One of my all-time favorite songs is “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra. I was only twelve years old when that song hit the airwaves in 1977. It struck a chord with me (no pun intended) because it seemed so hopeful and so happy. It also ended with a strange robot-like voice at the end, which was extra intriguing for a nerdy pre-teen like me. (More on that later.)

In 1961, a band called The Jarmels recorded a song called “A Little Bit of Soap.” The lyrics of the song report, accurately, that soap is useful stuff for removing things like lipstick, powder and perfume from one’s skin.

“A little bit of soap
Will wash away your lipstick on my face

Mmm, a little bit of soap
Will wash away your powder from my chin

Mmm, a little bit of soap
Will take away your perfume eventually”

… is what you get, right? At least that’s what Flip Wilson’s Geraldine character used to tell us. (If you are old enough to remember Flip Wilson, I’m sure that made you smile. You’re welcome.)

As it turns out, it’s more like, “What you want is what you see.” For example, take a look at the photo of the eye at the top of this article. See it? Oh, wait a minute! That’s not an eye. That’s sudsy water swirling around a drain. You would have sworn that was a picture of a human eye, right? Why?