Nothing gets a crowd flocking to a religious site faster than the image of the Virgin Mary. All over the world her image is found in the strangest of places, from an aura on a garage door to an ultrasound picture. You can even purchase a Virgin Mary image on eBay! These sightings can draw thousands with lines of people stretching for days. Some come because they believe the image has healing powers, while others are just drawn in by curiosity. Whatever the reason, there is no shortage of these sightings, so pack your bags - we're looking for the Virgin Mary.

In 2006, 81 year old Shirley McVane of Chicago discovered an image of the Virgin Mary on the stomach of her pet turtle. McVane is a religious person, with religious symbols and statues around her home. Her friends dismissed her claims, but her daughter believes her. True or not, her turtle, which she has since named "Mary", was covered by the local news and is scattered all over the internet. There is no mention of flocking crowds, but I'm sure Shirley and Mary the turtle are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame.

In May of 2007 a girl suffering from Thalassemia spotted an image of the Virgin Mary in a coconut tree. Since then thousands have flocked to the tree in Kg Ulu Patikang where others have since spotted crosses and an image of Jesus in the same tree. Now that is one powerfully religious tree. I wonder how much a glass of that coconut milk would go for?

Rold Gold must be blessed. On separate occasions two innocent pretzel lovers were enjoying a package of their favorite crunchy treat when low and behold - the Virgin Mary appeared before them! Before biting into her salted silhouette, the proud owners auctioned them off on eBay. The first one sold for $10,600 in 2005 to a young girl. The second, recently auctioned in February 2008, got a bid got as high as $2 million before eBay pulled the item for not being listed as a "perishable" food item.

Recipe for Virgin Mary on Grilled Cheese

• Two slices Publix white bread
• Two slices Land O'Lakes American (yellow)
• Put cheese slices between bread

• Use no oil or butter and toast until image appears

• Place finished sandwich in plastic food container for 10 years where if truly religious, will miraculously not mold
• Sell on eBay for $28k to Goldenpalace.com
• Have Goldenpalace.com pay for your $1000 tattoo of sandwich on your chest so you can have a daily reminder of your experience
• Live in Internet infamy

The term pareidolia is used to describe a phenomenon in which an image or sound is perceived to be something else - usually something significant. The images or sounds can be seen as animals in clouds or heard as hidden messages in a song. Common religious pareidolia experiences involve seeing images of Christ, Mary or even Satan in various objects.