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Chicago rat hole
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The Chicago rat hole is a hole shaped like a rat that was formerly in the sidewalk of West Roscoe Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. After several decades, it received widespread attention on social media (mainly Twitter) in early 2024, attracting tourists to the site. City officials removed the sidewalk slab containing the hole several months later, and it is currently stored in City Hall.[1]
Key Information
An apparent example of accidental lifecasting, the hole was described by The New York Times as "Chicago's Stonehenge".[2] Some neighbors and wildlife experts speculated that the impression was made by a squirrel rather than a rat; a 2025 research paper in Biology Letters found this to be the most likely case, based on comparison of the cast with anatomical data from squirrel populations.[3]
History
[edit]| Gatorade Should Be Thicker. (@WinslowDumaine) tweeted: |
Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole
January 6, 2024[4]
The hole gained worldwide attention on January 6, 2024, via a tweet by Chicago-based comedian and writer Winslow Dumaine.[4][5][6] In what has been described as a "pilgrimage", many Chicago residents visited the hole and made offerings to it, such as coins, flowers, candles, cheese, cigarettes, alcohol, children's toys, food, and estradiol pills.[5][7][8] One group of visitors took shots of Chicago specialty Malört beside the hole, before leaving the bottle as an oblation.[9] The Riot Fest Historical Society also dedicated a plaque at the site of the hole.[10]
Despite its newfound attention in 2024, the hole had existed for at least 20 to 30 years, according to locals.[5][6][11] A local softball team has been using the rat as its unofficial mascot since around 2018.[12]
The hole's notoriety reached political and business channels. Ann Williams, the state representative for Illinois's 11th district, posted an online video promoting the hole, calling it "the jewel of the 11th district".[5] The Chamber of Commerce for Lakeview and Roscoe Village ran a naming contest for the hole,[13] with "Splatatouille" — a reference to the film Ratatouille — beating the other four finalists ("Lil' Stucky", "Splat", "Roscoe Road-dent" and "Dibs").[14][15]
The hole was filled in with plaster or cement by an unknown party on January 19, 2024.[16] City officials later confirmed they had not filled in the hole.[17] Ann Williams posted a video stating "we are shocked and saddened" by the news, and "are closely monitoring the developing situation".[14] Local residents attempted to excavate the hole, using their hands and implements such as ice scrapers and license plates.[16] Eventually, a woman cleaned out the hole and restored it to its original condition.[18]
Following the restoration, Williams wrote "This is what community is all about."[2] Shortly afterwards, an engagement and a marriage ceremony took place at the hole.[19] Some residents of West Roscoe Street expressed frustration with the hole's newfound viral status, with some locals citing public nuisance, vandalism, and accumulation of garbage on the sidewalk.[15]
On April 24, 2024, the Chicago Department of Transportation removed the sidewalk slab containing the hole while keeping it intact.[20][21] A "Rathole Music Fest" was held at a venue under three miles south of the site in June, featuring local bands as well as burlesque and poetry performances.[22]
The slab as of January 2025 is stored in City Hall, pending a proper place to display the slab,[23] having been transferred into a case. Chicago streets and sanitation commissioner Cole Stallard said that those at City Hall would "like to be able to showcase it so more people can enjoy it." Dumaine began selling plaster casts of the hole, with all proceeds going to Northside women's homeless shelter Sarah's Circle.[21]
Debate over origin
[edit]Despite the hole's popular name, some locals believe it was formed by a squirrel.[11] The director of Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute, Seth Magle, told NBC Chicago that he believed it likely that a squirrel fell on the wet concrete from a tree. Magle also clarified that the thinness of the tail cavity, used by some to argue in favor of it being a rat hole, should not be considered, given that fur does not always leave impressions.[24] Supporting this theory, one resident stated that an oak tree had existed above that section of the sidewalk that had since been cut down.[6]
A 2025 paper published in Biology Letters by scientists from the University of Tennessee and New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine analyzed several species of mammals present in Chicago and concluded that the imprint was most likely to have been made by an Eastern gray squirrel.[25][3]
Similar phenomena
[edit]The rat hole has also brought attention to other object-shaped sidewalk holes, such as a gun-shaped hole in Richmond, Virginia, that was similarly enshrined by locals.[26] For several days in September 2024, a purse filled with Lucky Charms was seen hanging from a sign for Addison Street in Chicago and received similar visits from Chicagoans.[27]
Gallery
[edit]-
The hole on January 7, 2024, shortly after the photographer placed the first penny -
-
The hole on January 19, shortly after it had been filled in -
Following the online popularity of the estradiol pills gifted on January 13, a vial of injectable estradiol was placed on the shrine on January 19. -
Signage put up by locals on January 19, asking visitors not to leave food and to keep noise to a minimum -
The hole on February 18, surrounded by gifts from visitors including flowers, coins, glasses, and Pokémon cards
See also
[edit]- Our Lady of the Underpass – Salt stain under Chicago's Kennedy Expressway and pilgrimage site
- Petrosomatoglyph – Supposed image of parts of a human or animal body in rock
- Pinto Bean (squirrel) – American piebald squirrel (died 2022)
- Pizza Rat – Internet meme
- Pothole – Area of depressed road surface
- Trace fossil – Geological record of biological activity
References
[edit]- ^ Filbin, Patrick (January 10, 2025). "Chicago's Rat Hole, 1 Year Later: Where Is It Now?". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
- ^ a b Deb, Sopan (January 19, 2024). "Someone Filled the Chicago Rat Hole. Residents Took Action". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Granatosky, Michael C.; Guilhon, Gabby; Chernik, Noah D.; Kantonis, Stratos J.; Lee, Christine J.; Dickinson, Edwin (October 2025). "Rodent indent not self-evident: a case of mistaken identity of the 'Chicago Rat Hole'". Biology Letters. 21 (10). doi:10.1098/rsbl.2025.0343. ISSN 1744-957X. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
- ^ a b Winslow Dumaine [@WinslowDumaine] (January 6, 2024). "Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c d Schmall, Emily (January 13, 2024). "Chicago's Latest Attraction? A Rat-Shaped Hole". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ a b c Edwards, Jonathan (January 13, 2024). "Chicago has a new tourist destination: The 'Rat Hole'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Moos, Jeanne (January 17, 2024). Rat impression in sidewalk has the internet talking (News report). New York City: CNN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Fisher, Alexandria (January 17, 2024). "Cheese and cigarettes: People are setting up shrines at the Chicago rat hole". NBC Chicago. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Violet (January 19, 2024). "'Chicago rat hole' restored by neighbors after it's mysteriously filled in: 'Chicago takes care of its own'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Hernandez, Alex V. (January 19, 2024). "Someone Tried To Fill In Chicago's Rat Hole — But Neighbors Brought It Back To Life". Block Club Chicago. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Washburn, Kaitlin (January 10, 2024). "Going down the 'rat hole?' Viral phenomenon is actually decades-old squirrel imprint beloved by the block, neighbors say". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Dudek, Mitch (January 20, 2024). "Chicago 'rat hole' figure is the longtime mascot for local softball team". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ "It's time to make it an official attraction: Name the Chicago Rat Hole!". Fox 32 Chicago. January 12, 2024. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Hernandez, Alex V. (January 19, 2024). "Someone Tried To Fill In Chicago's Rat Hole — But Neighbors Brought It Back To Life". Block Club Chicago. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Brennan, Noel; Harrington, Adam (January 23, 2024). "Neighbors have had it with people flocking to the Chicago 'rat hole' - CBS Chicago". CBS News. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Fisher, Alexandria; Shapiro, Alex; Swidler, Francie (January 19, 2024). "The Chicago 'rat hole' is no longer a hole — it appears to have been filled in". NBC Chicago. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "Dirty rat! Culprit fills in Chicago neighborhood landmark known as the 'rat hole'". AP News. January 20, 2024. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere [@TylerLaRiviere] (January 19, 2024). "A woman who didn't want to be identified due to possible "ratribution" (her words not mine) cleans the iconic Chicago Rat Hole of a plaster type substance in the 1900 block of W. Roscoe St. in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Lee, Lloyd. "Chicago's 'rat hole' was mysteriously filled and then restored. Now it's a place of holy rat-rimony". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Rodriguez, Marisa (April 24, 2024). "'Chicago Rat Hole' has been removed by city". WGN-TV. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Placko, Dane (January 8, 2025). "Chicago's rathole: One year later, the quirky icon still makes an impact". FOX 32 Chicago. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ Harrington, Adam (June 29, 2024). "Chicago rat hole memorialized with music fest - CBS Chicago". CBS News. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
- ^ Filbin, Patrick (January 10, 2025). "Chicago's Rat Hole, 1 Year Later: Where Is It Now?". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved May 11, 2025.
- ^ "Zoo expert reveals 3 reasons why Chicago's 'rat hole' might not be a rat". NBC Chicago. January 16, 2024. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Davis, Nicola (October 14, 2025). "Chicago 'Splatatouille' was probably a squirrel, say researchers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
- ^ Moreno, Sabrina (January 30, 2024). "Chicago rat hole is out. Richmond gun hole is in". Axios. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Kaufman, Elyssa; Tyson, Blake (September 11, 2024). ""Magically suspicious" purse filled with Lucky Charms on Chicago's Northwest Side goes viral". CBS News. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
