# What it means if you spot faces in objects - Susan G. Wardle

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ted-ed-7859430/what-it-means-if-you-spot-faces-in-objects-susan-g-wardle
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ted-ed-7859430/what-it-means-if-you-spot-faces-in-objects-susan-g-wardle.md
Podcast: [TED-Ed](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ted-ed-7859430)
Published: 2026-07-17T14:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG6509714064.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG6509714064.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ted-ed-7859430/episodes/what-it-means-if-you-spot-faces-in-objects-susan-g-wardle
Duration seconds: 448

## Resource

Dig into the phenomenon of face pareidolia, which is the tendency of our brains to see faces in everyday objects.--Imagine opening a bag of chips, only to find Santa Claus looking back at you. Or turning a corner to see a building smiling at you. Humans see faces in all kinds of mundane objects, but these faces aren’t real— they're illusions due to a phenomenon known as face pareidolia. So why exactly does this happen, and how far does this distortion go? Susan G. Wardle explores why we see illusory faces.Lesson by Susan G. Wardle, directed by Oksana Kurmaz.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-our-brains-see-faces-everywhere-susan-g-wardleDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-our-brains-see-faces-everywhere-susan-g-wardle#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://kurmaz.meMusic: https://soundcloud.com/aim-music----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Ca…

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