There was an old computer game called "Sim Ants." And, just like you'd expect, it's about ants. More specifically, it's about a single colony of ants and their anthill. Your goal is to take over the back yard and invade the house, and kick out the humans. I wasn't very good at it, since I spent most of my time toying around with digging the anthill and fiddling around with all the different bits. It was a huge hit as a game, and you probably can still get it at one of those abandonware web sites. The curious thing is how so many people wanted to watch and play with ants, even as adults!
I've seen some really amazing artwork made by simply pouring molten metal into anthills. The results are impressive and make fine sculptures. I'd love to have one, though I can't imagine where I'd put it since it's essentially a crazy art deco thing. But, I love how anthills remain a marvel no matter how old we get. We write stories about ants, watch in rapt attention as children, and point to them as lessons in determination.
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| A gel ant farm, nifty isn't it? |
It's funny how such a simple little creature figures so strongly in our lives. I'll bet we all watched anthills as children, and probably around the same time we were fascinated with picking up rocks and shoving them in our pockets. Simple, entertaining, incredibly industrious, and full of hidden secrets that we can't see because ants burrow out of sight. That's why those special ant farms are so fun, since you get to see the tunnels and how the colony goes about it's business. Ants even have a trash pit (or, at least some do, I'm no expert) and some actively cultivate gardens. Pretty impressive for a little creature you may not even notice you stepped on.
- M
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