Shadows that have a mind of their own

If you’ve ever taken a science class in your life, you know that a shadow happens when light shines on a solid object. The light can’t pass through the object, so it creates a shadow. Most of the time, shadows are about the same shape as the object that casts them. Sometimes, though, shadows have a mind of their own.

Keep reading to see some of the most interesting shadows on the internet. We totally weren’t expecting to see the shadow of an old man in somebody’s laundry.

A Water Bottle Or A Pen?

The way the light is shining through this semi-clear pen makes its shadow look a lot like a water bottle. So what is it, a pen or a water bottle?

The Shadow Is More Legible Than The Original

This person has a Cornell University decal on their car’s back window. The sticker has started to peel off but it left a residue behind. That’s what’s causing this perfect shadow.

Which Lens Is Which?

This person is only nearsighted in one of their eyes. Can you tell which one? Obviously, the corrective lens is distorting the light a bit more than the clear lens.

Floating Shoes

Is it just me, or does this shoe look like it’s floating to you? It’s actually sitting flat on the ground, but its shadow makes it look like it figured out how to fly.

A Little Smile

The decorative piece on this banister is casting a shadow onto the steps below that looks like a little smiley face. These stairs are always smiling right back at you.

A Tale Of Two Trees

The wall behind this tree has two different shadows on it that are overlapping. You can see the shadow of the bare tree directly in front of it, but there’s also a shadow of a full tree that’s located further away from the wall.

A Square Car

This car clearly isn’t square. It’s a normal car shape. The way the sun is shining on it in combination with its squared-off back detail makes this car’s shadow look like a perfect rectangle.

A Carrot Or A Rat?

This carrot’s shadow looks a lot like a rat right now. You probably don’t want to be reminded of rats while you’re in your kitchen, but this shadow isn’t giving you any other option.

A Hidden Cat

This bag of cat food is casting a shadow on the wall that looks like an actual cat. Now that’s what you call a coincidence (unless this was a super subtle marketing tactic).

Shadows During An Eclipse

This is what shadows look like during a solar eclipse. We’ve never seen anything quite like this before. It looks like the ground is all wavy. This is super cool.

A Shadow In The Sky

This cloud is so thick that it’s actually blocking the light from the sun, creating this angular shadow all the way across the sky. We didn’t even know that this could happen.

An Old Man In The Laundry

We promise that there isn’t an old man in this room. Somehow, the way the light is shining on this basket of laundry is creating a shadow that looks a lot like an old man’s face.

A Secret Skull

When light shines through this glass cup, it creates a shadow that has a secret skull in it. We’re not sure if that was done on purpose or not. It’s pretty spooky.

A Lamp With A Face

The way the light is shining through this lamp makes it look like there’s a face staring back at you—only it’s one of those modern art faces that’s all uneven.

Put Your Hands Up In The Air

The way the light is shining through this windshield wiper makes it look like there are two little people holding up the wiper blade. Or maybe they’re just very excited.

Checking The Photo

This girl is holding a camera in her hand and looking at another camera in the distance (the one that took this photo). Her shadow makes it look like she’s checking the photo on the screen of her digital camera.

Down The Middle

This shadow lines up perfectly with the line in this sidewalk. This only happens twice a day, and this person happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch it on camera.

A Shadowy Number

The house number was installed perpendicular to the wall of the house, and then a light was installed above it. That way when you see the house number, you’re actually seeing its shadow.

A Real-Life Unicorn

We all know that unicorns don’t exist—or do they? Okay, they still don’t exist (sorry to everybody who got their hopes up). This is just the shadow of a baby giraffe.

No More Italics

The way the light is shining through this window makes the window decal appear in mirror image without any italics on the wall behind it. That’s some kind of crazy magic.

An American Flag

There isn’t actually an American flag on this wall. The shadow of the gate beside it in combination with the grate at the top of the fence make it look like one might be there, though.

Man And Beast

This is just a normal photo of a man walking along the beach with his dog, but if you look at their shadows, you might see a mythical creature who came along for the journey. Do their shadows look like a centaur to you?

A Wobbly Ladder

This truck has a lot of dents in it, which are all distorting the light and making this ladder’s shadow look super wobbly. That ladder is actually totally safe to climb

A Slice Of Pizza

This street sign is located just outside of a Domino’s pizza shop. Its shadow kind of looks like a slice of pizza That’s super convenient for Domino’s. They didn’t even have to pay for that sign.

A Break In The Fence

This is actually a totally solid fence, but the shadow being cast on it by the tree in front of it makes it look like there’s a hole in it that you could easily walk through.

A Thick Fork

Somehow, the shadow being created by this fork lying on its side looks exactly like a fork lying flat on the table, only it’s super thick. Imagine eating with a fork that thick.

Different Prescriptions

This guy has glasses with a different prescription in each lens because he can see better out of one eye than the other. You can totally see how the different lenses filter light through this shadow.

A Dividing Streetlight

The way the sun is situated in the sky at this moment has caused this very thin streetlight to be cut exactly in half by a beam of light. Someone was in the right place at the right time.

Hi There

The way the sunlight is shining through the slats on the back of this truck makes it look like the word “hi” is riding beside the truck as it drives. It’s a very friendly shadow.

A Spider Playing With A Ball

We’re not sure why there’s a purple light shining in this room, or why it makes it look like there’s a happy spider playing with a ball inside of this lamp, but we’re not complaining.