Despite the stereotype we’ve seen perpetuated in cartoons, the idea that mice go wild for cheese isn’t quite accurate. While mice may nibble on cheese if it’s the only available food source, they strongly prefer sugary and carbohydrate-rich options such as seeds, grains, fruits, chocolate, and especially peanut butter. In fact, a mouse’s strong sense of smell actually causes them to be repelled by some stinky cheeses. Soft cheeses also pose a choking hazard for mice due to the critter’s lack of a natural gag reflex.

The reason behind this myth is hard to pinpoint, but one theory relates to how cheese was stored prior to refrigeration. Cheese was usually kept out of the sun in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place (such as a cave or pantry) and generally wasn’t tightly sealed. In an interview with Scientific American, psychologist David Holmes suggested mice may have nibbled on the exposed cheese while searching for other food, leading to their reputation as cheese-fiends.

Cheez Whiz debuted in the United States.

fact

FIB

Ready to reveal?

Confirm your email to play the next question?

sign up!

Please enter valid email.

Sign up

Oops, incorrect!

It's a fib

While Cheez Whiz is associated with American cuisine, it actually debuted in Britain in 1952. Kraft unveiled canned Cheez Whiz as a shortcut for preparing the English dish of Welsh rarebit. The product proved so successful that it was introduced to the U.S. market in July 1953.

The belief that mice prefer cheese isn’t a recent stereotype, but rather one that dates back millennia. The Roman philosopher Seneca, who lived in the first century CE, once wrote, “‘Mouse’ is a syllable. Now a mouse eats its cheese; therefore, a syllable eats cheese,” suggesting mice were associated with cheese as far back as ancient Rome. Shakespeare later connected mice with cheese in plays such as King Lear and Troilus and Cressida, long before Hanna-Barbera drilled it home with Tom and Jerry in the 20th century.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

Humans are often thought of as the smartest animals, and one of the perks of our top-notch brains (with a little help from our opposable thumbs) is supposedly that we’re the only species that can use tools. That’s what we used to think, anyway. More recently, research has shown that our tool-use ability is not as unique as we once believed. Take, for instance, the capuchin monkey. Research published in 2019 showed that these pint-sized creatures, native to Central and South America — and sometimes known as “organ grinder” monkeys — have been using stone tools to process food for more than 3,000 years. 

Cappuccinos and capuchin monkeys were both named for the same thing.

fact

FIB

Ready to reveal?

Confirm your email to play the next question?

sign up!

Please enter valid email.

Sign up

Oops, incorrect!

It's a fact

The words “cappuccino” and “capuchin” both come from Capuchin friars, a Christian order established in 1528. The friars were known for their hoods, or “cappucio” in Latin, and brown robes — whose color was similar to the monkeys and the coffee beverage.

Archaeologists analyzing a site in Brazil’s Serra da Capivara National Park discovered that the monkeys had used rounded quartzite stones to smash open cashew husks against tree roots or stone “anvils.” After digging through layers of sediment in four phases of excavation, the scientists found stone tools that had been used by the capuchins dating back around 3,000 years. The researchers also found signs that the monkeys’ tool use had changed over time — the creatures first used smaller stone tools, and then around 560 years ago, switched to larger ones, which may have meant they were eating harder foods, according to National Geographic. This evolution could have occurred due to different groups of capuchins moving into the area, or a change in the local plants. Either way, the study marked the first time such an evolution in tool use had been seen in a nonhuman species. Scientists suspect that further exploration of this site, and others like it, could give an unprecedented look at humanity’s own tool-use evolution, which began millions of years ago. Furthermore, primates — the taxonomic order to which humans also belong — aren’t the only ones gifted with brains capable of using tools. Elephants, dolphins, and a variety of birds are only a few of the other species that use tools — whether sticks, rocks, or tree limbs — to survive and thrive on planet Earth.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

South America is known for its stunning avian diversity, with colorful toucans, ubiquitous parrots, and an untold number of other feathered friends. (Seriously, there are new species being discovered every year.) But no country in South America — or the world, for that matter — compares to Colombia. With around 1,900 bird species within its borders, the country hosts nearly 20% of all avian species in the world, which is more than any other nation. Although some of the most common varieties — like sparrows, tanagers, and finches — may be recognizable to birders in more northern climates, the critically endangered blue-billed curassow (Crax alberti) and the rare Cauca guan (Penelope perspicax) are just a few of the dozens of species endemic to Colombia.

The toucan is the national animal of Colombia.

fact

FIB

Ready to reveal?

Confirm your email to play the next question?

sign up!

Please enter valid email.

Sign up

Oops, incorrect!

It's a fib

Although Colombia is home to many toucans, the country’s national animal is the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus). One of the world’s largest birds of prey, it even adorns Colombia’s coat of arms.

And the country takes its natural wonders seriously. As one of the most biodiverse nations in the world, with the Amazon taking up 35% of the country’s landmass, Colombia committed to declaring 30% of its land a protected area by 2030 — and got it done eight years early. A 2023 study also found that Colombia takes an unusual approach to conserving its natural areas by adding biodiversity protection as a secondary goal of many other policy initiatives, such as ones addressing poverty and civil strife. That doesn’t mean Colombia is immune to threats of deforestation and climate change, but the country is working hard to protect its bounty — which includes 10% of the world’s total species. 

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email