1.   At the entrance, a sticky mat removes dirt from shoes.

2.   Generations of sticky mats of bottom-dwelling bacteria growing in warm shallow waters trap layer upon layer of sediments that eventually harden into rock, forming stromatolites.

3.   Inside the fab, people step on a sticky mat to remove any trace materials their boots might have picked up in the locker room.

4.   These processes did not require the presence of bacteria and algae in sticky mats to trap and bind and otherwise organize the growth of the sedimentary surface.