This photo of a train station looks normal until people spotted the face of a music icon hidden within

Optical illusions are interesting because they challenge our senses and are often unexplained. While visual illusions were largely published in newspapers and magazines before, these mind-bending images have found a permanent spot on the internet, as of late. In late 2023, an image that appeared to be a mere snapshot of the Lime Street station in Liverpool, United Kingdom, transformed into an internet sensation after people discovered a hidden face in the picture. More so, it was no ordinary face but that of a music icon from the 1960s. An X user (@JulieHob1878) was baffled when she saw the legendary Beatles’ frontman John Lennon’s face morphed in a snap of the Lime Street station.

The photo was taken from a height and showed a significant portion of the city station busy with commuters walking around. “Look at this… it’s Lime Street Station, now look again and squint your eyes,” the original post stated. When done as instructed, people happened to see the late singer-songwriter’s face hidden in the picture. It seemed the walls and pillars, the floor, and the people in it were accurately aligned to create an optical illusion of Lennon’s face. Soon enough, the picture sent the internet reeling with several people claiming to have spotted the English singer. Interestingly enough, Lennon hailed from Liverpool itself, also known as the home city of The Beatles. Call it a coincidence, but this could be the universe’s way of paying homage to the icon in light of his untimely demise in 1980. 

“Got it now, I can’t unsee it,” said a person (@dollocks_bonkey) while another (@PaulsKitRails) quipped, “Imagine that.” “Oh, that genuinely freaked me out,” wrote someone else (@suelynch02) A user (@andsmithAS) joked about the train station, saying, “Wow just spotted this. There’s a train station behind the picture of John Lennon!” “Was about to say I don't see anything then I spotted it. Now I can't unsee it. Amazing,” quipped another (@geordiegirlx). However, a commentator (@lesisablue) claimed that it was a different station and wrote, “Not Lime Street, it's in France, but impressive all the same.” Most people were astonished by the discovery while some others failed to recognize the musician and named other figures like Ringo Star and Margaret Thatcher. 

The Lennon optical illusion was great timing as it surfaced on the internet the week The Beatles released their latest and probably final single ever, Now And Then in November 2023. While only two of the band members now live to tell the tale, fans were fortunate enough to hear Lennon’s vocals polished from an original demo using artificial intelligence. The song was originally penned in 1977. Lennon, who famously founded the Beatles, one of the greatest bands in history, was assassinated by an obsessive fanatic Mark Chapman near his apartment building in Manhattan, New York City in December 1980, per History.com. 

21 years after his death, the city of Liverpool named its airport after the musician in honor of his memory. On July 2, 2001, the Speke Airport was renamed to Liverpool John Lennon Airport and a 7-foot tall bronze statue of Lennon was installed, per Airways. Meanwhile, the train station is still known as Lime Street but the Liverpudlians now have something to pride themselves on the oddity of Lennon’s face hidden away in the walls of the establishment.