A gopher is a small, burrowing rodent that lives underground in tunnels it digs across North America's grasslands and prairies. Gophers are about the size of a large hamster, with brown fur, small eyes and ears, and large front teeth and claws perfect for digging. They spend most of their lives underground, pushing dirt up to the surface and creating the telltale dirt mounds that dot lawns and fields.

Farmers and gardeners often consider gophers pests because they eat plant roots and create holes that can trip livestock or damage farm equipment. But gophers also help the soil by mixing it up and adding nutrients as they tunnel, like tiny underground plows that have been at work for millions of years.

The word gopher also became a computer term in the early internet days. The Gopher protocol, created at the University of Minnesota (whose mascot is the golden gopher), was an early system for organizing and finding information online before the World Wide Web became popular. It worked like a series of connected menus, helping users “burrow” through layers of information, much like the animal burrows through soil.