When you think of a cookie cutter, you likely imagine the metal contraption that people use to create the most visually appealing sweet treats. But thanks to the people on the internet, this device is also a tool for enhancing your creativity.

Just take a look at these posts from the What Is My Cookie Cutter subreddit. All of its 230,000 members have shared images of their peculiarly shaped tools and the creations they made with them. It just goes to show that the things you can come up with through the use of the imagination are limitless.

Having fun scrolling through, and as always, don’t forget to upvote your favorites!

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#1 I’ve Been Stumped By This For A Couple Years Now

#2 My Whole Family Is Stumped

#3 Everyone Always Asks What Is My Cookie Cutter, But No One Ever Asks How Is My Cookie Cutter 😔

The cookie cutters on this subreddit feature shapes that let the imagination flow freely. But the human brain is actually programmed to see specific patterns in everyday objects.

This phenomenon is called pareidolia, in which we see faces in inanimate objects. For example, you may see a smiling face on a cloud, or a fruit grimacing in pain.

#4 Finally Have One. In Walmart Genuinely Confused LOL

#5 I Know What It Is But Am Curious To See What People Will Guess

#6 My Mom Has This Cookie Cutter For Years But Doesn’t Want To Use It Since She Doesn’t Now What This Is. Maybe You Can Change Her Mind?

So, what is the scientific explanation behind pareidolia? According to researcher Dr. Colin Palmer, part of it is repeated exposure to faces locked in a certain expression.

“If you are repeatedly shown pictures of faces that are looking towards your left, for example, your perception will actually change over time so that the faces will appear to be looking more rightwards than they really are,” he said in an interview with UNSW Sydney.

#7 This Came In A Christmas Set, It’s The Only One I Cannot Figure Out

#8 Please Help! Present From My Girlfriend

#9 All I Can See Is A Tooth With Legs…

Dr. Palmer explained that face pareidolia is not only a product of our evolution but may also confer an advantage, especially in social settings.

“There is an evolutionary advantage to being really good or really efficient at detecting faces; it’s important to us socially. It’s also important in detecting predators,” he explained.

#10 Someone Asking In Our Parenting Discord Server. We Are Seriously Stumped

#11 What Is This Cookie Cutter?

#12 Discovered At My Grandparents House. They Have No Clue

Pattern recognition also goes hand in hand with creativity. Looking at these photos with the question of, “What are these cookie cutters for?” makes you rack your brain to find their different uses in the most visually appealing and out-of-the-box ways.

According to the American Psychological Association, the ambiguity in these images encourages creativity, offering endless possibilities.

#13 I Thought I Knew, But Nope

#14 I Was Out Thrifting And Found This Cookie Cutter

#15 Unicorn? And No Idea The Blue One

The APA further notes that researchers measure divergent thinking as a marker of creativity. In a nutshell, it is the ability to generate potential solutions to a problem or question.

“Creativity involves an honest expression,” said cognitive psychologist Southern Oregon University director Dr. Mark Runco.