If you’ve ever wondered what a tapeworm looks like close-up, you might be in for a shock. There are plenty of creepy things that we don’t want to think about going on in our body, while the idea of a tapeworm lurking there is a pretty terrifying one.
A photo of the parasite under a microscope has gone viral on social media, and people were horrified to find out just what its face looks like when getting up close and personal.
Posting an image of the creature on Reddit, many people shared their own reactions to it after being surprised by its characteristics.
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And spoiler alert - it’s not pretty.
Responding to the photo, one user wrote: “F*** that’s horrific.”
Another said: “I hope no one was planning on sleeping.”
A third commented, "That thing looks like it’s seen some s***," while another fourth joked: “Aka Tim Burton’s return to grotesque horror.”
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Emphasizing that we wouldn't want one as a house pet, someone else concluded: "Sometimes the classic sayings fit well: Kill it with fire.”
We’ve got to agree with the person who says this is exactly why we shouldn’t scroll Reddit in bed.
Others described the parasite as ‘nightmare fuel’, while one user pointed out that in its right eyehole, there appeared ‘to be a man wearing an old colonial shirt peeking out the window’.
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Tapeworms aren’t the only microscopic creatures that look like something out of a horror movie.
There are lots of other miniature monsters wriggling around out of range of vision - and the thought is enough to make your skin crawl.
If you’ve ever come across a house dust mite, you might be disarmed by how minuscule the bug is, but under the microscope, it looks like something out of the Jurassic era.
If that wasn’t creepy enough, PC Mag reported that ‘millions, if not billions’ of dust mites are crawling around in your home right now, ‘feeding on the dead skin of you, your family and your pets’.
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Under similar close examination, a rust mite looks like it has been unearthed from the fiery pits of hell.
And while they might have been a terrifying monster in another life, they luckily only grow to around 0.007 inches long.
The critters tend to feed on plant cells, including sap from plants, which can cause damage to leaves, stems, and fruit.
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And finally, another tiny creature that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi monster flick is the Colorado potato beetle.
The beefy-looking bug grows to around 10 mm long, but despite its appearance, it won’t be posing a threat to the human race anytime soon.
Instead, it’s busy attacking any potato it can reach. Now you've researched all of these, just don't have nightmares.