Must one smoke some maple leaf before one can see this?

max and nancyk, i suspect the problem may be that you're both looking too hard for the illusion. all the "faces" consist of are crude geometric profiles; they are perfectly symmetrical and are formed by the lines that separate the white from the red on either of the top two quadrants of the leaf. their foreheads are conjoined, they have neanderthal brows, long pointy noses and open mouths which are similar to less than/greater than signs, respectively. their shoulders, also mirror images of each other, are pointed slightly downward.

does this make it even more confusing??