#2
Imgur user Thatsnothowanyofthisworks told Bored Panda that they came across a thread of these images and thought that they looked like comical faces. "I figured, why not try to relate them to me and funny things in my life," they said about what inspired them to create the memes in the first place.
Thatsnothowanyofthisworks said that they tried to relate the descriptions to themselves and the funny things they've been through to give them a more personal touch. "I saw my own expressions in those creatures," they explained.
The Imgurian has some great news for us: they plan on continuing to make original memes in the future! "I'm always looking for some new type of format to use. I'm definitely going to pursue more microscopic creatures memes."
The micro-memes made us realize just how important terminology is in science. The Imgur user made the memes using photos of micro-animals, as well as regular-sized creatures zoomed-in under a microscope.
Micro-animals are tiny and require a microscope to see. Examples of these would be our loveable water bear tardigrades, brine shrimp (what you’ll know as sea monkeys), spider mites, and others.
However, micro-animals shouldn’t be confused with micro-organisms. These also require a microscope to notice, but they’re far less complex than micro-animals because they’re single-celled. Micro-organisms are incredibly important for the health of our planet and for the food chain.
Some examples of micro-organisms found in the ocean are algae (which are single-celled plants), protozoa (single-celled animals also known as zooplankton), bacteria (the most abundant organisms on planet Earth), as well as viruses. While we’re used to hearing about viruses mostly in the context of them infecting us, they can also infect algae, protozoa, and bacteria, too.
If anyone’s planning to make more microscopic creature memes, we’d love to see some made using micro-organisms, not just micro-animals, too!