# Misinterpreted avatars **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578 "2024-05-14T22:40:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/1 "2024-05-14T22:40:43Z")
I just noticed that **carrps** avatar is a picture of a woman holding a small black dog on her lap. Until a couple of days ago, I perceived it as a raven’s head. My brain parsed the dog as the black-feathered head, and the woman’s hand as the raven’s beak. I first noticed **ParallelLines** avatar in a discussion about cartoon characters, specifically Donald Duck. **ParallelLines** avatar is a cartoon frog. The frog is facing directly toward the viewer, and its lips are a different color than the rest of the face. My brain wants to interpret that as a duck’s beak. What avatars have confused you? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/2 "2024-05-14T22:59:58Z")
A few classics from a prior thread: > [@(Mis)identify someone else's SDMB avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-identify-someone-elses-sdmb-avatar/980129): > > Select one or two fellow Dopers who use an avatar on this site—the more obscure the image, the better. (No picking yourself!) Then show off your smarts by identifying the subject of the image. Or alternatively, come up with a humorous misinterpretation of it. @Frodo uses an image of Frodo Baggins from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I, a 1990 role-playing computer game by Interplay. This I know because I used to play the game incessantly, though it was too difficult for my se… ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/3 "2024-05-14T23:01:48Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > What avatars have confused you? Many of us appreciate Northern Piper’s mosquito. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/4 "2024-05-14T23:06:26Z")
Bag-squito. 🙂 And I note you weren’t brave enough to @ them on this subject! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/5 "2024-05-14T23:07:08Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > What avatars have confused you? You rang? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/6 "2024-05-14T23:26:29Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Many of us appreciate Northern Piper’s mosquito. No, it’s his hummingbird. * * * * * * And to me, @ParallelLines’ avatar looks like a campfire. So sue me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/7 "2024-05-14T23:40:06Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I just noticed that **carrps** avatar is a picture of a woman holding a small black dog on her lap. BTW, It’s a section of “Herbert” by Michael Sowa, an artist whose work is fun to look at ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/8 "2024-05-14T23:42:48Z")
@solost says the same: > [@(Mis)identify someone else's SDMB avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mis-identify-someone-elses-sdmb-avatar/980129/2): > > For a long time I thought @ParallelLines’ avatar was that of a campfire, but it’s actually the face of some hideous frog-like creature with Yosemite Sam eyebrows. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/9 "2024-05-14T23:43:18Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I first noticed **ParallelLines** avatar in a discussion about cartoon characters, specifically Donald Duck. **ParallelLines** avatar is a cartoon frog. [Is his avatar not Aku, The Great and Terrible?](https://samuraijack.fandom.com/wiki/Aku) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/10 "2024-05-14T23:52:42Z")
speaking of which … I always parsed yours as a face with a frog sitting on top … ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/11 "2024-05-14T23:59:00Z")
It’s a hat with goggles. [Here’s a better look at the character.](https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050516) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/12 "2024-05-15T00:13:33Z")
@miller gets it! ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/13 "2024-05-15T00:42:36Z")
@choie’s (who hasn’t been on in a bit more than a year, so paging) I always thought was Nibbler from Futurama-exact same pose as he usually exhibits, same exact coat colors and pattern, and he also often sports a red cape, but no, it’s just a cartoon cat (scarf not cape too). ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/14 "2024-05-15T01:05:22Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > @solost says the same: > > For a long time I thought @ParallelLines’ avatar was that of a campfire, but it’s actually the face of some hideous frog-like creature with Yosemite Sam eyebrows. I also used to think that what looked like crossed logs in the ‘campfire’ was a subtle counterpoint to your username 😏 In any case, I hold your avatar up in the same high regard with other ‘optical illusion’ style avatars such as @Northern_Piper’s. Cheers 🍺 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/15 "2024-05-15T01:10:04Z")
I see his as a fly swatter. Annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/16 "2024-05-15T01:44:25Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > No, it’s his hummingbird I thought it was Kokopelli ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/17 "2024-05-15T02:33:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@Procrustus](#): > > > > Many of us appreciate Northern Piper’s mosquito. > > No, it’s his hummingbird. _Cyborg_ hummingbird. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/18 "2024-05-15T02:41:17Z")
I know, I know.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/19 "2024-05-15T16:05:10Z")
I’m usually reading the Dope on my phone, and will often realize when I zoom in on someone’s avatar that it’s not what I thought it was. Former member (now banned?) SlicedAlone’s avatar always looked vaguely like Adam Sandler to me until I zoomed in one day and realized it was Sylvester Stallone - and then the user name made sense. Similarly, @Red_Wiggler’s avatar just looks like some bald guy making a face, until the other day when I zoomed in and realized it was Larry Fine (the frizzy hair just kind of blends in with the background and is hard to see when zoomed out.) There are others but those are two that come to mind. Oh, and for a while @Lucas_Jackson and @CoolHandCox were using the exact same avatar, which I found very confusing. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578/20 "2024-05-15T17:19:06Z")
ha, I noticed that too. He had the cooler “Cool Hand Luke” name so I switched mine up. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misinterpreted-avatars/1001578.md?page=2)