Who is the the Face In The Thumb?! (Image: Imgur)
Pope Francis may have departed the U.S., but thanks to the internet, we are never short of miracles—and they can appear in the most mundane places. Like on the body part of a co-worker in your office.
While it’s no Jesus-In-A-Tree-Trunk, a photo making its way around some image forums shows a human face appearing on a person’s thumb. Posted by Imgur user SketchyScotchGuard, the photo is of a standard human thumb, covered in what looks like black ink. In the middle of the thumbprint whorl is the smiling face of an unknown person.
According to the brief headline of the image (which seems to be the only available information), the face-thumb occurred when the thumb owner was fixing a paper jam in the printer. Rather than a blessed or haunted printer being behind the workplace miracle, it is more likely that the person de-jamming the machine grabbed a previous print job that had an image of a face on it. The face was probably then transferred to the thumb like Silly Putty.
The identity of the face, and the co-worker on whose thumb it was emblazoned, are unknown. In a later comment on the post, SketchyScotchGuard said that they didn't know who it was either, since the co-worker is in a different department. It's hard to discern the gender and age of the face on the thumb, but whoever it is, they appear happy enough. Or did. Unlike most miracle images that appear in, say, tree stumps or toast, the miraculous face in the thumb is—was—an ephemeral marvel, lost forever after a quick hand wash.
Every day, we track down a fleeting wonder—something amazing that's only happening right now. Have a tip for us? Tell us about it! Send your temporary miracles to cara@atlasobscura.com.