The world's smallest handmade artifact; the size of a blood cell

Micro artist David Lindon created a red Lego brick that is the size of a human white blood cell to set a new record, completed last year and confirmed in a press release by Guinness this week. Lindon used a specially calibrated light microscope to create the sculpture, which measures just 0.02517 by 0.02184 mm.

SPECIAL MATERIAL USED

Each of the structures was created by inserting microblading needles into the screwdriver tips of the device, and many had microscopic extensions added later. The devices are made of silicon carbide, the hardest material after diamond.

According to Popular Science Turkish, the process took months of planning and then much longer, painstaking sculpting with a handmade toolkit. Lindon worked 6-10 at a time, working only at night to avoid any traffic-related vibrations that could disrupt his work. On a personal level, Lindon, who describes himself as a “micro artist,” has learned to slow down his breathing in order to work without disrupting this incredibly delicate construction project.

“Even the beat of my heart through my fingers creates so much movement,” the artist said in the Guinness World Records announcement.

Lindon ended up creating three separate Lego bricks, each smaller than the width of a human hair and easily fitting on the head of a pin. The first brick, an eight-point Lego brick, was deemed the narrowest structure ever made by hand, while a four-point brick was four times smaller than the previous record set by Lindon’s friend, micro artist Willard Wigan, in 2017. The artist’s latest sculpture, a single-point Lego brick, also became his fastest project, taking about 20 minutes to complete.

Lindon, who previously worked as an engineer for the UK Ministry of Defence, began working on microsculptures in 2019 and soon found himself creating miniature pieces that fit into a clockwork mechanism, like a painting by Van Gogh. His later projects include micro-balloon dogs, similar to those made famous by artist Jeff Koons.

According to the BBC, Lindon does not plan to continue making microscopic versions of classic toys. His new project, "The World's Smallest Zoo", which will be unveiled in the coming months, will feature a collection of animals carved into pinholes.