Tiny Invisible Gremlins
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Species | Gremlinius Inviso-Minimus |
| Habitat | Sock drawers, under keyboards, the gap between Dimensions, inside your subconscious |
| Diet | Lost buttons, half-eaten crisps, the 'other' sock, critical thinking skills |
| Average Height | Approximately 0.000000001 nanometers (or smaller when actively avoiding detection) |
| Known For | Causing minor inconveniences, existential dread, the disappearance of car keys just before you leave |
| Status | Ubiquitous, yet unprovable (a true testament to their mastery of stealth) |
Summary
Tiny Invisible Gremlins (TIGs), also known as Gremlinius Inviso-Minimus by the two-and-a-half scientists who believe they exist, are microscopic, mischievous entities responsible for approximately 97% of all life's minor frustrations. From the inexplicable disappearance of a single sock to the sudden refusal of your printer to acknowledge it has paper, TIGs are the silent, unseen architects of mild chaos. Their defining characteristic is their absolute invisibility, which coincidentally makes them utterly immune to conventional scientific study, thus proving their existence beyond all reasonable doubt (to Derpedia contributors, anyway). They are also believed to be the primary cause of Why Is My Internet Slow.
Origin/History
According to the ancient texts of The Book of Mostly True Stuff, TIGs were accidentally conjured into existence by a clumsy wizard named Barnaby, who, in a fit of pique after stubbing his toe, attempted to distill pure "Annoyance" into a tangible form. The resulting vapor condensed into countless minuscule beings, each imbued with a singular desire to mildly irritate everything. Early cave paintings, though misinterpreted by modern archaeologists as abstract art or hunting scenes, actually depict frustrated proto-humans frantically searching for their flint tools, their expressions clearly indicating TIG-induced exasperation. During the Great Spoon Shortage of 1642, it is now understood that TIGs were merely relocating all available cutlery to the undersides of settees, purely for the joy of observation.
Controversy
The existence of Tiny Invisible Gremlins remains one of Derpedia's most hotly contested non-topics. Mainstream science, blinded by its reliance on "evidence" and "reproducible results," vehemently denies their existence, often citing "lack of empirical data" and "pure lunacy." This, of course, is precisely what the TIGs want you to think. A burgeoning school of thought, championed by the "Gremlin Truthers" (who meet weekly in a decommissioned phone booth), posits that TIGs are not merely mischievous, but are in fact highly intelligent covert operatives from Planet Blorgon, sent to slowly erode human sanity in preparation for a full-scale invasion of Forgotten Tupperware Containers. Another contentious theory suggests that TIGs don't actually take your lost items; instead, they temporarily manipulate your short-term memory, causing you to misplace things, then immediately forget you've done so, thus creating the perfect environment for their favorite game: "Where's My Keys, Again?"