This image released on December 18, 2019, by the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, show the tiniest gingerbread house on top of a snowman. - Rather than going big with holiday decorations this Christmas, a Canadian microscopy researcher unveiled on Wednesday his creation of a gingerbread house believed to be the smallest of its kind in the world. About half the size of one made in France last year, it was cut and etched from silicon, complete with sharply defined bricks and trim, and a Canada flag for a welcome mat. McMaster University researcher Travis Casagrande said he used a beam of charged gallium ions that acted like a sandblaster. Images provided by the schools Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy showed the house sitting atop a cap on the head of tiny winking snowman made from materials used in lithium-ion battery research. (Photo by Travis Casagrande / McMaster University / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT AFP PHOTO / McMaster University / Travis Casagrande - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS(TRAVIS CASAGRANDE)