It seems like from the earliest days of our childhoods, we have known that mice like cheese. In fact, Western civilization, from the time of the Romans, has known that mice like cheese. But it's not exactly true.
What we all really know is that a house mouse will eat pretty much anything — but do they have a preference? According to Live Science, mice prefer things with high protein and strong smells, like peanut butter. Drexel University biologist Megan Phifer-Rixey says the smelly mixture of protein and fat in peanut butter is a mouse's dream.
Still, the idea that mice love cheese is ancient. First century Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca wrote about mice and cheese. But lots of references exist to recent times. The 1820 children's song, The Farmer in the Dell, contained the verse: The mouse (or rat) takes the cheese; The mouse (or rat) takes the cheese; Hi-ho, the derry-o!; The mouse (or rat) takes the cheese. And the pizza parlor for kids, Chuck E. Cheese, has a mouse right in the logo.
