The expression ‘crocodile tears’ comes from an old myth that crocodiles shed tears while eating their prey. According to some sources, the myth came into being around the 1200s when a religious worker wrote that if a crocodile found a man by the water, it would kill him. It would first shed tears for the man but finally swallow him.
Another myth about crocodiles is that the animals are very crafty creatures. The story goes that they shed tears to show fake guilt or grief to trick their prey. Through science, experts have proven that these myths aren’t accurate. While crocodiles do shed tears, they do so because the fluid helps them clean their eyes.
Tears are released by tear ducts (in humans and certain other species) or other similar glands and form a film over the eye that is made up of three components: mucus, water, and oil. The mucus covers the eye’s surface and aids in the adhesion of the film, the water provides a natural saline solution providing essential proteins and minerals, and the oil keeps the eye from drying out.
Humans are the only known creature that shed emotional tears; the term “crocodile tears," which alludes to a person’s fake show of emotion, derives from crocodiles’ inexplicable habit to shed tears while eating.
Tears, however, serve important functions other than grieving. They aid eyesight by lubricating the eye and ridding it of dirt. They help protect the eye from infection and nourish the cornea, the transparent outer layer of the eye that lacks blood vessels.
The term crocodile tears recently got popular with the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp case. Many called Amber to use crocodile tears to guilt people into believing her story, although it did not work and in the end, Johnny won the trial.
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