Don’t get it twisted
A rat king is a rare and weird tangle of rats whose tails got knotted together.
Although rarer in this day and age, it used to happen when a group of rats (called a mischief) lived in very close quarters and their long tails would get sticky from things like sap for instance or even frozen together when temperatures got really cold.
The largest rat king ever found had a count of 32 rats!
”6 rats which were caught in a cellar with their tails very twisted in Strasbourg”, published by Friedrich Wilhelm Schmuck, around 1683.
I think I’m going to be sick…
In the movie Ratatouille, Remy gags when he catches a whiff of Chef Linguini’s disastrous attempt at making soup.
A funny but impossible scene, as rats are physically unable to vomit or burp. Yep, their digestive tube is a one-way street.
Very “gouda” work
Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, was trained to detect landmines in Cambodia. He successfully sniffed out and enabled the removal of 71 landmines and 38 other explosives from 2016 to 2021. The Apopo HeroRAT even received a tiny medal for his life-saving services.
Rad rat fact
“Delicia exterminates rats”, 1940’s rat poison advertisement, Poland
During the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union (approx. 1945 to 1991), CIA spies exchanged valuable messages and small items by hiding them in rat carcasses, which they could inconspicuously drop off and pick up in prearranged secret locations.
When RAT meets ART
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection features more than 194 rat-themed art pieces. Take a minute to scroll through their gallery. Our favorite is “Short Haired Cheese” by Robert Gober, can you find it?
Netsuke of a Rat Curled into a Ball, Masanao, 19th century
Le Curio 
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