Do you believe the theory of genetic memory?
The comedians among you might want to say, “I don’t remember,” but the rest of you might be thinking, “huh?”
Genetic memory.
In psychology, it’s a theory that certain kinds of memories can be inherited, and that such memories can be incorporated into the genome over long spans of time. It may explain why some individuals know things they never learned, or have behaviors for which there is no explanation. This might be a roundabout way to explain the old saw that women are terrified of mice.
Is it really a myth? Maybe. We know lots of woman who quite like mice, but the woman in the video clip below? Not so much. P.S., the clip is safe to watch, the mouse is unharmed:
What does a fear of mice have to do with genetic memory?
Back in the day when women wore long skirts and dresses, they had a very real reason to be creeped out by mice. A tiny furry critter scurried across the floor, sought shelter under the nearest thing that looked like it could protect them, and it was often was the hem of a long garment. At that point, the creature became trapped in yards and yards of fabric, and if the woman was also wearing layers of petticoats, there was no obvious means of escape.
Well, there was one.
Up the woman’s leg.
It couldn’t felt good. In fact, the feeling of something crawling up one’s leg is unnerving and repulsive. Did centuries of skirt versus mouse or rat work its way into the genetic material of females? Perhaps it’s far fetched, but is it any more outlandish than the conclusion of a study conducted by Canadian scientists at McGill University in Montreal that mice (and lab rats) are ‘stressed’ by a man because its scent is more distressing than a woman’s? The conclusion drawn was that mice are less concerned about revealing their presence when a woman is around, and are more likely to confront a female than they are a man. You can read more about the study here.
Many of our breeds made careers out of hunting and eradicating vermin, and one of them was the Affenpinscher. The breed was somewhat larger back in the day, and it came in more colors, including red, gray and tan, and black and tan. Nor was it uncommon to see white feet and chest. Over the time, the breed became a dual-purpose dog in that it ratted by by day, and moonlighted as a charming bed buddy for the lady of the house. The breed has not lost the moxie that made it so invaluable to a homestead. One of our favorite writers, Desmond Morris, had shared the anecdote of having witnessed a tiny but courageous Affenpinscher chase off a grizzly bear during trip to Alaska.
Take that, bear!
Image: Affenpinscher by Janice MacLellan is available as fine art and in home decor and lifestyle items here