/oss/taxonomy/term/2704/all en /oss/article/did-you-know/ostriches-do-not-really-stick-their-heads-sand <p>Despite popular misconception, ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand. This myth <a href="https://www.scienceworld.ca/blog/do-ostriches-really-bury-their-heads-sand">originated in ancient Rome</a> and is so pervasive that it’s used as a common metaphor for someone avoiding their problems. It’s thought that this belief began after observing ostriches nesting and being stalked by predators.</p> Sun, 20 Aug 2017 15:07:39 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2604 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/lies-leaping-lemmings <p>You’ve likely heard phrases like ‘don’t be a lemming’, or your run of the mill internet troll scream-typing about how we’re all following our governments ‘like lemmings, over the cliff to our doom!’ What you might not know though is that the idea of the suicidal lemmings is a <a href="http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.asp">completely fabricated one</a>. <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/50957/do-lemmings-really-run-cliffs-their-death">Lemmings do not jump to their doom off of cliffs.</a></p> Wed, 02 Aug 2017 15:26:27 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2587 at /oss