But is it the original? Is it Uncle Milton's Ant Farm? I'm guessing yes, since that's the classic above-ground scenery. I loved my ant farm. They're the only insects I respect. The rest can go to hell, because they're hideous unthinking monsters, but ants are fascinating to watch, and not gross at all. We'd think differently if they were the size of cats and the natural world was full of them, of course; perhaps we'd be used to them, and give them a break because they were shiny and fairly smooth and not at all hairy with too many legs and gross soulless hell-faces. But it would still be legal to shoot them for target practice, I suspect. There would be an entire industry developed around shooting ants for sport and pleasure, complete with its own magazines.

The problem with the ant farm: they all die. One by one. The dead ants break up. You get rooms full of loose heads.