When mice live in the wild, they typically only live for about six months. This is mostly because they’re a good source of food for other animals. However, in a controlled environment, like being kept as a pet, they can live up to two years.
100 Mind-Blowing Mice Facts
Suriphobia is the fear of mice.
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902. He wrote 27 books, including Of Mice and Men.
Ancient Egyptians used dead mice to ease toothaches. In Ancient Egypt, people put a dead mouse in their mouth if they had a toothache, according to Nathan Belofsky’s book Strange Medicine: A Shocking History of Real Medical Practices Through the Ages. Mice were also used as a warts remedy in Elizabethan England.
Your brain synapses shrink while you sleep. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Centre for Sleep and Consciousness studied mice to observe what happens to their brains while they sleep. Dr Chiara Cirelli and Dr Giulio Tononi found an 18 per cent decrease in the size of synapses after a few hours of sleep. Don’t worry, though—this nighttime brain shrinkage helps your cognitive abilities.
At birth, baby pandas are smaller than mice. Giant pandas may grow to over 6 feet, but one of the interesting fun facts about them is their tiny size upon birth. A newborn panda cub weighs 3-5 ounces and is the measly size of a butter stick. That’s almost 1/900th the size of its mother!
Ancient Egyptians used dead mice for toothaches. In Ancient Egypt, people soothed their toothaches by putting a dead mouse in their mouth. Sometimes, the Ancient Egyptians would even mix other ingredients with these mice, to form a paste that they would apply to the affected tooth.
Space travel makes mice run in circles. NASA once sent 20 rodents to the International Space Station to see how the effects of space affected mice. Not long after they got there, the mice all started running in loops inside their cages. No one is exactly sure why this occurred, but researchers stated that the critters might’ve just been enjoying their time in space.
Mice typically only live for 6 months in the wild. This is mainly due to the number of predators that eat them. However, if they are kept as pets, their life span increases significantly by two years.
Walt Disney was afraid of mice. Although Disney’s most iconic character is a mouse, Walt Disney feared mice.
Mice in Central America can sing almost 100 notes. Scotinomys teguina, or Alston’s singing mouse are native to Central America. They are real-life musically inclined rats.
The smaller the animal is, the slower they can process time. How animals perceive time can depend on how quickly the brain processes new information. Animals like mice or lizards will experience time differently than horses or dogs.
Ancient Egyptians put dead mice in their mouths to help toothaches.
Recorders used to be a popular instrument. Many people around the world will fondly recall the moment in their early schooling years when they no longer had to screech out a horrifying rendition of Three Blind Mice or something along those lines on a recorder. This seemingly useless musical instrument, while shunned today, was all the rage back in the Baroque period of the early 1700s. It was so quiet that it was eventually replaced with the significantly louder flute so that the rest of the orchestra wouldn’t drown it out.
The dog ate John Steinbeck’s homework—literally. The author’s pup chewed up an early version of Of Mice and Men. “I was pretty mad, but the poor fellow may have been acting critically,” he wrote.
London has the world’s longest-running show: At St. Martins Theatre in the West End in London, the world’s longest-running show is being played. Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been running since 1952, which means that the show has been running for more than 70 years now. The show started as a radio play, called Three Blind Mice, and follows the story of seven strangers snowed in at a home in the countryside.
Tiny Tribute: Two mice fighting over a slice of cheese is London’s smallest statue. The tale behind this small artwork is rather heartbreaking. During the construction, two of the monument’s constructors fought over a sandwich that was later discovered to have been consumed by a mouse.
The Longest-Running Show in the World Is in London: The longest-running performance in the world is being performed at St. Martins Theatre in London’s West End. Considering that Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap debuted in 1952, the show has been airing for over 70 years to this day. The plot of the show, which began as a radio play named Three Blind Mice, centres on seven strangers who become stuck at a rural house due to snowfall.