I’ve had the chance to review a number of really great toys here at Toytoons.com, but this one might be the most original I ever get the chance to review. GIANTmicrobes are little stuffed animals, and if you were to see them in your local toy store, they probably wouldn’t jump out at you. But, trust me, they are amazingly unique!

GIANTmicrobes are broken down into five categories. These are Health, Maladies, Calamities, Exotics and Critters. What each plush microbe represents is a virus, disease, bug or any other microbe a million times it’s actual size. What a great idea! I mean any toy company can create military action figures or robots, but this idea is one of a kind.

The first time I saw the GIANTmicrobe site, I looked at every single product they sold. They have since added several more “diseases” to their lineup. I thought to myself that this could be a good educational tool or it could also be a great “gag gift”. You could teach young children about different diseases and not scare them (since they’ll be looking at a cute, little plush toy). Or…it’s an easy way to get across the point that someone has bad breath. Give him or her the bad breath Microbe. Or maybe you have a person in your office, say, working in the cubicle next to you, who does nothing but cough all day long. You could give him or her the cough Microbe.

What I am waiting for is the sexually transmitted disease GIANTmicrobes to come out. I’m sure these will be hot on college campuses. I can see the conversations now:

John: “Hi Jane. Here’s a gift for you.”
Jane: “Aww. How cute! What is it?”
John: “It’s a Giant Microbe. This one is Syphilis!”
Jane: “What? That is sick!”
John: “Well I just got my test back and it looks like you gave me Syphilis, so I’m just returning the favor.”

It’s more likely they will be used as teaching aids by doctors or in school health classes.

I received Mono, a Stomach Ache and a Dust Mite from GIANTmicrobes. Now on a given day, that would be horrible. However, I just received the plush versions, not the actual diseases. What’s so fun about these little guys is that they all have an attached tag with facts about the microbe. So it’s educational as well as fun. I read the Dust Mite fact sheet and it really freaked me out. My wife and I got to work vacuuming and cleaning the whole house right away.

Overall grade: 9/10

If I were grading simply on ingenuity, GIANTmicrobes would score a 12 out of 10. (If 12 out of 10 was a possible score) For around six dollars, you can purchase a GIANTmicrobe. Not only are these plush toys affordable, they are fun and educational for anyone. GIANTmicrobes are available for order straight from their website. Next time someone says they have an ulcer, athlete’s foot, the flu and an earache, you can say…”Hey! Me too!” and pull out your GIANTmicrobes.