Does anyone else read the scientific name of mice (mus musculus) and picture a really muscular mouse? pic.twitter.com/zOASIOYnff
— Misha Gurevich, Futurist (@drethelin) May 24, 2022
“Mouse,” the scientific name for mice as a species, and “muscle” share the same etymology. Long story short, some ancient people thought muscles looked like mice crawling around under the skin…and there ya go. “Musculus” literally means “little mouse” in Latin.