The Lemming is a small furry rodent resembling a gerbil, residing in Greenland and Iceland . They were incorrectly rumored to have suicidal tendencies wherein they would spontaneously jump off cliffs in herds. In the 1950's, Disney sent a cameraman to Iceland to capture footage of this. Upon finding out that the rumor was false, the cameraman somehow arranged to have the lemmings herded off a cliff while he filmed. Hence, the misinformation lives on to this day.
Lemmings are interesting creatures in other ways too. For instance, they will die if exposed to temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods. They also exhibit a photoperiodic response, i.e., they turn fat and white when exposed to short day lengths under laboratory conditions, and skinny and brown under long day lengths. The short day lemmings are amazingly cute.
The Lemmings have little relevance to American life these days, except that, were they really prone to jump off cliffs in herds, they would make a great metaphor for the current Administration. Here's the latest on the Gonzalez hearings. I'm so embarrassed for that guy. Why doesn't he just go hide under a rock?
1 comment:
Go lemmings go!
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