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A “rat hole” in Chicago has become the talk of the internet in recent days. The rodent-shaped crater went viral after a local tweeted about the same. Many have since gone to the locality to pay tribute by offering coins and taking pictures.
Chicago’s rat hole is present in the Roscoe Village. It went viral after local artist and comedian Winslow Dumaine took to X to post a picture of the crater with the caption:
“Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole.”
At the time of writing this article, the tweet had amassed over five million followers.
Although one might believe that the hollow rat marking is something new since it just blew up on the internet, that is far from the truth. As per Daily Mail UK, in a Reddit thread, netizens have been discussing the origins of the same since the past decade. Many have been debating over which animal left the imprint. While some believe that it was a rat, others have opined that it was a squirrel.
Many have also speculated that a rat fell into wet concrete and either decayed over time or was removed, leaving a print on the pathway. How the rat hole originated remained unclear at the time of writing this article.
Nonetheless, netizens have been having a field day with the latest discovery.
“What if we kissed at the Chicago Rat Hole”: Netizens in a frenzy after rodent-hole goes viral online
Internet users have flooded X with hilarious comments on the rat-shaped crater, with many also expressing their eagerness to visit the tourist spot. A few tweets read:
Local politicians have also taken to promoting the latest finding to celebrate the city. As per Metro, Illinois state rep Ann Williams took to the internet to share the specialties of Chicago in a video, where she said:
“We have so many great bars and restaurants, beautiful neighborhoods, the iconic Wrigley Field- and of course, the Chicago rat hole.”
Chicago topped the most rat-infested cities list in 2023
According to NBC Chicago, the city topped the list of Orkin’s annual “Top 50 Rattiest Cities List” for the ninth consecutive year in 2023. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson had allocated $14.8 million to the Bureau of Rodent Control in the 2024 budget to eliminate rodents and inform residents on how to reduce the risk of rats on their properties.
It was noted that the rat abatement budget had been increased by $1.5 million since 2023.
Los Angeles took the second spot in the aforementioned list. A few other cities which ranked in the same were New York, Detroit, Denver, Baltimore, San Francisco and Philadelphia, amongst others.
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