Super-Magnified Photos Of Everyday Objects Under The Microscope

We think that we're familiar with the everyday objects around us, but have we ever taken a really close look at them? We're talking about sticking them under a high-powered microscope, where the world as we know it can suddenly look incredibly different.

Getting a good look at things through a microscope is just one way that scientists are able to understand the world better. It reveals a lot more about things than we’d expect, some of which are pleasant surprises while others are far more disturbing. You never quite know what you'll get until you take a closer look.

A hummingbird's tongue looks like something from a horror film

To many, hummingbirds are one of the most intriguing animals in the world. Their wings have to flutter at a million miles per hour just to keep them airborne as they shift through the air rapidly. Unfortunately, while they might appear cute to the human eye, certain parts of their body can appear less so under a microscope.

This is an extreme close-up of a hummingbird's tongue, and it's pretty terrifying, to say the least. It looks more like a worm from a horror movie than one of nature's greatest animals. If this was what the average person saw when they looked at a hummingbird, they probably wouldn't consider them to be as appealing anymore.

Snowflakes reveal a detailed and symmetrical pattern through a microscope

Snowflakes are unique because no two are identical. They form beautiful patterns that aren't always easy to appreciate with the human eye. After all, they're so small and delicate, and when they come down in a flurry, it's hard to focus on just one tiny flake. Thankfully, through a microscope, we can get a better look at them.

A highly detailed pattern is clear to see here, and it seems as though each individual corner has been made in the mirror image of the others. Up close like this, we can see that right down its very core, a single snowflake is symmetrical. That makes it all the more impressive that so many fall from the sky.

This ant proves just how tiny microchips have become

Most people have a good idea of how small ants are, which just shows how tiny this microchip is. Technology is so advanced these days that we can manufacture things smaller than ever before. This little ant seems to think it has found the missing piece for its colony and is therefore carrying the chip back with it. 

This microscopic image really highlights how far human technology has advanced. The fact we can create something so packed with information at such a small size is truly incredible. Plus, it's not every day that you get to see these two things together in one picture. Not unless you're a tech developer with a passion for microscopes and ant farms.

Ticks can grow to incredible sizes after a successful feeding

If you're a dog owner, something you might sometimes be on the lookout for after you've been on a walk is ticks. These are tiny creatures that attach themselves to the skin and start sucking blood. As they can contain various pathogens, they can be dangerous for both humans and pets, which is why it's worth keeping an eye out.

Thankfully, these creatures aren't so small that you need a microscope to see them. However, it does take such a device to understand what a tick looks like after a successful feeding. Seeing how much these creatures can swell with blood may leave you feeling a little sick. It might also make you scared of walking your dog ever again.

Caffeine looks surprisingly psychedelic when viewed up close

Coffee is the go-to juice that keeps the world productive. Without it, we wouldn't be able to cope in the mornings, which is how it's become one of the biggest industries on the planet. Caffeine is a huge reason why this beverage has become so popular, and this image gives us an idea of what that ingredient really looks like.

It's like someone managed to liquefy the contents of a kaleidoscope and turn it into a substance that so many of us can't function without. In a way, though, the crazy colors actually make sense. It's almost like it perfectly captures that buzz you get when you have one too many cups of coffee to get through the day.

Salt and pepper look almost like s'mores ingredients 

Up close, it looks as though when you put salt and pepper together, you could actually have the ingredients to make some s'mores. You have the salt acting as the marshmallow and the pepper acting as the chocolate. Now, all we need are some Graham Crackers and a lit campfire to really get this party started.

Somehow we can't imagine that a salt and pepper s'more is going to be anywhere near as tasty as the regular ones you get when camping, though. There's a reason these ingredients are used for seasoning food rather than being a meal all on their own, after all. Aside from tasting bad, it probably wouldn't do your health any good.

Mosquitoes are no less inviting up close than they are normally

There's no getting around the fact that mosquitoes are annoying. In fact, they might be one of the most annoying insects in the world. All they want to do is find a spot to land on you so they can suck your blood. Then they have that high-pitched buzzing noise that lets you know there's one in the room.

Perhaps we'd be willing to cut them some slack if they looked a little nicer? Unfortunately, they don't get any more likable when you view them up close. In fact, seeing what they really look like just makes us dislike them even more. We won't forget this face the next time a mosquito lands on us in search of food.

Refined and raw sugar are similar shapes but remarkably different sizes

Whenever you eat raw and refined sugar, it's usually pretty easy to notice the difference. The variety in texture, in particular, is especially noticeable between the two. If your raw sugar isn't totally dissolved by the time you put it in your mouth, you can feel it crunching as you bite into it with your teeth.

Refined sugar is far less noticeable, and when looking through a microscope, we can potentially see why. A single granule of refined sugar seems to be roughly a quarter of the size of a granule of raw sugar. The two actually seem to be pretty much the same shape; there's just a remarkable difference in size between them.

It takes a microscope to appreciate what butterfly eggs look like

Some people think that butterflies are the most amazing creatures in the world, thanks to the transformations they undergo. They start off in these little eggs as larvae before embarking on a wild journey. Once hatched, they wriggle around as a caterpillar for weeks, eating as much food as they can get their faces in.

Then, the magic happens, and they put themselves into a cocoon to begin their outfit change, eventually emerging as a butterfly. Finally, they, too, lay their eggs - which you can see here - and the cycle begins again. These eggs were apparently laid on a raspberry plant, and it looks as though the larvae have already hatched from them.

A shark's skin helps them to be fearsome predators

Sharks have a reputation for being one of the scariest animals on the planet, and rightfully so. If you ever come face to face with one, it could be the last thing that you ever do. When looking at these creatures through a microscope, it turns out that they're perfectly designed for being such fearsome hunters. 

Their skin is rugged and coarse, which makes it tough for any animal that tries foolishly to attack them. Of course, not that many do, but any that attempt this would need very sharp teeth to have an impact. It's like their skin is razor wire, and every part of their body is out to cause harm.

There's apparently more variety in sand than you might have expected 

When you're lying on the beach and looking at the sand, it usually all seems the same. Every grain is so fine that it's hard to imagine there being anything of note with them. However, a quick look through the microscope reveals that our eyes are simply deceiving us. There's far more variety here than we'd have ever imagined.

It appears that sand actually looks like a precious gem collection up close. A microscopic view of the stuff seems to reveal a miniature version of all the things you might expect to find in the sea. There are tiny little shells and rocks that make it look like a coral reef has just shrunk. It's quite astounding, really.

Threading a needle is difficult for more reasons than one

Have you ever tried threading a needle? It can be surprisingly difficult because the hole you're dealing with is so small. That might not be the only issue, though, and this picture reveals why. It seems the thread isn't as smooth as we might think, which is why it frays so much when you bring it up to the eye.

It looks more like straw than anything else, and if you imagine pushing a bunch of straw through a hole, you can understand why threading a needle is so tough. Now we don't feel so bad for taking about an hour trying to thread a needle just to fix a hole in our pants pockets.

Cracks in steel bear a resemblance to the Grand Canyon

When we look at steel, we tend to notice that it looks incredibly smooth. However, it seems there are often micro cracks on the surface, which is what this microscopic image reveals. Although steel can feel like a man-made object, it's found in rocks, which might explain why it looks like this when it's magnified.

The crack in this steel looks an awful lot like the Grand Canyon, even down to the different colors in the layers of what looks like a cliff face. It's a good reminder that while steel and metal are essential to how humans live these days, it all comes from the ground beneath our feet.

Bluebottle maggots look surprisingly goofy through a microscope

This is what a bluebottle maggot looks like up close. It's as though a four-year-old has tried to draw a walrus, and things have gone horribly wrong. In a way, it actually seems quite friendly, not something we'd expect to hatch a gross fly. Now that we've seen this, we're not sure if we can take bluebottle fly maggots seriously.

It's a shame they have to hatch at all because we think we prefer these goofy looking things to the annoying bluebottles they grow into. At least if they remained this way, we wouldn't have to deal with them flying into the window every two seconds trying to get outside. Unfortunately, we don't have that control over nature.

Rolling paper looks more like the surface of an alien planet

If you've ever wondered what the surface of rolling paper looks like up close, this is it. Surprised? You're not alone. The surface looks like something out of this world and more like Superman's home planet than a piece of rolling paper. Are we sure that someone didn't mix up the slides for the microscope?

These rock formations on the paper are apparently there to keep the flame burning when it's lit. They burn bright for a second or two to keep the contents of the rolled paper going. Without these little elements woven into the paper, people would have to repeatedly use a lighter or match to keep the flame going.

This butterfly egg looks like something a dragon would produce

Just as butterflies can look completely different, so too can their eggs. Not that this looks like it was laid by an insect, though. Thanks to the scaly nature of the exterior, it seems more like something that you'd get from a dragon. The Passiflora plant tendril it's sitting on only makes it appear even more fantastical.

Apparently, this is an egg from the Julia Heliconian butterfly, and the fact it's sitting on this tendril isn't simply for a cool effect. According to National Geographic, these creatures almost exclusively lay their eggs on these vines, which help to keep the offspring safe from ants. It's an excellent way to ensure the survival of the species.

A magnified view reveals how mascara brushes stop makeup from clumping

Have you ever wondered about how the design of a mascara brush stops your makeup from clumping your eyelashes together? If so, this microscopic image reveals the answers you've been looking for. It seems that the fibers of the brush are woven together in this spiral so that when you apply the product to your eyelashes, they curl slightly.

You can tell that this is a synthetic product because there are few imperfections on the surface when compared to the other things we've looked at through the microscope. Of course, this is something else that helps your mascara to stop clumping on the brush. That way, more of it can be applied to your eyelashes for an amazing look.

Toothbrush bristles look weirdly like wheat or breadsticks

Just like with the mascara brush, these toothbrush bristles are uniform in shape. They all appear to be exactly the same, and that's what happens when companies have mastered their manufacturing process. To look at these bristles up close, though, you might not think you're actually looking at a toothbrush. They look more like wheat or breadsticks, don't they?

Unfortunately, we don't think those foods would be particularly effective at keeping your teeth clean, so you won't be finding them on a toothbrush anytime soon. Interestingly, these bristles don't appear to be all that dirty. So, we're assuming this toothbrush hasn't been used by anybody just yet; otherwise, we'd get a close-up of plaque.

Steel is one of the world's strongest materials because of weaving

Steel is one of the strongest materials we have available, which is why we use it in building and manufacturing. A major reason why it's so strong is that it's woven together in a pattern, just like what you see here. Think of it like grass; each strand might be weak, but when they're woven together, they become very durable.

Of course, there's quite a significant difference between grass and steel. With the latter, you're already dealing with a strong material before weaving it together. This process just makes it even stronger. That's why steel is not only used for building houses but also for many of the tools that put those houses together in the first place.

Sugar in water is like a calmer version of magnified caffeine

Sugar dissolved in water has a similar appearance to caffeine, but it's not as in your face. Perhaps that's why sugar isn't as effective at giving us the enduring energy boost we need because it's not as strong as caffeine. It's still pretty psychedelic, though, and we can see why it does have some kind of effect on us.

The sugar dissolved in water looks as though it belongs in an art gallery, thanks to the intricate cracks and splashes of color running through it. The explosion of color actually seems to stem from just one spot, which is maybe where the sugar granule is situated in the water. That would certainly make sense.

Sea stars already have their distinctive shape when they're only a baby

The starfish is one of the most iconic aquatic creatures that live in the sea. They are seemingly harmless creatures that don't really do much outside of looking pretty amazing. However, there's no denying that they do that incredibly well. This is a baby seastar as it begins its journey into the big scary sea.

It already has that distinctive star shape to it, and those tiny little tentacles are presumably what it uses to move around until its limbs grow out a bit more. The more its limbs grow, the more of those tentacles that will appear to help the seastar travel along any surface it attaches itself to.

A microscope shows how effective dental floss is at removing plaque

Dental floss has become essential for hygiene because it reaches all the places our brushes can't. That means it gets the wonderful job of finding all the plaque in our mouths that our brushes don't remove. It's a dirty job, but something's got to do it, and it might as well be floss, given that's why it was invented.

This floss has evidently been quite successful in its mission as it's found some plaque to take with it into the garbage. That's what all the green/orange/purple bits are that are attached to the blue floss. It's pretty gross, right? Seeing this suddenly makes us grateful that we have floss to remove this stuff from our mouths.

The difference between shaving methods is clear with microscopic help

Here are two examples of cut beard hairs. The one on the left is a cleaner cut than the one on the right, which appears to have been mangled pretty badly. It's worth noting that the beard hair on the left was cut with a razor, while the hair on the right was cut using an electric shaver.

It's easy to see the difference between the two methods, with the former seeming the better of the two. While the difference might not be noticeable to the human eye, seeing these two together may well inspire you to start changing your shaving habits. Your face will probably appreciate it if you do switch things up.

Gecko's have a claw to help them scale many different surfaces

Geckos can climb on pretty much any surface thanks to the sticky pads on their feet. It's something that plenty of animals have to help them get where they need to go. What you might not have noticed about the reptile, though, is the little claw it has at the end of each toe to help it dig into things.

It's not just the suction pad feet that help the gecko to climb on anything; it's also the handy little claws on the end of its toe. These super adhesive reptiles can actually climb on any surface they've ever been given a test on, with one exception - Teflon. This is what non-stick cooking pots are made of.

There's far more to dust than meets the human eye

If we could all see dust like this, would we be in such a hurry to get rid of it? It's just like sand in that the closer you look at it, the more fascinating it becomes. There appear to be a couple of things among the dusty bits and pieces that do look a bit scary, though.

There's the spiky lemon in the top right of the picture, which appears like it will attach itself to anything and not let go. Then, there's the alien lifeform in the top center of the picture, which almost looks like it has a face. Perhaps getting rid of dust is still a good idea after all.

Silicon microchips are a testament to the advancement of human knowledge

Microchip technology continues to advance further and further. Not only do these things appear to be getting smaller, but we can continually store more on them than ever before. This is an example of a silicon microchip, although if you didn't know that, you might assume it's actually a close-up of a kid's toy or something similar.

Almost every possible space has been filled up by a little colorful track that almost looks soft enough to be a pillow. We seem to have removed the need for metal in certain aspects of our technology, which indicates just how advanced human knowledge has already become. There's seemingly no limit to where our minds can go, either.

The caddisfly seemingly bears some similarities to shellfish

This gross-looking creature is the caddisfly. In some ways, it looks an awful lot like a shrimp. However, we're pretty sure that this creature isn't considered a delicacy anywhere in the world. The amazing thing about the caddisfly is that the larvae of the insects are laid in the water, yet the adults are land-based.

Perhaps that's why they look so similar to shellfish because they actually spend a part of their lives living and surviving in the water? When in the water, they build themselves tunnels for both protection and hiding. It seems these make an excellent place to wait for food to come along that they can then ambush.

Earwax on a cotton bud still looks pretty similar when magnified

This looks like it could be a torch used in a cave, but in reality, it's much more boring than that. You won't be lighting any dungeon braziers with this, as it's earwax on a cotton bud. The main goal of a cotton bud is to help clear your ear passageway by gathering as much wax as possible.

It looks as though whoever stuck this bud in their ear hit the motherload because the tip is completely covered in wax. Out of all the magnified images we've seen, this one is perhaps one of the most similar to the human eye equivalent. However, the microscope still reveals more details than what we can see without it.

A cat's tongue is apparently designed to prevent anything from escaping

If you've ever been licked by a cat, you might have noticed that their tongues feel a little rough. Some people liken it to having sandpaper gently rubbed against their skin, with the added element that it also tickles a little. When you get a closer look at a cat's tongue, you may start to understand why this is.

There are tiny little barbs that ensure that anything a cat eats can't crawl back out of its mouth and escape. This image is from a domestic cat's tongue, but even larger cats, like lions and tigers, have similar structures. Having tongues like this also comes in handy when they're grooming themselves, as they remove as much dirt as possible.

Flies look like nightmare fuel in their larval stages

Say goodbye to ever getting a good night's sleep again because this image is going to haunt your dreams. It looks like some kind of demon, but it's actually just a fly larva. The worst thing about it is that it appears as though it wants a hug, but we can't imagine there's a long line of volunteers.

Despite being in the early stages of its life, this fly larva is as terrifying as some creatures that are fully grown. Flies are not cute, but why couldn't their young look a lot more like a puppy or kitten? At the very least, they could look like something that won't send shivers down our spines.

A banana's skin isn't as smooth as it looks or feels

If we said this was a picture of food, what would be your first thought? Plenty of people would probably be inclined to say corn on the cob. However, while it might be the right color, the correct answer is actually a banana. In particular, a banana skin, something you might have assumed would be much smoother.

This just proves how deceiving so many things can be without the help of a microscope. Bananas look and feel incredibly smooth, so we naturally assume that's how they are. However, it seems that their skins are actually formed of many different bumps. It's just that they're so small we can't perceive them with our eyes or hands.

Velcro effectively works like a lock and key

If you were wondering why velcro was so sticky, then you no longer have to keep guessing. The fabric works by pairing these strands of material with loops on the opposing side. Once they come into contact with each other, they stick together, forming a bond until the user wants to rip them open again.

The gaps near the top of the velcro loops mean that it's easy to tear them apart. It's a bit like sticking something in a padlock, and when it is time to unlock it, you just turn the key, and the loop leaves a gap. Thankfully, you don't have to worry about ever losing a key with velcro.

Moth wings are designed with the wind in mind

We know that Batman bases his look and gadgets on bats, but this moth wing could easily be mistaken for a part of the Batsuit. The string ridges make sure that the moth's wings are able to hold firm even in some of the strongest winds. That's pretty essential for a creature that relies on flying to get around.

Their wings won't crumple like an umbrella, thanks to the strong structure. The holes in the wings also ensure that they don't get completely taken by the wind, so they can go their own way. Moths are known for being dusty, but there doesn't appear to be much of the colorful dust we saw earlier.

Butterfly wings are covered in thousands of tiny scales

From one set of insect wings to another. We're used to looking at butterflies and appreciating their beauty, especially because there's so much variety in how these creatures are designed. However, while we might be accustomed to admiring butterflies, we don't necessarily look that closely at their wings. If we did, this is what we could expect to see.

The image shows a monarch butterfly's wing under a microscope, and the magnified view reveals that it's covered in thousands of scales. It's these that give the creatures their distinctive colors and patterns, along with other benefits. They might protect or insulate the insects, soak up heat, or perhaps even make it easier for them to fly around.

Guitar strings look almost like a worm when they're super-magnified

Guitar strings have been a hugely important invention in human history. Without them, we wouldn't have the majority of the rock and pop music we have known and loved over the generations. That doesn't mean they haven't changed over the years, though. For instance, we've learned how to make them synthetically rather than creating them from animal parts.

Saying that, though, this magnified image makes this guitar string look a little like a worm. It almost appears as though it's alive and crawling to get away from the camera. Moreover, the ribbed design is much easier to see from this level of magnification, and it's this that helps the string to vibrate so much when plucked or strummed.