4 ms·

Any comment on lemmings being suicidal in popular culture is incomplete if it doesn't credit Disney for chasing a few of the "nasty little rodents" off a cliff.

• aidos 11y ago
  I did like that note in the post "In the popular imagination, for some reason, we interpret this as consistent and collective suicide." Where "some reason" is because TV told us so. I wonder where the original myth came from. Obviously the population fluctuation gave rise to it - but someone decided they were committing mass suicide. I'd love to know how much of a "fact" it was before the Disney piece.
• kahirsch 11y ago
  1823 Travels Through Sweden, Norway ... https://books.google.com/books?id=qrNfAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA152&dq=lemmings+suicide https://books.google.com/books?id=qrNfAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA152&dq=l... 1836 The Mirror of Literature https://books.google.com/books?id=amBEAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA21&dq=lemmings https://books.google.com/books?id=amBEAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA21&d... 1841 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh https://books.google.com/books?id=tC4_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA449&dq=%22throw+themselves%22 https://books.google.com/books?id=tC4_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA449&dq=%... 1874 Popular Science https://books.google.com/books?id=_B8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA347&dq=lemmings https://books.google.com/books?id=_B8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA347&dq=l... 1877 Popular Science https://books.google.com/books?id=gisDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA404&dq=perishes+voluntarily https://books.google.com/books?id=gisDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA404&dq=p... 1947 Life Magazine https://books.google.com/books?id=bkgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA81&dq=%22death+march%22 https://books.google.com/books?id=bkgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA81&dq=%2... 1952 Boys Life https://books.google.com/books?id=QXO4WXYxnAwC&pg=PA50&dq=%22death+march%22 https://books.google.com/books?id=QXO4WXYxnAwC&pg=PA50&dq=%2... 1953 Natural Religion and Christian Theology https://books.google.com/books?id=j0yEUu8A5hEC&pg=PA116&dq=lemmings+suicide https://books.google.com/books?id=j0yEUu8A5hEC&pg=PA116&dq=l... 1953 Boys' Life https://books.google.com/books?id=z-p67xyiQpQC&pg=PA4&dq=%22How+About+Those+Lemmings%22 https://books.google.com/books?id=z-p67xyiQpQC&pg=PA4&dq=%22...
  • learnstats2 11y ago
    Very cool, every link! Interesting that the earlier references are to death by self-hanging.