Ah, rats! But it wasn't a rat at all. Researchers say a squirrel or muskrat likely created Chicago's famous 'rat hole' sidewalk landmark.
The 'rat hole' is an intriguing urban legend in Chicago, but it's not what you might think. It's not a hidden bar or a tenement filled with junk. Instead, it's a full-body impression of an unfortunate critter that got trapped in wet sidewalk cement in the city's Roscoe Village neighborhood about 20-30 years ago.
The imprint closely resembles a spread-eagled rat, complete with tiny claws, arms, legs, and a tail. It went viral last year when comedian Winslow Dumaine posted a photo on X, attracting curious tourists who left coins and other objects as tributes.
However, the constant traffic caused neighbor complaints, and in April 2024, someone filled the impression with plaster. City workers removed the slab and took it to City Hall-County Building. A plaque honoring the 'rat hole' remains at the site.
Researchers from the University of Tennessee, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the University of Calgary published a paper in Biology Letters, concluding that the 'rat hole' was likely created by a squirrel or muskrat.
They studied online photos and compared measurements to museum specimens of common Chicago animals. The presence of arms, legs, and a tail ruled out birds, snakes, frogs, and turtles, narrowing it down to mammals. The claw outlines further reduced the possibilities to rats, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and muskrats.
The creature's long forelimbs, third digits, and hind paws matched the measurements of Eastern gray squirrels, fox squirrels, and muskrats. Given the abundance of Eastern gray squirrels in Chicago, the study concluded that this species is the most probable suspect.
The study acknowledged other theories, noting that cement is typically wet during the day, rats are nocturnal, and the creature didn't leave tracks. It suggested that a squirrel might have misjudged a leap or slipped from a branch, landing in the wet cement.
The imprint lacked a bushy tail, but hair often doesn't create deep, well-defined impressions. The researchers proposed renaming the 'Windy City Sidewalk Squirrel' to better reflect its likely origins and align with the evidence.
