The Big Appeal of Tiny Food

Making tiny and cute things is a billion-dollar business, so naturally, the food-obsessed are getting into the game.

Mary Norton’s 1952 children’s classic The Borrowers is the story of the Clock family—Pod, Homily, and Arriety—six-inch-tall people who live behind the grandfather clock and beneath the floorboards of an old Victorian house. Generations of kids have been fascinated with the Borrower lifestyle: their furniture made from matchboxes and spools, their postage-stamp pictures, the thimble they use for a soup pot, and their meals of cinnamon bread crumbs, sliced roasted chestnut, and—food for three—a single potted shrimp.

Dollhouses and model railroads, toy soldiers and painted fantasy figures all reflect the evocative pull of the very small. Some four million people a year flock to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry to visit the Colleen Moore Castle, which features a

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Read This Next

Did this mysterious human relative bury its dead?
This new birth control for cats doesn't require surgery
How the Zoot Suit Riots changed America

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet