1998 SEPTEMBER MYSTERY IMAGE
This is a scanning electron micrograph of a butterfly wing. It was first
coated with a very thin layer of gold and then placed in the scanning
electron microscope. Any guesses why it was coated with gold before
it was put in the microscope?
(Photo by William Sharp)
Congratulations to Jasmine, Linda, Ted, Jessica and Larissa for
guessing the correct answer. Also, congratulations to Desert
Vista High School for the most guesses.
For those of you that are curious, here are some numbers from our list of guesses.
- 20% guessed that the image was of fish or or reptile scales.
- 11% guessed that it was skin.
- 10% guessed that it was part of a flower or plant.
- 9% guessed that it was hair.
- 6% guessed that it was a close-up of a birds wing.
Some of the creative single answers are listed below.
- An artichoke
- Aluminum shavings
- Finger nail clipping collection
- Chipping paint
- Tree bark
- Shingles of the roof of a small house in western Florida
- This picture is simply 24-plus black and white frogs.
They are sticking their tongues through a black and white wall
that has holes the size of frog tongues. Either that, or
it is all in color, yet the black and white is depicted through
black and white film. The frogs might be green, or they could be
brown. Some toads are brown. If this is the case, then replace
all of the "frogs" with "toads" in this answer.
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