The principle behind whispering galleries - where words spoken softly beneath a domed ceiling or in a vault can be clearly heard on the opposite side of the chamber - has been used to achieve what could prove to be a significant breakthrough in the miniaturization of lasers. Ultrasmall lasers, i.e., nanoscale, promise a wide variety of intriguing applications, including superfast communications and data handling (photonics), and optical microchips for instant and detailed chemical analyses.