The rice-grain-sized bone that helps you hear

A closer look

While your femur gets all the glory for holding up your massive body weight, the real MVP is the stapes bone hiding in your middle ear. Measuring a pathetic three millimeters in length, this stirrup-shaped bone is roughly the size of a grain of rice. Despite its laughable size, it plays a critical role in conducting sound vibrations from the eardrum to your inner ear. Without this microscopic hero violently vibrating against a membrane all day, you would not be able to hear your boss complaining about your performance.