The Fascinating Lie About Lemmings

We all know two things about them. One is false.

Pictured: not a lemming. A mouse, a close relative of the lemming. Weirdly enough, no stock photos of lemmings available. Photo by Ricky Kharawala on Unsplash

If someone stopped you on the street and offered you a chunk of cash to tell them everything that you knew about lemmings, let’s say, a hundred bucks per fact, how much would you earn?

For me, I’d walk away with a cool $200. I know two things about lemmings: they’re a small rodent of some sort, and they will follow each other, even off a cliff, in an apparent act of mass suicide. That’s why devoted followers of a practice or ideal are sometimes disparagingly referred to as lemmings.

One of these facts is wrong — and it’s not the rodent one.

But even more fascinating than the incorrect data is how we came to collectively believe that it’s true.

So today, let’s learn a little more about lemmings — what they are, what they do, and how the myth of mass suicide came to be associated with this particular animal.

Lemmings, Your Basic Arctic Rodent

First off, here’s your average lemming:

Tunturisopuli Lemmus Lemmus, common name “lemming.” Wanted for crimes against moss, grass, and lichen. Source.

They’re about six inches long when fully grown, and are closely related to mice, rats…