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| Maze |
 Title text: As a side effect of the research, mice are now the only known animals other than humans to have developed a Backrooms mythology. |
Explanation
This comic references a common task used to benchmark cognitive functioning in mice, speed of maze-solving. For example, if testing whether XYZ compound impairs mouse spatial reasoning (or something like that), scientists might use the compound on n mice and not use the compound on n other mice, then compare the average maze-solving speed between the two groups.
The joke here is that they have been using mice in mazes for over 100 years for the main purpose of finding a mouse that can solve the maze, and they are having a press conference because they finally found one. Instead, of course, having the mouse solve the maze is not the point of the experiment; they are simply using the mouse's performance as a convenient benchmark to test some other experimental condition.
The title text references a fictional liminal space called the The Backrooms, which is known for being infinite and maze-like. In 2026, the film Backrooms was released based on this "mythology". In this case, relative to a mouse, a moderately-sized maze for a human would be labyrinthian to a mouse, thereby creating the impression of an infinite maze. It is common for many human "mythologies" or stories to be based on a fear of the unknown or of extrapolations of real phenomena, in this case the Backrooms being based on the unsettling phenomenon of liminal spaces and the familiar human fear of getting lost in an unfamiliar place. The title text humorously implies that mice, because of their own experiences with mazes, have also developed their own Backrooms-like "mythology". Mice have not been known to do this in real life.[citation needed]
Transcript
[A lab scene showing a large table on which is a maze, with walls about 3" (8 cm) high and open on the top so you can see the maze. Cueball, wearing a lab coat, is standing next to the table, looking at a small mouse that he is holding high in his right hand. Next to him is Megan, also in a lab coat, holding her left hand in the air and standing behind a podium as if speaking to an audience.]
[Caption below comic:]
Research breakthrough: After over a century of trials, scientists have finally found a mouse that can solve the maze.
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