Updated: Wednesday, Jan. 27, 1999 at 12:17 CST

It's a virtual zoo

In one of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker novels, two characters unearth the signature of creation under a rock. Obviously the gods of the silicon world read that, because they couldn't keep their John Hancocks off their work. The Silicon Zoo (microscopy.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html) puts the microscope (literally) on old microchips to reveal Lilliputian characters that engineers of old grafted between the circuitry. Among the strange creatures are a herd of buffalo (appropriately called buffalo chips), a dog on the "K9" chip, and a 300-micron Stay Puft MarshmallowMan. So next time your computer goes bonk, don't call a consultant -- call Ghost Busters.