All hail the Chicago 'Rat Hole': People leave offerings at viral rat-shaped cement imprint

Julia Gomez, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
21

Tourists are making "pilgrimages" to the city's newest rat-shaped landmark to see the viral sensation and bring it offerings.

Everyone knows about Chicago's deep dish pizza, the Bean, the Willis Tower and, now, the "Rat Hole" in Roscoe Village.

This isn't an oddly nicknamed restaurant or a dome-shaped hole in the wall, like something out of Tom and Jerry. The Chicago "Rat Hole" is a splat mark on a sidewalk shaped like a rat that fell from the sky.

The shape is made up of individual imprints of toes, claws, legs and a tail attached to a body.

Rare find: Giant rat that cracks coconuts with its teeth caught on camera for the first time

The rodent-shaped hole has garnered attention from social media users and tourists visiting Roscoe Village.

"Thanks for visiting [the Rat Hole]," Winslow Dumaine's reply to his original post reads.

Post triggers a naming contest

The hole in the sidewalk became so popular that the Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce created a contest asking residents to name it.

"From Remy to Mickey Mouse, rodents have a special place in the heart of pop culture," reads its post on Facebook. "The Roscoe Village 'Rat Hole' is no exception."

The Chamber of Commerce is accepting submissions until Jan. 18. The top five names will be chosen and the community can vote on the final name.

"This little guy deserves to live out his fame by name!" continues their Facebook post.

The offerings

Folks are bringing coins, flowers, money, cheese, and even shots of alcohol for the rodent-shaped hole.

One X user posted a photo of the hole filled with coins, liquid and a small plastic bag filled with blue pills.

"There were so many people walking by, taking pictures of, talking to others by the hole," replied the user to her original post. "Someone came by and said his brother thought this was a Banksy piece."

TikTok user @Marshian_Rover posted a video of someone pouring the contents of a small bottle of what appears to be Malört, a famous Chicago liquor, in an offering to the hole.

"I went back today, and there is a constant stream of people at the rat hole even though it is -4 [degrees]," they write in the description of another video posted a day ago.

Is it actually from a rat?

A Roscoe resident told the Washington Post she believes the imprint is actually from a squirrel, not a rat.

Cindy Nelson told the newspaper the imprint had been there since she moved to the neighborhood in 1997 with her husband. A neighbor who had been there since the early 1990s told her it was there even then.

The couple raised their three kids across the street from the now-famous hole. Nelson says once there was a “huge, old, beautiful” oak tree above the splat mark, which leads her to believe it was caused by an unfortunate squirrel falling from the tree onto fresh cement.

The tree got cut down after it became sick, reports the Post.

The spirit of the rat hole

Winslow Dumaine told the Post he shared a photo of the rat hole to share the joy it gave him with others.

“It is a very, very small thing − it’s just a picture of a splat mark − but it’s also part of a greater philosophy of just like, let’s make as many people smile as we can,” he said.

He said Chicago's Rat Hole embodies the city. Stating Chicagoans share the same pluckiness as the creature who made the hole.

“That rat fell in that cement, brushed himself off and went to work,” he told the newspaper.

The Windy City is the "Rattiest" City

Orkin Pest Control named Chicago the Rattiest City for the ninth year in a row. Los Angeles follows Chicago in second and New York City finishes in third place.

"We aren't the rattiest city, it's just that Orkin gets more calls from Chicago compared to other cities," Josie Cruz, the Deputy Commissioner of Chicago's Bureau of Rodent Control, told ABC 7 Chicago.

Aside from potentially creating viral imprints in sidewalks, the station reports rats are also making nests in residents' cars and chewing up cables.

Sianna Smith told the news outlet she paid $1,300 to fix her car after rats turned her vehicle into a rodent nest.

"Very gross," she said. "The rats have actually chewed my wires four different times."

Where to go to find the mysterious hole

Anyone brave enough to venture out into the blistering cold weather can find the Chicago Rat Hole at 1918 W. Roscoe St. 4047, according to Block Club Chicago.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago 'Rat Hole': Social media stirs craze about rat-shaped imprint