A photo stand-in (also called a face in the hole board or photo cutout board) is a large board with an image printed on it and that has one or more holes cut out where people can stick their face through the board for

humorous Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in t ...

effect. The hole aligns with an area in the image that creates an

optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...

of the person's face being an actual part of the scene. This illusion is then often immortalized by taking a

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

of the person's face through the board. Photo stand-ins may be found at midways,

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...

tourist trap A tourist trap is an establishment (or group of establishments) that has been created or re-purposed with the aim of attracting tourists and their money. Tourist traps will typically provide overpriced services, entertainment, food, souvenir ...

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

s and similar locations and events that people visit for entertainment. The television game show ''

You're in the Picture ''You're in the Picture'' is an American television game show that aired on CBS for only one episode on Friday, January 20, 1961 at 9:30pm, the evening of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy. The show, created by Don Lipp and Bob Synes, was a ...

'' revolved around celebrity guests using a photo stand-in, having to guess what scene they were in. The Dutch game show ''

De Jongens tegen de Meisjes ''De Jongens tegen de Meisjes'' (Dutch for ''The Boys versus the Girls'') was a Dutch game show broadcast by RTL 4. The show first aired in 2011 and last aired in 2018. The show featured a male and a female team participating in various games an ...

'' had a segment with a similar game from the second season onwards. The use of an image on a board that could be held up as a foreground below the chin was patented by

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (September 18, 1844 – January 13, 1934) was an American artist, mainly known for his series of paintings ''Dogs Playing Poker''. Known as "Cash" or "Kash" in his family, he often signed his work in the 19th century wi ...

in 1874. The photo stand-in as it is widely known today predates this version, which Coolidge acknowledges in his patent. His patent and successful marketing of both versions did however lead to him often being credited as the inventor. The earliest inspiration might be tourist attractions in 19th century

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, where a face hole was cut out of a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

and a

sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

statue (probably plaster reproductions) so that a photo can be taken where the tourist pretends to be a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

or sphinx. One such surviving photo is of

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fr ...

of Austria, posing as a mummy while in Cairo, 1894. Another is of James Deering and Abby Deering Howe, posing as a mummy and a sphinx, taken in the 1870s by the photographers Pascal Sebah and Émile Béchard, who were based in Cairo.

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Tourist activities Visual arts {{Art-stub