Scientists have been putting names to species for hundreds of years, with Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus revolutionizing science with his binomial system — the foundation of modern taxonomy — in the 1750s. And while it may seem unlikely that any species could escape our gaze after centuries of searching, it turns out Mother Nature is pretty good at hide-and-seek. Today, scientists are aware of 1.7 million species, from the simple sea sponge to the gargantuan African bush elephant, yet estimates suggest there could be several million more species left to discover, or more. In fact, we may only know about 20% of all the species that are out there. Many of these yet-to-be-discovered animals live in some of the hardest-to-reach places, such as dense rainforests or the depths of the ocean. And many of them are incredibly tiny. 

All arachnids are spiders.

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“Arachnid” likely conjures up images of our favorite eight-legged friends, but there are other members of this creepy-crawly family. Mites, ticks, harvestmen, and scorpions are some of the other creatures that fall under the arachnid umbrella, alongside spiders.

Take, for instance, the spider. In April 2022, scientists announced that they’d discovered their 50,000th species of spider, Guriurius minuano, a member of the Salticidae family of jumping spiders. Found in the shrubs and trees of some parts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, this spider is one of over 6,000 jumping spiders already discovered — and it won’t be the last. According to the World Spider Catalog maintained at the Natural History Museum of Bern in Switzerland, Guriurius minuano is only the halfway point, as they expect another 50,000 spiders will be discovered in the next 100 years. Thanks to evolution, genetic mutation, and the many mysteries of nature, the work Linnaeus began so many years ago may never truly end.

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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.

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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.

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Not unlike human fingerprints, the pattern of every tiger’s stripes is one of a kind. And though those markings are invariably beautiful, they aren’t just for decoration. Biologists refer to tiger stripes as an example of disruptive coloration, as their vertical slashes help them hide in plain sight by breaking up their shape and size so they blend in with tall grass, trees, and other camouflage-friendly environments. Tigers are solitary hunters who ambush their prey, so the ability to remain undetected while on the hunt is key to their survival.

Tigers are the largest cat species in the world.

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Lions may be the king of the jungle, but they aren’t the biggest cat. That title belongs to Panthera tigris, which can reach a length of 10 feet and weigh as much as 660 pounds — 100 pounds more than lions and several times as many as the average jaguar.

They’re also helped by the fact that their prey don’t see colors the way we do. Deer, for instance, can process short and mid-wavelength colors such as green and blue but not long wavelength hues such as red and orange. That means a tiger lurking in the grass won’t look bright orange — it will actually appear green to its prey, making it difficult to differentiate from its surroundings. Markings also differ among subspecies, with Sumatran tigers having the narrowest stripes and Siberian tigers having fewer than the rest of their big cat brethren.

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