Skeptical Inquirer: Holy grilled cheese?

A Hollywood, Florida, couple, Gregg and Diana Duyser, received $28,000 when they auctioned a reputedly ten-year-old grilled cheese sandwich bearing what they perceived was an image of the Virgin Mary.

The sandwich image thus joined in the notoriety accorded such other sacred food icons as Maria Rubio's famous 1977 tortilla, bearing the face of Jesus in the pattern of skillet burns; a giant forkful of spaghetti pictured on a billboard in which some could see the image of Christ; and the likeness of Mother Teresa discovered on a cinnamon bun at a coffee shop. (See Joe Nickell, "Rorschach Icons," SI 28:6 [November/ December], 15-19.)

The Internet auction site eBay had initially pulled the item--which supposedly broke its policy of not allowing "Listings that are intended as jokes." The Duysers insisted the item was neither a hoax nor a joke and soon the "Virgin Mary sandwich" (as cnn.com dubbed it) was back, attracting bids. The sandwich was purchased by an online casino (GoldenPalace.com) whose CEO said he intended to use it to raise funds for charity.

Duyser, fifty-two, said that after she had grilled the sandwich and taken a bite, she suddenly noticed, looking back at her, a woman's face that had formed in the toasting pattern. She placed the sandwich, which she stated had been made without butter or oil, in a plastic box along with cotton balls. It remained on her night stand for a decade.

Duyser was impressed that the sandwich never molded. However, if toast and hardened cheese were kept dry, they should actually resist molding.

As to the image, as CSICOP told the Associated Press, it is nothing more than the human ability called pareidolia to interpret essentially random patterns as recognizable images--such as seeing the face of the Man in the Moon. Such pictures are called simulacra, many of which are interpreted as religious images (a female face becoming "Mary," for instance). These are perhaps most often associated with Catholic or Orthodox traditions, wherein there is a special emphasis on icons or other holy images. (See Carolyn Thompson [AP], "Expert explains grilled cheese 'miracle,'" news day.com, November 17, 2004.)

Joe Nickell is CSICOP's Senior Research Fellow and author of Looking for a Miracle.