Watered Down Mary

Father Ernest Bulinda, the Rector at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk, Virginia, was walking past the baptismal font when something caught his eye. It was a water stain, but not just any water stain. This one looked like a silhouette of the Virgin Mary. He called a parishioner who was nearby and asked what he thought. He agreed that it looked like Mary. Father Bulinda tried to keep it quiet but word spread and people have been stopping by to take a look. He has no plans to clean it up. "She's been appearing everywhere, she's on toast and so on and so forth so I thought we'll just keep quiet and let it be."

Not Orange Julius, Orange Jesus

When Paul Kulniszewski of Lockport, N.Y., cut open an orange for breakfast on Christmas morning, he was surprised to see the image of Jesus hanging from a crucifix with the Virgin Mother below. Having taken evidence photos for the New York State Police for 30 years, he had the presence of mind to take a photograph before the orange dried up and shriveled. He's says he has no intention of selling the orange, which he's since coated in resin, so it can stay in the family. Though he does plan to sell copies of the photograph for $15.00 with half the proceeds going to his Catholic Church in Lockport.

The Flames Of Heaven?

Last week Debbie Woodrow of New Forest, Hampshire, England, was watching the coals burn in her fireplace when she saw the image of Jesus materialize on the back wall of the hearth. "A halo appeared round the head - which looked like a crown of thorns. For it to happen over Christmas was amazing," she said. She hasn't had a fire since because, "We don't want it to go." And it saves on coal expenses.

Like Cheesy Mother Like Cheesy Son

Jason Amaya of Lake Station, Indiana was watching a religious TV show when he reached into his bag of Cheetos and pulled one out that he says looks like a miniature Virgin Mary standing with her arms crossed. He's holding onto it and showing it to family and friends but doesn't know what, if anything, he'll do with it. Maybe he should get together with Dan Bell of Preston Hollow, Texas, who found a Cheeto in May he says looks like a praying Jesus with one arm that he nicknamed Cheesus and start a Cheetos creche.

Which Came First, The Faith Or The Egg?

Tracy Norrell of Burleson, Texas, was collecting eggs from his chicken coop Monday night when he noticed that, well, one of the eggs didn't look like the others. It wasn't smooth and had a cross indented in one end. He and his wife Pam think the egg was laid "straight from heaven" and is a message of encouragement. They haven't decided what to do with the egg yet but say eating it is out of the question.

Flipping Out Over Mary

It was the day before Thanksgiving and Bianca Lopez of Glendale, Arizona, was trying to figure out something quick and easy to cook for the family. Batter Blaster pancake mix in a spray can to the rescue! When she looked at the last pancake of the day, she saw an image of the Virgin Mary burned into one side, not unlike one of Jesus spotted on a pancake in Connecticut in 2007. Lopez says the image has brought her peace and comfort, which is why she hasn't eaten it, instead keeping it in the freezer right next to the Home Style Divine Image Eggos.

Mother Teresa Makes The Cut

Wendy Golini was stressed out about paying her bills while working at her family's coffee shop in Melrose, Massachusetts, on November 4. As she worked, she prayed to Mother Teresa. Wiping the cutting board she was using, she noticed the image of Mother Teresa looking up at her. She was elated for about a half-hour, then "sat on the floor and cried, I was so moved." She kept the discovery pretty quiet, only telling family and friends. "Nobody wants to be the crazy person who sees a divine entity," she says. But once word got out she figured she'd better go public and risk it.

The Man Of Steel. Uh, Iron?

Mary Jo Coady of Methuen, Massachusetts, was putting away the laundry when she glanced down at an iron and noticed an image of Jesus on the bottom. "I picked it up and asked my daughters to take a look at it to make sure I wasn't crazy," she said. "They were as amazed as I was.” So she did what any sane person would do. No, she didn't put it up for sale on eBay, she posted photographs of the iron on her Facebook page. The answer from her friends and relatives was unanimous—it indeed looked like Jesus. So then she did what any sane person would do. No, it's still not up for sale on eBay. Yet. She went to the newspaper with the pressing story. Now that's a new wrinkle.

Better Than A Plastic Jesus

You might remember Joe Isuzu from TV commercials years ago. Well now there's Jesus Isuzu. Two weeks ago Jim Stevens of Jonesborough, Tennessee, spotted an image of Jesus' face on the driver side window of his Isuzu pickup truck. Since then, whenever there's morning dew the visage reappears, only to vanish later in the day when the dew evaporates. He's tried rolling the window up and down but that hasn't stopped it. “Of course, I’m not going to wash it,” he says. Of course.

The 40 Million Year Old Virgin

When David Nunez' father found a 14-pound boulder while looking for landscaping rocks in an orchard, "Everybody thought it looked like a turtle shell, but once he brought it home, we saw a figure on it." Looking closer they saw a bluish-black stain that looks like the Virgin of Guadalupe. Father Harvey Fonseca, of Saint Jude Thaddeus Roman Catholic Church, is skeptical, saying "It's usually just a coincidence when something looks like something else." Rob Rogers, a professor of geology at Cal State Stanislaus in Turlock who says the rock is between 40 and 140 million years old, said he couldn't see the image in the photos he'd been emailed. "I must lack imagination," he said.

Truckin' Along With Mary

A woman named Sharon emailed ABC-7 in El Paso, Texas, to let them know she and her family saw an image of the Virgin Mary at a Petro truck stop. The TV station sent a crew out that found the water stain and took a photograph of it. Good thing too, since the truck stop's maintenance crew washed the stain off within days.

Ukraine Your Neck, You See Jesus

Early this summer some discolorations appeared on the outer wall of a timber factory in Velyky Berezny, a town in western Ukraine. Probably caused by mold or dampness, people immediately saw in them the image of Jesus' head and body. The factory has become a tourist attraction, with visitors leaving flowers, taking photographs, and even kissing the image. So far there's an increased police presence but no plans to build a gift shop.

Samoa Sightings

Last week Samoans across the country prayed to ensure that the country's September 7 switch to driving on the left side of the road would be a safe one. Seemingly in response, an image appeared on the wall of the Congregational Christian Church in the capital city of Apia that many say is Mary with a rosary in her hands. Others claim it looks more like Jesus Christ. Roman Catholic Archbishop, Father Spatz Silva, says he's still investigating but has no doubt it's a general message to steer clear of sin. Still others feel it's a sign that they should drink more Coke.

MRI Is Not Pronounced Mary

An unidentified woman from Levittown, Pennsylvania, contacted a local news station and gave them a copy of the imaging from an MRI she'd recently performed, pointing out that instead of a heart, there appeared to be the image of a long-haired man she claims is Jesus. The MRI is awaiting analysis by a radiologist and a priest.

This One Will Stump You

A number of parishioners at St. Mary's church in Rathkeale, Ireland, noticed the outline of the Virgin Mary in a tree that was cut down to clean up the grounds. Over 2,000 townspeople have signed a petition asking that the stump remain where it is, calling it a "divine intervention," but a local priest, Fr Willie Russell, thinks otherwise, saying, "There’s nothing there, it’s just a tree. People shouldn't worship a tree.”

Window On Salvation

A few months after moving into their house in Jesup, Georgia, in 2005, Gregory and Deborah Sapp noticed a crack in a garage window. Before long it began to look like an image of the Virgin Mary. They took the window out and moved it to their bedroom, where it sits today. But since they think they should share it with the public, they started a website named Visions of the Virgin Mary, where you can learn about the window and see photographs of the window, but if you want to see a streaming video of it you have to subscribe. Five bucks for one day, $10 for 30 days, or $20 a year. No one ever said salvation was free.

Pressing Religious Concerns

No sooner had Janie Guerra, a pants presser at Comet Cleaners in Harlingen, Texas, returned to her station after lunchtime prayers than she noticed a familiar image on the press head pad. “I pick up the pants and I see the Virgin Mary,” she says. Store owner Buddy Fischer didn't want to sell the press pad, nor turn it into a shrine and have the store flooded with pilgrims, so he printed up copies of the photograph Guerra had taken with her cell phone, handed them out, and kept using the press. Before long the image faded. “I had to,” he says. “I had 700 pairs of pants to press."

A Chip Off The Holy Block

When a group of students at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Burlington, North Carolina, came inside after hearing thunder during soccer try-outs, teacher and coach Nancy Evans saw what looked like a sticker on the wall that looked like the Virgin Mary. When she got closer she realized it was chipped paint, probably caused by a ball that had been bounced against the wall or a chair scraping against it. Principal Sal Trento agreed, as did many of the students, though one described it as "a fish with an antler." The wall is scheduled to be repainted, though before it is Principal Trento plans to have an art teacher make a tracing of the chip for posterity.

Spreading The Word

Claire Allen of Ystrad, Rhondda, South Wales, was making toast for her youngest boy Robbie when she opened a jar of Marmite and on the underside of the lid saw an image of Jesus. "It wasn't a new jar, but I’d never noticed that before," she says. Her other children and husband agreed that it looked like Jesus so they went public with it. "I often see Jesus’ face in a lot of things I do," she says. "And there are a few times I can think of when I've seen the face of Jesus in a window. But he’s never appeared in my food before." Especially not in a jar of Marmite.

Cheeses Priced

Dan Bell of Preston Hollow, Texas, and his wife Sara were heading out of town on a trip last week when they decided to stop in a gas station for road snacks. Sara had eaten most of the Cheetos when she noticed the one left in her hand looked like a praying Jesus. A quick fried to a crackly crunch Jesus with a missing right arm. They've nicknamed it "Cheesus" and are keeping it in a plastic box while they decide its fate.

Trial By Fire(place)

It was Easter Sunday and Connie Lopez of Refugio, Texas, was crying and praying in her dining room. When she looked up she thought she saw an image of the Virgin Mary in a stone above the fireplace. "It wasn't there in December when we were decorating it," she says. She was called inside and forgot about the image until April 19 when fellow parishioners came over for a spaghetti dinner and one of them saw it. Since then more than 200 people from at least 26 Texas cities have dropped by to see the stone. Some see Jesus, other angels, Our Lady of Guadalupe, or the pope. Viewing hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, at 406 Ymbacion St., Refugio, Texas.

No Bologna. Salami.

For 20 years Nancy Simoes of South Florida has been frying salami for her family's breakfast. Until now it's just been, well, fried salami. But recently when cooking three pieces, she flipped the first one over to see a perfect letter "G" burned into it. When she flipped the second piece it had an "O on it. The third a "D," though it looks a lot like the "O." "Never before has there been anything on it," she said. "It's just been fried salami." Now she's trying to decide how best to preserve the G-O-D salami—glass case or Zip-Loc bag. No word on what brand it was, but since she's Catholic it's a safe bet it wasn't Hebrew National.

Gimme A Break, Gimme A Break...

On Good Friday, a reader of the Dutch website NU.nl was on the way to work when he took a bite of his KitKat bar. As he was about to take another, he looked down and noticed the image of Jesus Christ in the layers of wafer and chocolate. He stopped and took it to work, where he showed two colleagues who agreed that it indeed looked like Jesus. No word on whether he finished eating the candy bar or not.

Hot Off The Griddle

While cleaning a griddle at the Las Palmas restaurant in Calexico, California, last week, a chef looked down to see what appeared to be an image of the Virgin Mary on the metal. The next day the Rev. Gerardo Fernandez of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church confirmed that the image was indeed a likeness of the Virgin. The griddle has been taken out of the kitchen and put on display in a storage room which the restaurant's manager says will be renovated so people can continue to check out the griddle for free. So far more than 100 people have dropped by to view the ghostly griddle, including Renegado and Mr. Tempest, two Mexican wrestlers who were in town for an appearance at the local swap meet.

Lets Give God A Big Hand

When some rocks fell in Paul Grayhek's backyard in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, during Lent, it left a 9' x 4' hand-like rock formation that he calls the "Hand of God Rock Wall." Not being selfish, he's decided to share it. With the highest bidder on eBay, of course. (Current bid, $1,575.) The posting says "some disassembly required" and shipping isn't included, but the winner will be "buying the rights, complete and exclusive rights" to the rock, including literary and movie rights. Hopefully once word gets, uh, upstairs that Grayhek is selling the rocks more of them won't fall leaving only one finger on the hand extended.

Jesus On The Half Shell

In 1972, Joan Reed Carter and a friend were walking along a beach in Fort Lauderdale when they looked down and saw a seashell that looked like Jesus Christ. Her friend didn't want to take it home because her husband was an atheist, so Joan kept it. Over the years she kept thinking she should make the shell public. "I kept thinking I should do something around Christmastime. But I didn't," she said. But now with Easter coming, she decided it was time. Of course there are those who say it's the skull of a catfish. Then again....

Want To Buy A Used Mercury Saviour?

As with any car dealership these days, sales are slow at Jarrett Ford Lincoln Mercury Dade City, Florida, but hopefully they're about to pick up. A 3-foot tall stain has appeared on the used car sales manager's office door that many think looks like Jesus Christ. Can wrist bands with WWJB (What Would Jesus Buy) be far behind?

Why Do You Think They Call Them Stones?

The counter of a clothing store in Redlands, California, called Cali Style, is made up of rocks held together by mortar. About two months ago the store's handyman noticed that near the bottom was a stone that, if viewed from a few yards away, looks like Jesus' face. "I really don't know what I think," store owner Jonathan Hernandez said, who perhaps not coincidentally also owns the store next door: THC Smoke Shop.

Hunka Hunka Burnin' Holy Love

About a year ago, a man who identifies himself only as John Smith of Sydney, Australia, turned on a brand new lava lamp and saw a blob form that looked like Mary holding the baby Jesus. "It took my breath away," he says. He turned the lamp off to preserve the image, built a shrine, and within a couple of weeks his life turned around and he met his "angel on earth." He recently built a web site to spread the word and hopes they don't get a heat wave in Sydney so the wax won't melt.

The Afterworld Can Be Your Oyster

While walking near Johnny Mercer's Pier in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, a man looked down and saw an oyster shell he thought looked like the Virgin Mary. Some say it looks more like Jesus. Others think it's an angel. The guy who found it thinks he has a bonanza so he put it on eBay where as of this writing, the high bid is only $36. Plus $5 shipping, of course.