See how they run
They all ran after the Farmer's Wife
She cut off their tails with a carving knife
Did you ever see such a sight in your life
As three blind mice
This rhyme comes from the earliest days of scientific research using animals. A scientist name John Grant had invented the predecessor of modern science's mouse maze to research the effects of blindness, concerned for his nearsighted wife. He had also blinded three mice, retaining three further normal mice as "control" mice.
Because animal experiments weren't in vogue amongst his peers, he was laughingly referred to in scientific discussion as "the farmer".
He ran each group of mice through the maze, comparing the times of each. However, whilst running the blind mice, he had to answer a call of nature. His wife entered and, seeing only the mice's tails and mistaking them for worms, attempted to kill them by severing them with her carving knife.
Later, when Grant told the story, he was widely disbelieved, and the rhyme was made up by a German professor to discredit him.
By Yakmir