A rat-shaped hole in a Chicago sidewalk is taking the internet by storm, quickly (*ahem*) cementing itself as a contender for city lore.
The “Rat Hole,” as it has come to be known in the early days of 2024, has attracted thousands of visitors in recent weeks, as people make the pilgrimage to drop lucky coins into the indentation, leave mementos and build a makeshift shrine to the fallen rodent that met an untimely demise.
But just as live rats are often considered a nuisance, the rat hole is quickly becoming an irritant for locals that live near the viral destination. They say that the constant commotion of people taking photos, leaving offerings and even getting married at the site is causing a ruckus and becoming increasingly disruptive.
Before we get into all of that, however, let’s back up and answer a few questions about how the rodent imprint came to be and why it exploded in popularity.
What is the rat hole?
The rat hole is located in Roscoe Village, a cozy little neighbourhood that describes itself as “the village within the city.”
More of an indent than a hole, it appears an animal once got stuck in some wet concrete during the paving process, but somehow made its way out.
But before the animal escaped, it left a very clear imprint of its body, spread eagled. The rat hole is unmistakably rat-shaped — tail, paws, claws and all.
Was the rat hole caused by an actual rat?
It’s tough to say.
While the hole certainly looks like it came from a rat, others believe it was more likely made by a squirrel.
Dr. Seth Magle, director at the Lincoln Park Zoo Urban Wildlife Institute told NBC 5 in Chicago there’s three reasons he thinks it’s unlikely a rat would ever find itself in a wet concrete predicament.
“The first is when we think about what kind of animal could fall from a height and land on wet concrete. Much more likely to be a squirrel with all the time they spend in branches,” he said.
“We think of them as really balletic and graceful and they are. But I have seen them take a header straight out of a tree. So they will do that,” he said of his first reason.
Secondly, he said, squirrels are more active than rats during the day, which was likely when the concrete would have been poured.
And, thirdly, he notes that neighbours cite a tree that used to grow close to the rat hole. It’s been removed now, but Magle is quite confident a squirrel likely tumbled out of said tree and splatted into the wet spot of concrete.
Is the rat hole new?
Not even a little bit.
While it’s difficult to say exactly when this particular section of concrete was made — some neighbours insist is was more than 20 years ago — people have been talking about the rat hole online since at least 2011.
So why is it going viral now?
Because the internet is going to internet, essentially.
Much like the dead Toronto raccoon, “The Dress”, the stylish IKEA monkey and any other instance of wildly viral online content, social media algorithms have skyrocketed the rat hole to the heights of online attention.
The Lakeview Roscoe Village’s Chamber of Commerce even took it upon themselves to solicit a better name than “Chicago Rat Hole,” and while several excellent contenders were bandied about — “Roscoe Road-dent” and “Lil’ Stucky” being two of them — they eventually announced that “Splatatouille” took home top votes.
As far as we can tell, the rat hole began to gain traction when Chicago comedian Winslow Dumaine shared a photo to X on Jan. 6. The post has been viewed more than 5 million times now and prompted an explosion of memes, Tik Tok videos and general commotion.
Commotion and contention?
Yes, indeed.
Last Friday it was reported that some culprit tried to fill in the rat hole with a substance resembling white plaster. Chicago city officials denied being behind the job.
Luckily (?) people quickly spotted the work of the fun police and got to work scrubbing the shallow hole free of the filler. Today, the hole remains as pristine as ever.
“Overall, people just appreciate that our wonderful block is getting attention — even if it’s to look at a rat hole,” Jeff VanDam told the Chicago Sun-Times for a story Friday. “It’s a small, quirky feature of a neighbourhood where we get used to it, we care about it, and we want to protect it.”
The rat hole is causing a bit of chaos
While the rat hole is mostly seen as a bit of wholesome fun, it’s now being reported that not everyone loves the attention its brought to this particular block in Roscoe Village.
Chicago Ald. Scott Waguespack told NBC Chicago the city might remove the slab of concrete because residents who have expressed their displeasure about the daily parties at the rat hole have received threats.
It’s hard not to sympathize with those neighbours just a bit.
What began as a small shrine and short visits has descended into a full blown circus, with people taking shots of liquor next to the hole, thousands of visitors filing down the sidewalk to see the imprint and even a full-blown wedding happening at the site over the weekend.
“I told someone it felt like I was living on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, because people were out there drinking, yelling, playing music and taking pictures of drugs on the ground next to the rat hole for clout,” an anonymous neighbour told NBC, choosing not to disclose her name for fear of “ratribution.”
“I know they’re having fun, and I don’t want to be anyone’s party pooper, but also, get off my stoop,” she said. “This is my house. I’m just trying to have a quiet weekend at home, and this is a residential area.”
Another neighbour, Maggie, told Block Club Chicago that the crowds have been a bit of a headache.
“I think the idea of treating it like a wishing well is kind of fun, and I think that might be the easiest way,” she said. “If you want to toss a coin in, take a pic, I think that’s nice. The leaving of the stuff, it’s just someone has to clean it up eventually. And it’s being put on us, the community. I understand why everyone else in the neighbourhood thinks it’s great, but the onus is being put on us to take care of it, which is kind of a lot.”
What’s the future of the rat hole?
It’s hard to say.
In a follow-up post from Dumaine, he said he’s “working with locals to make a more permanent, less obstructive shrine for everyone to enjoy.”
Meanwhile, some benevolent soul has taken it upon themselves to 3D scan and print a rat hole mold, and is giving away the plans for free, ensuring that DIY rat holes can endure for years to come.
I’m going to Chicago. Should I visit the rat hole?
Mmmm, probably not right now?
It sounds like these neighbours need a bit of a break, so now might not be the best time.
Like everything that goes viral online, the rat hole will soon be replaced by another fad and people’s attention will turn elsewhere.
That said, if you do go, keep your coins and mementos in your pockets, take a quick photo, say a little prayer for “Splatatouille” and quickly move on.
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