Microscopes are an amazing scientific instrument designed to magnifying objects to an insane degree so that we can see the thing in a brand new light. With a microscope we are given new vision. We can see something the naked eye can not see. Things are so different sometimes, that it is like looking through that instrument is like looking through the keyhole of a door to another dimension. Ordinary things can look like something from a parallel universe.

To show you what that means, here are a few common, everyday, ordinary items that when put under a microscope, look so different, it’s like they are something from a different planet in another universe. It is really amazing and mind-boggling to know that something can look so different just by zooming in. It’s like as if items have more than one identity…their normal size character, and their micro-character.

Tip Of A Ballpoint Pen

At first glance, it looks like a planet. It is not. It is a simple pen, that has been used quite a bit, and it is old. You can tell because the surface is not smooth and the sides of the tip have color on them.

Ant Head

An Ant is definitely a tiny alien with a small beard on its chin.

Chalk

Chalk is a porous, sedimentary carbonate rock that is probably linked in most people’s memory to blackboards in school or hopscotch on the sidewalk. Although, under the microscope it looks like it could be the molecular structure of some living organism.

Vinyl Record

This could be a maze, perhaps? But, it is not. It is just the grooves of an old school record…the kind they had way back when, before music was stored in a file, as it is now.

Muscle Tissue

Muscle cells look like a bundle of wires and are usually 10 centimeters in length and from 10-100 micrometers in width.

Strawberry

The seeds on the surface of a strawberry.

Human Eyelash

Unfortunately, this looks pretty gross, like the skin on a snake or some reptile covered in slime. Well, whatever it looks like doesn’t matter as long as it does its job to protect our eyes from dirt and other pollutants in the air.

Cat’s Tongue

When you see a cat’s tongue under the microscope, you will understand why it feels like sandpaper when they lick you. Their tongue looks like hundreds of little tongues in one. All those little tongues are very useful for the cat. They help the animal clean itself by taking off dirt and other things from the fur with its rough surface.

Eye Of A Fruit Fly

The fruit fly has one of the most advanced eye units among all insects – the compound eye in fruit flies contains over 760 unit eyes. Imagine that. The funny thing is, you would think that having such a complex eye means you can see really well, but the thought of seeing through hundreds of units seems so difficult! Like living your life seeing through a kaleidoscope.

Needle And Thread

When you see this it makes total sense why it is so difficult to thread a needle. What a mess!

Sand

Sand, as you know, was once seashells, rocks, and coral. How beautiful that when you zoom into it, it looks like what it once was. It’s the only thing on this list that reverses back to its original state as it magnifies, rather than turns into something else.

Phytoplankton

Some say, these are one of the most important parts of the freshwater and sea’s ecosystem. Yet, these self-feeding components of the plankton community are so tiny you can’t even see them with the naked eye. How strange and beautiful they are too, all different shapes and colors!

Mosquito’s Foot

This looks like an alien’s leg or a creature’s arm from a fantasy movie, but it actually is only the foot of a mosquito. This is not an evil creature’s arm or leg…well, kind of. This mosquito leg belongs to the Aedes Aegypti, which is also known as the yellow fever mosquito. It is the one that is responsible for the spreading of dengue, yellow fever, Mayaro, etc. So if it looks like some evil creatures limb to you, that is partially correct.

Zebrafish larvae

How cute are they! They look nothing like the adult version of the actual fish too, which is awesome because a big version of these little guys would be pretty scary in a strange way. They would fit right in as a creepy creature in a fantasy movie.

Happy Grass

This is really what the inside of a strand of grass looks like…a collection of happy faces! How nice. Makes you feel bad about stepping on it now doesn’t it?

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