Latest news with #internetSleuths
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Google Maps users are baffled after spotting a mysterious SKULL off the coast of a Canadian island - as one claims it was created by 'alien visitors'
From UFOs buried in the Sahara Desert to mysterious doorways in the Arctic, Google Maps users have made dozens of wild discoveries over the years. But this latest find might be one of the strangest sightings yet. Keen-eyed internet sleuths have spotted what appears to be a massive skull lurking in the waters of a Canadian island. Users have been baffled by the sighting, with some claiming that it might even be a sign of alien interference. The strange structure can be found on the northern coast of Cormorant Island, just off Canada 's northeast coast. When viewed from the north, a sandbank beneath the water reveals a distinct shape of a human skull. Scott Waring, founder of UFO Sightings Daily, who spotted the shape, told MailOnline: 'I believe ancient alien visitors created the skull. They did this to leave a sign behind for others to see that says, "we were here first".' However, scientists say there is a much simpler explanation for this confounding illusion. The strange skull-like formation can be found on Google Maps by searching for the village of Alert Bay, the island's only settlement. However, you will need to rotate the map 180 degrees in order to see the 'face' looming out from the waters. On social media, commenters flocked to share their amazement at this sinister discovery. One commenter wrote: 'That's actually incredible. It's amazing!!' Another chimed in: 'Help me out here, in the words of X-Files, I want to believe.' While the sight might be a mystery to some, Mr Waring is convinced that it must be extraterrestrial in origin. The UFO hunter says that the sandbar's human-like appearance is 'not a coincidence'. He adds: 'The details of the skull are completely accurate, but on a scale of 100 meters across.' But not everyone is on board with these claims of alien activity. UFO researcher Philip Mantle told MailOnline: 'There are no signs that alien life forms have visited the earth in antiquity and left evidence of such. 'It could well be a natural rock formation that looks skull-like. A bit like seeing faces in the clouds.' In fact, scientists say there is a very good reason why all sorts of geological structures get mistaken for faces or skulls. When faced with a structure containing intricate and varied patterns, the brain turns this noisy, dynamic information into patterns and objects that we can understand. The brain gets this right most of the time, but sometimes certain predispositions cause errors which disturb our perceptions. Dr Robin Kramer, an expert on face perception from the University of Lincoln, told MailOnline: 'Our face detection system has evolved to be great at detecting faces and it makes more sense to err on the side of caution by occasionally seeing faces where there aren't any, rather than missing faces where there are.' Scientists call this phenomenon pareidolia, which is a bias towards seeing meaningful patterns in inanimate objects. Dr Kramer says: 'Face pareidolia explains why we might see faces in geological structures, as well as pretty much anything else.' Scientists think that we evolved this sensitivity towards faces because it helped our ancestors find friends and spot enemies. For hunter-gatherers, it was better to briefly mistake a bush for your neighbour's animal than miss someone sneaking up on you. Professor Kevin Brooks, a psychologist at Macquarie University, told MailOnline: 'We tend to classify anything vaguely face-like as a face until proven otherwise – it's safer that way. 'Evolutionary psychologists speculate that we evolved this mechanism to help our survival, and increase our chances of passing on our genes, bringing forth another generation of people who are also good at face detection.' Some people are more sensitive to faces and so might experience more pareidolia in their daily lives. Dr Susan Wardle, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, told MailOnline that pareidolia isn't 'usually' a sign of any psychological or neurological issues. However, a high rate of pareidolia might be a sign of someone's bias towards believing in the paranormal. A Finnish study conducted in 2012 found that people with religious or paranormal beliefs were much more likely to see faces in random stimuli. This could explain why alien hunters seem to find faces or patterns in geological features so frequently. Dr Wardle concludes: 'Most people who see faces in things recognise that the faces are not real. 'Issues can arise when people interpret visual patterns to have meaning that they do not, or when they have difficulty distinguishing true perceptions from illusory ones.' WHY DO WE SEE FACES IN INANIMATE OBJECTS? Pareidolia is the psychological response to seeing faces and other significant and everyday items in random stimuli. It is a form of apophenia, when people see patterns in random, unconnected data. There have been multiple occasions when people have claimed to see religious images and themes in unexpected places. On the red planet, one of the most famous is the 'face on Mars' spotted by one of the Viking orbiters in 1976. This was later proven to just be a chance alignment of shifting sand dunes.
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
I moved into my parent's home after they passed away and found a bizarre object with an unusual use
After the loss of her sole parent, a grieving daughter who stumbled upon a strangely shaped pair of scissors while moving into the family home has finally uncovered the bizarre purpose behind the mysterious tool. The Reddit user, iciclecrown, was left dumbfounded this week after spotting a pair of green scissors that appeared ordinary at the handles - but transformed into a circular blade further down, defying typical design. In search of answers, she turned to Reddit's popular 'What Is This Thing' forum, hoping that internet sleuths could unravel the mystery behind the peculiar tool. 'My sole parent passed away six months ago and I have moved into the house, slowly cleaning and sorting through things to make the home my own,' the daughter captioned the post, which was shared on Tuesday. 'I happened across these odd scissors/shears that I cannot even find similar results for when Google searching, and cannot for the life of me seem to figure out what thing they were specially designed to cut,' she added. 'There are no brand markings and the whole interior of the "O" shape on one blade is sharpened, as well as the top two points of the triangular blade.' Alongside her post, the woman shared three photos of the unconventional-looking cutting tool - one showing its full length, another zooming in on the side of the circular blade, and a third revealing a triangular blade on the opposite side. 'Maybe they're just dull, but the things I try them on seem dull,' the woman added in the caption. 'I guessed maybe gauze at first but that didn't seem to be the ticket when I tried.' 'Anyone seen these things before?' Far from solving the mystery, her follow-up only added to the intrigue - revealing more details that made the odd find even more perplexing. 'My title describes this thing. Scissors with odd asymmetrical blades, one in an "O" shape, the other triangular,' the woman wrote. 'Each is sharpened uniquely to suit each blade shape,' she added. 'There are otherwise no branding markings to look up.' The post racked up more than 400 impressions, igniting a wave of speculation from intrigued online detectives. To her surprise, those joining in on the guessing game cracked the case almost instantly, pinpointing the scissor's true purpose with impressive speed. As it turns out, the strange-looking gadget wasn't so random after all - it was a specialized tool used by enthusiasts of gourmet cuisine: a quail egg cutter, made to neatly slice the tops off tiny bird eggs. 'Quail egg scissors,' the user who solved the mystery replied, sharing a link to what appeared to be the exact same tool - sold on a website called Green Wings Ranch for just $4.95. In response, the woman wrote: 'Wow, SOLVED! That was so fast! And the ones in the link there are even the same color! Thank you!' Designed to simplify the delicate task of cutting quail eggs, these scissors make the process effortless and precise - especially handy when young helpers are in the kitchen Another user jumped into the thread, offering their own advice on what the tool could be used for - if a quail egg feast wasn't on her menu. 'They would be good for making jalapeno poppers too,' the user wrote. 'Sorry for your loss, I hope the home is still alive with great memories for you.'
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
'Strange' plastic tube with orangish liquid in leaves people baffled but it has a very handy use
A homeowner was left baffled after discovering a 'strange' plastic tube filled with orangish liquid in their living room. The confused finder took to Reddit 's popular 'What Is This Thing' forum posting a photo of the mysterious item. They shared a photo of a small plastic cylinder with an orange stopper. In the caption, they admitted they were completely stumped by what appeared to be a random piece of debris found floating around their home. 'So I found this little plastic tube filled with an orangish looking liquid in my living room,' they wrote in the Reddit Post. 'Not sure really what it could have come from and can't find anything that really matches it from looking online.' The post quickly reached hundreds of users on Reddit with many offering up their reactions and some solving the mystery. Internet sleuths quickly revealed the object's surprising everyday use. The observant users immediately recognized the object as something millions of people once used daily - a fountain pen ink cartridge. One user commented: 'It's a fountain pen ink cartridge.' Another clarified it was 'a standard international cartridge' commonly used by numerous pen manufacturers. The revelation sparked a wave of nostalgia from older Reddit users who remembered using similar pens decades ago. 'When I was in elementary school that's the kind of pens we had to use, ball point pens weren't invented yet,' recalled one commenter. 'This was early 60's, and when they leaked it was a mess.' Another user said: 'I used to use them in the 90's, Schaeffer maybe?' referring to the popular pen manufacturer. This is just the latest mystery solved on the Subreddit page. Last month, a sofa owner shared that he spent years questioning what the bendy part of his couch is for - before learning the strange feature actually has a simple explanation. The Reddit user, Necessary-Comedian78, shared an image of his sofa on the popular r/whatisthisthing forum, sparking an online debate after questioning the 'mysterious folding mechanism'. 'What's the function of this folding thing in the back of my couch?' the confused owner wrote alongside a photo of the furniture item. 'I've had this couch for years and for the life of me can't figure out what it's intended for.' They added: 'It's very uncomfortable if I put the cushions back when it's folded because they don't have enough support.' The post quickly went viral, with hundreds of users rushing to solve the mystery that had been troubling the homeowner for years. The real reason behind the mysterious folding mechanism turns out to serve a practical purpose that many furniture owners remain completely unaware of. A sofa owner has spent years perplexed by a bendy feature of his couch - before learning the odd feature actually has a simple explanation Many users highlighted the design function allows furniture manufacturers to create larger pieces that can still get through standard doorways. 'It's just to make the back flush with the arms - the cushions should sit flush as well if you put them on the seats - so it's more compact for shipping and storage,' explained one commenter.
