Windows brings out the Rorschach test in everyone (2003)
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
A baby's bare chest on Windows 95 holograms offended a government, forcing a redesign.
Raymond Chen recounts that a government (unnamed) complained Windows 95's anti-piracy hologram depicted a "naked child" because the infant model (from the waist up) wasn't wearing a shirt. Microsoft rushed a new hologram with the baby in a shirt and overalls, but removed the arm animation. The original hologram became a collector's item. Chen also notes Windows XP complaints: the "Red Moon Desert" wallpaper was said to resemble buttocks, a User Accounts icon looked like Hitler, and a Switch Users cartoon character was called obscene. All were changed.
The article reflects on pareidolia and overreaction to ambiguous imagery.
What commenters are saying
Commenters broadly side with Chen, mocking the hypersensitivity and sharing similar stories of unintended innuendo in software art. Several link to known pareidolia examples: AI company logos that resemble body parts, the "goatse" shock image haunting old logos, and a Nirvana baby lawsuit. One commenter jokes the offended government should sue all mothers for delivering naked babies. Another notes that Ubuntu's "Intrepid Ibex" wallpaper (a skull-like coffee stain) also provoked a complaint. A few defend Microsoft's decision to comply, arguing it would be bad for business to publicly ridicule a client.
One top commenter drily observes: "Users scare me."