Lemmings Don't Leap: A podcast about things you likely know but are probably wrong about
About Us
The Lemmings Don’t Leap podcast is developed, researched, written, and narrated by Allan Britnell. Allan studied journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University (back when it was called Ryerson Polytechnic). It was there that he first learned about and grew to love the idea of substantive fact-checking. In short, for publications that follow the practice, every single factual detail within a story is verified, ideally by at least two or three different sources, before it is published. This ranges from the spelling of a quoted source’s name and their age and job title, if given, to stats, figures, and even facts shared within a quote.
Early in his career, he did a lot of fact-checking work for various Canadian magazines (Toronto Life, Cottage Life, Homemakers, etc.) While checking a nature article for Cottage Life, he first stumbled upon a 1981 episode of CBC’s Fifth Estate, which exposed how a Disney documentary crew faked the filming of lemmings suicidally leaping off a cliff into the ocean.
Probably from seeing the original Disney documentary, Allan thought he knew for a "fact" that lemmings committed mass suicide when faced with food shortages. But it turns out it simply wasn't true. Which got him wondering what other "facts" he'd be told that were wrong.
That kernel stuck and slowly grew until now, when it finally leaps forth as Lemmings Don’t Leap: A podcast about things you probably know, but are likely wrong about.
Why make the Lemmings Don’t Leap podcast?
Does knowing that lemmings don’t really commit mass suicide change anything in your day-to-day life? Probably not.
Does learning that Christopher Columbus had nothing to do with proving that the Earth was round have an impact? Not really, but it does give you a quick roundup of facts to spew if you ever find yourself trapped in conversation with a Flat Earther.
Will it change anything in your life knowing that Vikings didn’t wear horns on their helmets? Unless you’re planning on making a historically accurate Halloween costume, not likely.
But I firmly believe that facts matter. And in our increasingly digital, social media-obsessed, AI-driven world, it can be hard to sort out truth from fiction. My goal with Lemmings Don’t Leap is to encourage people to think twice about the “facts” they take for granted, and cast a critical lens on the information that they’re bombarded with on a daily basis.
I also hope you enjoy learning these little tidbits of history and culture as much as I do.
Disclaimer
This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes. Every factual element of each episode is cross-checked using credible sources and verified to the best of our ability.
Lemmings Don't Leap: A podcast about things you likely know but are probably wrong about
The Five False Fact About Animals Episode
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In our second Five False Facts episode, we explore five commonly held beliefs about animals that are wildly wrong. From the age of dogs to the short-term memory affliction of goldfish... Um, we forget where we were going from here.
Welcome to the Five False Facts About Animals episode of Lemmings Don’t Leap.
While most editions of the Lemmings Don’t Leap podcast focus on a single topic, sometimes we like to take a look at five different items that are all related. In this case, it’s five things you likely know about animals, but are probably wrong about.
Let’s start with a false fact about humanity’s best friend: dogs.
It’s a commonly held belief that one year of a dog’s life is equal to seven years in a human. So, if you have a one-year-old puppy, he’s the same age as your seven-year-old human. By the time that dog is 3, he’s 21, and a 10-year-old canine is the equivalent of a 70-year-old.
This idea is wrong on many levels.
Anyone who is a parent to kids and dogs knows that a one-year-old puppy does not have the maturity level – such that it is – of a seven-year-old kid.
The math is complicated and depends on the breed, body size, and a variety of other environmental factors.
This idea seems to date back to the 1950s and comes from a ratio that, at that time, the average American lived to be 70, and most dogs seemed to live about 10 years. So, one dog year, therefore, became equal to 10 human years.
Next, let’s head to the beach. If you’ve ever spent time on a lake in the northern United States or in Canada’s various cottage country regions, you’ve likely heard the iconic call of a loon.
[Audio clip from On Golden Pond.]
People also romanticize these birds because they mate for life.
Unfortunately, they don’t. While most loons will only have two or three partners in their lifetime, they’re generally not monogamous. They’ll find new partners if one dies, or even if they’re unable to produce offspring.
Sticking with aquatics, it’s a well-known fact that goldfish have short memories.
[Audio clip from Ted Lasso.]
Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the goldfish. In fact, studies have shown they can retain memories for up to three months. They can even be taught tricks, like pushing on one coloured lever over another to get a food reward.
Now it’s time to get batty. Have to ever stumbled around in the dark, feeling like you’re blind as a bat? While, you’re actually blinder than a bat.
While the power of their vision varies by species, bats have faster visual acuity, more cones, and can detect more wavelengths of light than humans, which doesn’t even factor in their radar-like echolocation skills. Even if that last sentence sounded like Latin, suffice-it to say that a bat will never get lost in a dark room.
Finally, we all know that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they’re scared of something, and we say that someone who is being willfully ignorant does the same. This concept dates back to at least ancient Rome.
The fact is, ostriches lay their eggs in sand, and will often be seen poking their heads on the ground to turn the eggs around.
So, don’t bury your head in the sand and believe what everyone tells you.
See also the launch episode about lemmings, which explains why this podcast is called Lemmings Don’t Leap.
Find all episodes along with transcripts and show notes at Lemmings Don’t Leap dot Buzzsprout dot com, or wherever you get your podcasts.
hare your comments, critiques and suggestions for future episodes at LemmingsDontLeapPodcast@gmail.com.
Show Notes
Dogs
This American Kennel Club page is one of many that break down the numbers.
Loons
Here’s a detailed, multi-media site about loons from Hinterland Who’s Who, produced by the Canadian Wildlife Foundation.
Goldfish
This LiveScience article thoroughly debunks the 3- or 10-second goldfish memory myth.
Bats
Bat Conservation International will open your eyes to the truth about bat vision.
Ostriches
This article from McGill University in Montreal digs into the bury your head in the sand myth.
