Random Monday : GIANTmicrobes – A Safer Way to Collect Killer Pathogens
© ThinkGeek, Inc
Discovered this collection of plushies which comprises some of the most deadly mankillers in the world (except man himself, of course) with the likes of ebola, tuberculosis (below) and the infamous bubonic plague which killed 75 million people during the 14th century, from the awesome selection of geeky wonders in the ThinkGeek catalog (above – look for page 18 under the Mad Science section).
© Giantmicrobes, Inc
These three micro-organisms or microbes are just a small part of a series of cute stuffed toys modelled after micro-sized critters both harmful and the not so harmful – I sure wouldn’t file Saccharomyces Cerevisiae / Baker’s Yeast under “Lethal” 
Blown up a million times into plushies 5 to 7 inches long (or wide) from the miniscule micro-organism/cell in real-life, it’s no wonder these toys are affectionately referred to as GIANTmicrobes (duh). If size does matter, you’ll be glad that some are also available as 15 to 20 inches GIGANTICmicrobes 
GIANTmicrobes aren’t just frivolous little novelties since each comes with a picture and essential facts about their tiny counterpart – you could always justify these purchases as educational stuff
© Giantmicrobes, Inc
My favourite is the bacteria E. Coli (above) which can cause a nasty bout of food poisoning in humans and resembles the Mars People that come in near the end of Metal Slug 2
Mars People : as appears on Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and illustrated by Eisuke Ogura
Now if you’re in Singapore and thinking of purchasing these lovable toys like me, note that Thinkgeek does not ship to Singapore unless you use services like Borderlinx or comGateway which provide free US shipping addresses. Alternatively, you could always make your purchase from the official GIANTmicrobes online store but be warned that shipping to Singapore will cost a hefty minimum of 25 USD.
If you just have to have one, local online store ICONceptz does have limited range of GIANTmicrobes for sale but at least delivery is free
Check out GIANTmicrobes at the official site or at ThinkGeek (and while you’re there, don’t forget to download the catalog – it’s chockful of geeky goodness )
MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Cytoplasm – A Game of Cellular Domination
Games Workshop 2009 Collector’s Guides
Corgi Diecast Catalogues
A List of Downloadable Firearm Catalogs for 2009
2008 Military/LE Firearms PDF Catalogs
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