Although stress and spicy foods can't help, the real cause of the painful holes in the stomach lining called ulcers is Helicobacter pylori bacteria. This was proved by two Australian physicians who purposely ingested the bacteria causing them to develop the gastritis inflammation that accompanies ulcers. Talk about guts!

Each GIANTmicrobe comes with a picture and information about the real microbe it represents. Great as a fun gift, GIANTmicrobes also make outstanding visual educational tools.

This stuffed GIANTmicrobe of Helicobacter pylori is 1,000,000 times the size of the actual bacteria, measuring about 2 and a half inches around and 1 foot in overall length.