SO’s Mother Has Cutting Boards That Look Like Books When They’re Put Away

Image credits: mosoriaa

#17 My Cat's Shadow Is Actually My Other Cat

Image credits: IAMGodAMAA

#18 Looks Like They’re Flying To The Moon

Image credits: weII_then

The simplest way a layperson can go about making something confusing would be to apply something called contour rivalry, which is also a great band name. Simply put, it’s the process of using shared indents, lines, and groves to create a series of images that change when viewed from different angles. This method has been known for over two thousand years, but creative artists can still use it to trick and confuse viewers. 

#19 Freezing Rain On Tree Branches Look Like Blood Vessels

Image credits: grafxguy1

#20 A Moth On My Mini Buddha Statue Makes It Look Like Buddha's Wearing A Coat Or Cape

Image credits: ScruffyTree

#21 This Onion Ring Shaped Like A Perfect Treble Clef

Image credits: childofthemoose

#22 The Center Of This Tree Looks Like A Heart

Image credits: Icilypuff

#23 Cat 3000 Heat Radiator

Image credits: avantgardecats

#24 This Basket, Flattened By A Semi-Truck, Now Looks Like A 3D Picture Of A Basket

Image credits: BRQuick

#25 Coco Biting On A Toy Lightsaber, Looks Like He's Shooting His Laser Beam

Image credits: cokeplusmentos

#26 Shadow Follows

Image credits: easymichelle

#27 Pineapple?

Image credits: heraldedplaying

#28 This Perfect Heart Shaped Cactus I Found

Image credits: ArgentinaMalvina

#29 These Opals Look Like Mini-Hatching Dragon Eggs

Image credits: smm2194

#30 Light Reflected Onto This Wall Looks Like Chromosomes During Meiosis

Image credits: wheeliechacha

#31 This Grape That Looks Like A Pumpkin

Image credits: UnbrokenBrown

#32 The Shadow Of Two Mailboxes Makes A Perfect Up Arrow

Image credits: merax_cc

#33 Tiny Natural Geode Shaped Like Foot Prints

Image credits: reddy_freddy_

#34 My One Dog Looks Like My Other Dog's Shadow

Image credits: cheesewit40

#35 This Man Stopped By My Friends' Vintage Clothing Store, And Their Ring Light Looks Like A Halo Above His Head

Image credits: tolegittoquit13

#36 The Sunset Looks Like A Forest Fire

Image credits: Jinglebell727

#37 A Cloud That Looks Like A Hat

Image credits: SequenceStar

#38 I Got A Chicken Tender Shaped Like Africa

Image credits: Mute_Jammer

#39 Camera Flash Made My Cat’s Eyes Look Like Flames

Image credits: DIY_Cosmetics

#40 The Tree Outside My Kitchen Has An Almost Perfectly Pi Symbol Shaped Branch

Image credits: LifeSupreme

#41 The Frozen Windows On My Plane Made It Look Like We Were Flying Through A Nebula

Image credits: ramence

#42 After Five Years Of Use, My Pizza Stone Looks Like The Moon

Image credits: chestertravis

#43 This Frozen Puddle Looks Like A Topographic Map

Image credits: kmgenius

#44 This Pot I Was Letting Soak Formed A Yin Yang In The Grease And Soap

Image credits: call_it_sleep

#45 The Shadow From This Plant Makes It Look Like There's A Decal On My Friend's Car

Image credits: fidlarla

#46 The Shadow From A Rivet Makes It Look Like Sacajawea's Smoking A Blunt

Image credits: pillowcurtain

#47 Random Blister That Looks Like An Exclamation Point Appeared On My Finger

Image credits: ZeloChief

#48 The Way The Paint Dried In This Old Bottle Looks Like A Tidal Wave

Image credits: Epotheros

#49 My Blue Moon Beer Has An Orange, But It Looks Like There Is A Fried Egg On Top

Image credits: reddit.com

#50 The Dust A Flag Left On My Wall, Makes It Look Like The Wall Is Fabric

Image credits: MereCoincidences