A 10 Minute use of a microscope

by Bill Resch, USA

The other day, I opened a package of some sliced turkey lunch meat. When I put some slices on a piece of bread, I noticed that the meat was very slimy. Since I was hungry and the expiration date was well within limits, I ate it. Afterwards, I started to think, if this was wise. I got curious and scraped some of that slime on a clean glass slide and covered it with a cover glass. I put the slide under my old Swift microscope. This microscope has phase contrast, so I did not have to use any stain. I used a Kodak digital camera and hand held it against the eyepiece. . This is what I saw under 400X:

Luckily, none of the bacteria was pathogenic. I did not get sick.

Don't you love microscopes?

I opened another package with the same kind of meat. This meat was moist but not slimy. I put some of that moisture under the same microscope under the same conditions and this is what I saw:

This looks more appetizing.

(The pictures were sharpened with Photoshop.)

Comments to the author will be welcomed.

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