Ladybug-Size Book

Word of this amazingly tiny tome broke this week, and we are fascinated. University of Iowa librarian Colleen Theisen recently stumbled upon the microscopic book, measuring just 0.138 inches square and 0.04 inches thick. Luckily the library, which houses more than 4,000 miniature books in its collection, recently purchased a microscope for its conservation lab. That was certainly put to good use to inspect this book, so small that it cannot be read by the naked eye. After close examination, the book was found to have originally been part of a two-book set (partial Bibles, actually), marketed and sold at the World’s Fair in New York in 1965 by a Japanese publisher.

Photos by Colleen Theisen

Via theatlantic.com