I have two magnets implanted in my fingertips, which let me 'see' electromagnetic fields. AMA!

Why?

Why?

For fun! And science!

More seriously, I'm fascinated by the idea that the world which we perceive is only a very thin slice of reality. Our hearing range is limited to about 10 octaves, our vision is only 3-color and covers an extraordinarily small section of the electromagnetic spectrum, a dog can smell compounds we can't even detect, and there are whole other senses which we do not possess (electroreception, echolocation, pressure detection, etc). There's this great idea called 'Umwelt', which is the idea that because animals' senses pick up on different things, two creatures in the same ecosystem actually live in entirely different worlds. Being able to actually cross that boundary and sense the invisible magnetic fields that surround us every day is something I find incredible.

I'd leap at the chance to gain tetrachromacy, the ability to breath underwater, etc.

I had an idea to implant a Hall effect sensor array in the fingers on one hand and tie them together to a processor to build "images" of magnetic fields I could "touch"...Your experiment kind of revives that idea...

Hmm....

Or the reverse! Create an outside array of Hall effect sensors and use them to locate your fingers in 3D space. Kind of like the LEAP Motion.

How has this new technology affected you ability to find good trash cans? Does the best trash come from cans with a more or less magnetism? Would this surgery enhance my potential reproductive fitness, at least as far as foraging is concerned?

You say you are not a raccoon, but I have my doubts.

Wait, how do you use anything touchscreen without ruining it?

Wait, how do you use anything touchscreen without ruining it?

Most touchscreens work through capacitance, so magnets don't affect them. I haven't had any issues with using electronics - they're not strong enough to mess anything up. No issues with credit cards or metal detectors either.

Can you describe the sensation at all to us?

Can you describe the sensation at all to us?

Static magnetic fields are from permanent magnets or DC electromagnets, and they feel a bit like a 'bump' in space if the magnets are aligned to repel, or 'divot' if they are aligned to attract. It’s a half-dome of force that I can push into or pull out of.

Alternating magnetic fields are generated by alternating currents, such as the electricity that comes from the wall. This magnetic field flips at a given frequency (60 times per second for US wall power), and the sensation is that of a buzzing vibration. It still has a half-dome shape, but it’s fuzzier, more permeable, and buzzes neutrally instead of pushing or pulling. I have to be no more than a few inches away to feel most fields.

Both of these are interpreted from my brain feeling the magnet in my finger either vibrate or pull in one direction or another. However, this interpretation feels like a direct sense – rather than the sensation of a foreign object moving inside my finger, it feels like my finger itself is vibrating. 'Seeing' magnetic fields is a bit of a misnomer - it's much more like I am touching them.

Big flat surfaces like a refrigerator aren't that interesting. My finger sticks to it slightly more than otherwise, but there’s no texture like a small magnet or vibrating field has.

Have you verified your ability to feel these fields in AC current in a double-blind test?

I just sorta question the amount of force regular mains AC would have on a small magnet, and I'd be worried that the sensation is merely psychosomatic.

Especially when I read about people new to their magnet not being able to feel the fields at first.

I have verified it in a single blind (I couldn't double-blind this test because I know what's going on), when I was trying to determine the threshold of field that I could detect.

The setup: I wrapped a thin copper wire around my finger a bunch of times as a primitive solenoid and connected it to a headphone jack. I plugged that into my computer and wrote a script that would randomly play either 100Hz tones at one of a range of volumes, or silence. For each iteration I would indicate if I had felt anything, and the computer would tally that.

The results: Here's a graph! What I found was that I have a fairly well defined threshold.

Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to convert from volume to field strength with this setup (I'd need a gaussmeter likely), or I could have gotten some real data out of it.

Couldn't one just tape the magnet onto a finger?

See this comment and this comment.

So, MRI's yes or no?

So, MRI's yes or no?

MRI's are out, and this is the one downside.

The fear of course is that it gets ripped out of the skin. I'm not sure this would happen - I have heard 2 stories of people with these who got MRI's and neither of them experienced this. In one case it was heated by induction and got really hot, and in the other it vibrated really strongly. But both of these stories were second hand, so I can't verify them.

I also heard that the MRI techs could give me a shield to put around my hand, similar to how they would treat a piece of shrapnel. But I couldn't verify any stories of this either.

Have you considered removing the magnets from your person and embedding them in a ring, or a series of rings, that you could wear/remove as you wished? You could retain the ability to "feel" magnetic fields when you wanted to, without the downside of no MRIs...

They have magnetic rings you can buy. Apparently the sensation is a lot less, both because they're external and because your fingertip has a much denser cluster of nerves. And for me, the 'always on' feature is a draw.

So, you are saying that being able to pick magnets up is more important then you know, accurately diagnosing something potentially life threatening?

If I needed to have an MRI, I could have a surgeon cut them out prior. I'd rather be healthy than keep them in.

And if I'm ever in a situation where I'm unconscious and couldn't tell an MRI tech about them ahead of time, well then I've got much bigger problems to worry about.

You should keep one of those SOS thingies with you that say that you have the magnets.

or just a card in the wallet or a med-alert bracelet

Not a bad idea.

Mythbusters tested this a while ago. It's Bullshit :)

Link? I've been searching for a while for any literature on this.

1. How does one start this process? I can't just call a plastic surgeon on the phone and say "i got these little things, please put them in my body."

2. does this adversely affect cell phones and other technologies surrounding you?

How does one start this process?

I doubt a plastic surgeon would put them in - they're not exactly FDA approved. Though they are relatively safe - they are plated in gold and then coated in parylene, which is what they use to coat pacemakers. There are a few horror stories of magnets breaking apart in people's hands, but those were all from the first untested batch of magnets. We're on v3 right now, and I don't believe anyone has reported issues with these.

I got mine put in by Steve Hayworth. He's done a couple hundred of these, and so I felt he was the most experienced option. You may be able to find someone closer to you who will do it.

Does this adversely affect cell phones and other technologies surrounding you?

They're not strong enough to mess with electronics or wipe credit cards. I haven't had any issues there.

I remember a phase of this sweeping through the "body hacking" community (in which I have absolutely no part) a while back, and The Verge did a nice writeup on it.

 

My questions:

 

1. What's the actual, practical, day to day use of this?

2. Did you already have stuff like piercings and tattoos? Especially in unusual numbers/places?

3. Would you consider more extensive work, and where would you draw the line?

What's the actual, practical, day to day use of this?

I do have two uses that I've found - telling whether a device or outlet is powered or not, and telling whether those theft detection things at stores and libraries are turned on (but it's deceptive - some of them don't throw off a strong field). Plus the sensation of it all.

EDIT: I can also feel when the fan in my laptop is really cranking it out vs humming along, which is somewhat useful I guess.

But the biggest 'use' I get out of them is for party tricks. It's much more of a toy than a tool.

Did you already have stuff like piercings and tattoos? Especially in unusual numbers/places?

I don't have any piercings or tattoos. I'd love to get a tattoo, but I haven't settled on a design long enough do it. My personal rule is that I won't let myself get a tattoo before I like a design continuously for a whole year. This hasn't happened yet. I applied this same rule to the magnets - after I decided to get them I waited a year and a half before I actually made the appointment.

Would you consider more extensive work, and where would you draw the line?

The 'body mod' community isn't really my scene. I'm not in it for the aesthetics or personal expression of body modification, so no I'm not considering further work.

That looks like one of Steve Haworth's magnets! I originally had two of the first generation magnets implanted myself, both of which had to come out (one rejected, one I broke the silicone casing on). I had one more of the finalized design put back into the ring finger on my right hand, and I love mine. Cheers brother!

Cheers, and yes it is! What's the biggest thing you can pick up with yours? I max out at about a bottle cap.

Why two of them? Do they interact in away that makes them more useful?

Why two of them?

The general idea is that it gives a more '3D' sensation to feeling the shape of a field. Honestly though, I think one would have done the trick.

If you had the money to spend, would you implant more magnets on your other 3 fingers? Now that would be the full 3d experience

No, I feel like I'm getting enough out of it as is. You also don't want magnets in adjacent fingers or they could pinch and damage the skin between them.

Are these likely to cause problems with metal detectors and other security screeners? My guess is no, because I don't think they're large enough.

Have you had any fun time with ladies (or gents) with piercings?

Problems with metal detectors and other security screeners?

I haven't tried, because I always opt out of the full-body scanners when I go through TSA. (Gotta love those patdowns.) But everyone I've talk to/read about with these have said they're not strong enough to set off metal detectors.

Have you had any fun time with ladies (or gents) with piercings?

Since I got these, I actually did spend some time with a lady friend that had a hood piercing, but alas it was made out of a metal that wasn't magnetic. (Probably silver.) Most earrings and studs are similar, though I did find one with dangling 'rods' that I was able to stick to. (You can tell I'm no earring expert.)

it was more than likely normal 316L surgical grade stainless steel, almost all body jewelry (lips, navels, hoods, etc) is made from this and it is non-magnetic.

Well today I learned!

I think everyone has the same question: WHY?

How much did it cost?

Why, see my comment here.

How much did it cost?

It cost $200 for the first magnet and $150 for the second, for a total of $350.

Does that include the surgery? I assume it does not.

That includes everything, surgery and the magnets.

Was it worth the cost? How did it change your perception of things?

Was it worth the cost?

I think they're priced just about right. I wouldn't want to pay too much more for it.

How did it change your perception of things?

It's not super pervasive - most of the time I can't sense any ambient fields around me and I forget about it. But it does add an extra dimension to electronics and anything magnetic. At this point it feels like a natural extension of my body.

Can you feel the earths magnetic field, and how does your magnets affect everyday life for you?

Can you feel the earths magnetic field?

No, I wish! They aren't sensitive enough for that. Moving around day to day I don't feel ambient fields and can't really tell that I have them in. I have to get within a couple inches of most EM sources to sense it, unless they're really powerful. (Strongest one's I've felt: the motors in subway cars and theft detectors)

There's a device you can buy called the 'Northpaw' which uses a ring of buzzing motor around your ankle to point north and give you a sense of direction. But I feel it's too clunky and intrusive to be worth it right now (and I have a pretty good internal map anyway).

What is your biggest concern regarding the implants?

What is your biggest concern regarding the implants?

That my fingers get smashed and it breaks the coating. I'd have to get them out.

can you do this? http://youtu.be/tShiZ6ezVJU?t=1m33s

Ha, no, but that's awesome.

Would it be painful to be exposed to an extremely strong magnet?

Would it be painful to be exposed to an extremely strong magnet?

I have to be careful when handling other high-strength permanent magnets. It pinches the skin pretty hard and if I left it on for too long it could crush the tissue. I wouldn't want to for more than a minute.

That said, I really want one of those desk toys with like 50 small magnetic balls. They got banned in the US a while ago because young kids were eating them, so I haven't been able to find any.

Possibly not relevant, but do you play guitar?

I'm not sure if the strings would be magnetic, so it might be a moot point, but I imagine having magnet fingers on vibrating metal strings would feel... unique.

Do you play guitar?

Ha, I don't play guitar, so I can't really say if it would interfere with fretting. (What part of the finger do you use? The tip should be fine, the side of the pad might run into issues.) For strumming I see no issues unless you're using an electric guitar, in which case it may or may not mess with the pickups. Something I should try out!

Where did you get the idea/inspiration for it?

Where did you get the idea/inspiration for it?

I read some articles on it and thought it sounded incredibly cool. Then I waited a year and a half to make sure I actually wanted to do it, and then made an appointment. Here's a selection, if you're interested:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/31/5952647/cyborg-conversion-incomplete-my-life-with-finger-implants

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/05/27/magnet-implants-sixth-sense-or-nonsense/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/engineering-senses.html

http://news.bme.com/2007/06/06/so-whats-it-like-having-magnetic-vision-bme-publishers-ring/

http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/8/3177438/cyborg-america-biohackers-grinders-body-hackers

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/tl7pn/iama_24yo_electrical_engineer_with_magnets/

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5898141

Can you feel lightning strikes nearby? Electrical storms?

Can you feel lightning strikes nearby?

Great question, I never thought of that. I actually haven't been in any thunderstorms in the past 6 months, so I couldn't say. My intuition is that it would have to be really close.

Are there any medical risks associated with it? I'm very intrigued to get this done, too. Maybe.

Are there any medical risks associated with it?

Well, neodymium is toxic. Not kill-you toxic, but definitely infect-the-area toxic. (I read a paper on it, I'll see if I can dig it up. EDIT: Here you go) These magnets are neodymium, plated in gold, and coated in parylene (the latter two are biosafe). You can see this in the picture of the magnets in the post. So, if the outer layers ever got punctured, you would have to remove the magnets. You also have the normal risks that come with any surgery and implant.

This version of the magnets have had a good safety record so I'm not too worried, and if worse comes to worse, getting them out would be easy.

I'm very intrigued to get this done, too.

Well I don't know if I can legally recommend you have an unapproved medical procedure. But I will say, that they're awesome, the price is good, and I haven't had any regrets. :)

Have you read "The Eye of God" by James Rollins? One of the characters also has neodymium magnets in his fingers.

No, how was it? The reviews look pretty good so I might have to try it out.

[deleted]

I answer this here. I'd say a 6.5 at first, and a 3-4 for the next few days.

Edit: Comment was asking about pain when I got them in on a 1-10 scale.

I have found these interesting since I read about them a while back. However I rock climb so their location seems like it would be problematic. Can they be put anywhere else that would still allow a large amount of force to be applied through the finger-pad or is this less of a problem than I am assuming?

Rock climbing could be an issue with my placement. If you got them a little farther back and farther up the side (kind of in line with the base of your fingernail) that might work better, but you'd be farther away from the nerve cluster.

Have you ever thought of (or encountered) the danger of touching an extremely strong magnet, one that would sooner rip the implants out of your skin than be pulled away?

Have you ever thought of (or encountered) the danger of touching an extremely strong magnet, one that would sooner rip the implants out of your skin than be pulled away?

There's nothing like that in nature, and I would feel such a magnet from a ways off before touching it. Anywhere where this would be a problem would have warning signs about emptying your pockets of metal.

ehh, I've fooled around with sizable electromagnets in rooms of engineering equipment that I can say with certainty would be stronger than some flimsy skin. Something the size of a coffee mug.

If I touched it, maybe. But EMF falls off with r² , so a safe distance is still pretty close. I would very likely feel it and have time to react.

Have you at any point, felt any sudden unusual/unexplained changes in magnetic field? Can you tell the direction of the field from these oscillations?

Can you tell the direction of the field?

For static fields given off by permanent magnets, I can tell the polarity of how it's oriented from whether the force is repulsive (North-North or South-South) or attractive (North-South). I can find the source of both static and alternating fields by moving towards the direction of stronger force.

Have you at any point, felt any sudden unusual/unexplained changes in magnetic field?

I'm often surprised walking around by where I find strong fields - the other day I went to push a crosswalk button and the magnet in my finger flipped! This happens if I bring it close enough to a same-pole permanent magnet.

That sounds painful - does the magnet moving that much in your finger hurt?

That sounds painful - does the magnet moving that much in your finger hurt?

The magnet flipping doesn't hurt, but it is uncomfortable. It has gotten flipped 'on-end' before a few times, and I just rub it back flat. It sits in its own little pocket of tissue, so even with the flipping it doesn't move around at all inside my finger.

Is there any danger to having them implanted like bodily rejection or the like?

Also, just thanks for doing this AMA

Is there any danger to having them implanted like bodily rejection?

There's always a risk of the body rejecting implants. The outside coating of parylene is what they coat other implants like pacemakers with, so the risk of an immune response wasn't high. I also wasn't allowed to play with them at all for a month afterwards so it could heal well.

No problem, glad people enjoyed it.

How did you avoid using them for that time?

It's pretty easy to avoid strong magnets, they're not that common. I wasn't able to pick up any vibrating fields until about 2 weeks in.

I'm probably late to the party but do you sense your cell phone about to ring?

No. Those would be radio waves, which are many orders of magnitude weaker and higher frequency than the EMFs I can feel. I can feel from around 0-600Hz.

Do you wish that you could turn them off sometime ? When ?

Do you wish that you could turn them off sometime?

Nope, they're really unobtrusive and I haven't regretted them.

Where can I get this done?

Where can I get this done?

I got mine done by Steve Hayworth. He travels around, so I waited until he came to my area. There are other people who know how (he was actually teaching a group while putting mine in), but I don't know who they are.

Really late to the party, but have you ever played with a tesla coil since getting these implanted?

I haven't but I'd love to!

Where have you sensed magnetic fields that you didn't expect?

Where have you sensed magnetic fields that you didn't expect?

Subway car was a big one, I could feel the motors underneath.

Also, there are a lot of poorly shielded microwaves out there.

Why would microwaves affect magnets?

Microwave ovens use high-current magnetrons to generate the microwaves that cook your food. These put off a pretty strong field.

I realise this is 3 days old now, but still there is this 1 question i have to ask.

In theory if you had strong enough magnets in your fingers(or under your feet) you could actually walk on what would appear to be think air? I mean if you had other magnets under you somehow, and they where to repel the ones you have in you. Of course then you would be able to walk in on air.

I guess it had to be just enough "force" or whatever to make it work but still would be an amazing feeling i think.

Sure, you could generate enough force to lift a person - this is actually exactly how maglev trains work. In terms of putting the magnets in a pair of shoes (you would definitely not want to implant anything), the biggest problem is not force, but stability. The closest stable state for a pair of repulsive magnetic shoes is to flip around and stick to the ground, crushing your foot in the process. You would need some clever design and hefty corrective feedback (as well as good body strength) to be able to float using magnets on your shoes.

Also, you wouldn't have traction, so I don't know how well walking would work!

As a side note, my magnets are in no way load bearing. They are imbedded in soft tissues that can't support heavy loading. You would have to anchor something to your skeletal framework, but that is not a good health idea in the slightest.

What is the end game goal here? Assuming that you are more of a preliminary case, what could advancement in this area provide as 'useful'?

What is the end game goal here? Assuming that you are more of a preliminary case, what could advancement in this area provide as 'useful'?

This is the end game, there's not much more down this avenue. Some people have used it as an interface for extending other senses, and I could imagine it being used as haptic touch feedback for a videogame/remote sensing application. But it would be far easier to have something external rather than internal. I got the implants because I wanted it to be 'always on'.

EDIT: See this paper for some possible applications: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5898141 download link

This is really cool! Never heard of this before.

Have you ever experienced any downsides to having them implanted?

Any downsides?

No MRI is the big one, I wrote about it here.

I also can't put too much direct pressure on them. This doesn't really affect my grip - I can do everything fine including weightlifting (which is probably the biggest force I'll experience). But if I ever did rock climbing it would probably be a bit of an impairment.

I heard about this a few years ago, and thought it was cool.

What orientation were the magnets placed? If you orientate your fingers towards each other, do they attract or repel?

Any downsides?
Setting off metal detectors?
Extra questioning from the TSA before flights?
Erasing old school floppy disks with your homework on it?
Get lost hiking because you held the compass in your left hand?
Horrible accidents hooking up with women who have a hood or nipple piercing?

What orientation were the magnets placed?

The magnets lie flat (take a look at the picture of them in the post) on the side of my finger pads. I'm not sure whether the North or South sides are facing outwards right now, because sometimes they flip if exposed to a really strong permanent magnet. This doesn't hurt, but it is a little surprising and uncomfortable. And they don't move around - each of them sits in a little pocket of tissue.

If you orientate your fingers towards each other, do they attract or repel?

There's a finger between them, and they're purposefully placed so I can't move my fingers to a position where they would interact. If you got them in the same finger or adjacent fingers, there would be a danger of them pinching together in your sleep and crushing the skin between them from the pressure.

(No one uses floppy's or compasses any more, and I've actually answered all your other questions elsewhere.)

Couldn't the magnet interfere with a phone's built-in compass though?

I've tried that with my iphone but couldn't get it to do anything.

Would it be possible to simulate something like this by having magnetic plugs (earrings) or some other piece of jewelry? I'm very intrigued but not sure that I could commit to something so serious.

Would it be possible to simulate something like this by having magnetic plugs (earrings) or some other piece of jewelry?

Yeah, I read about someone who glued a magnet to his finger for a day to try it out. Apparently it worked but wasn't as sensitive as the implant. I'll see if I can find a link.

EDIT: Here you go!

What body modification will you do next? Third eye to allow you to see in infrared?

Vision corrective surgery. I'm leaning PRK over LASIK (it seems more future proof). But I'll have to graduate and get an income first. My optometrist tells me I correct to 20/10 with contacts, so I'm looking forward to making that permanent.

That's the only thing on my list right now.

I've been thinking of getting this done to me, you already stated the surprisingly affordable price, but I'm worried about the pain. How much does the actual process of getting it in there hurt? And does it hurt in everyday use?

How much does the actual process of getting it in there hurt?

It didn't hurt that much, all things considered. My finger was numbed with ice before the procedure, and while it did hurt it was definitely tolerable. There was never any sharp pain, but it did ache for a few days afterwards.

These magnets seem a bit clunky considering that they're being put under your skin. You can quite easily see the bump around the magnet after they've been implanted. You also said it flipped which I can imagine would be really uncomfortable.

Do you feel the magnets on your finger? I mean, do you get a feeling like there is something there, or are you so accustomed to them that you only notice them when there's magnetic fields nearby?

Also, would you prefer flatter magnets?

These magnets seem a bit clunky.

Looking at my fingers, there's no way you would tell there was anything different unless I told you or you were specifically looking for them. The first 'proof' picture is a good example - I took those 2-month pictures at angles to show the bumps at their most obvious. Many people, even after I tell them and tell them to touch it, can't feel them at first. They're very inconspicuous day-to-day.

Do you feel the magnets on your finger?

Nope, I completely forget I have them most of the time. It's only when there's direct pressure or a nearby magnetic field that I notice them.

Having read your, and others, description of what's implanted and the sensations, how is this substantively different than just supergluing the magnets to your fingertips?

Yeah, I get that it's more "sensitive" as you've sliced open a sensitive part of the body, shoved magnets in there, and sewn it back up, but from what I can tell it's still only more sensitive in a purely tactile sense.

You don't seem to be perceiving the nature of magnetic fields at any more fundemental or experiential level than I do when I wave one magnet over another.

You're right, there is no fundamental difference in sensation, besides it being internal. I opted for this route because I liked the 'always on' aspect, as well as the feeling that this was an extension of my body rather than feedback from a tool.

Wouldn't it pinch the fuck out of your finger if you tried to pick up a strong magnet?

It does. The pinch is a little painful and I wouldn't want to hold a strong magnet like that for more than about 60 seconds or it could damage the skin.

Why did you put them in your left hand? Are you left handed? If so, does it hinder any activities?

Why did you put them in your left hand?

I'm right handed. I put them in my left hand in case anything went wrong - it would suck but I would still have full use of my dominant hand. Gladly, everything is fine.

What do you do when the magnetism in those dies? How long will it last, do you think?

How long will it last, do you think?

I'm not sure about the lifespan of neodymium magnets. If anyone has sources on that I'd love to see them. I do know that people have had them from 7-8 years and still are getting the same sensation.

Do they work to find nails in drywall? This would be an awesome application as a studfinder to mount things to your walls.

Do they work to find nails in drywall?

I heard about a guy using his as a studfinder. I just tried running my hand along the wall and couldn't feel anything, so maybe I'm not sensitive enough. I'll try next time I do home repair.

Does touching someone else give the magnets sensation?

No, people aren't magnetic.

Damn, I think I missed this one. Just to say - it's really interesting/impressive what you are doing and science needs lunatics like you to voluntarily undergo (albeit lowish risk) procedures for research, thank you. What do you think will be the next step or do you think this has hit a dead end now? How far would you go with this (e.g. a magnet implanted in the brain perhaps?). Are there any other 'senses' out there to be explored do you think? (and how...for instance a chip receiving radio waves/xrays/radiation that vibrated placed on a nerve cluster or something like that).

See this comment. Implants like this in the brain is a horrible idea, it sounds incredibly unsafe and simply wouldn't work as you have no mechanoreceptors in grey matter. There are plenty of other senses you could extend/tap into, but the framework for all that is a very long way off.

I like working out. To what extent would I begin to have problems? Say, a few push ups. Would I get hurt?

I do weight training and have zero issues. You don't really use your fingertips when working out: pressure is either going on your wrist/palm when pushing, or the meat of your fingers when pulling.

Do you feel the new to draw attention to yourself in other ways ; garish tattoos, ear stretching, etc?

Has this fulfilled your desire to feel different?

No, see this comment.

And yes, now I have no doubt in my mind that I am a special little snowflake.