- A rat-shaped hole in the Chicago area recently went viral online and quickly gained some fans.
- The hole was reportedly filled on Friday, but was quickly repaired.
- People left tribute, and others were betrothed and married in the pits.
Chicago's much-talked-about “rat hole” was mysteriously buried and quickly repaired, proving its footprint quickly became a beloved landmark and place of love.
In a city notorious for its gang past, several criminals have buried a landmark in the North Side Chicago neighborhood that residents affectionately refer to as the “rat hole.”
The sidewalk depressions on West Roscoe Street resemble the outline of a rat, claws and tail all. On Friday, it was reported on social media that the “rat hole” had been filled with a white plaster-like substance.
Transportation and Street Sanitation officials told the Chicago Tribune that the city was not behind the landfill. This landfill may one day become part of the Windy City's ironic lore, like Al Capone's vault or the underground bronze coils of fake feces. This fountain was intended to remind people to pick up dog poop.
Neighbors gathered Friday afternoon to use brushes and water to scrub shallow holes in the sidewalk that were, if not bizarre, “infested with rats” in the city's iconic tourist spot. I returned it to its location.
Tributes such as plastic flowers, prayer candles, small toys, cigarette boxes and coins are at the final resting place of “Lil Stucky” or “Chimley,” the name given to the creature by neighbors. It decorates the place where it may have been. It used to lie there spread out.
“Overall, people just appreciate that our great block is getting attention — even if it's just to look down a rat hole,” Jeff VanDam said Friday. He told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It's the small, quirky features of the area that we're familiar with, that we care about, and that we want to protect.”
The hole also appears to be a place to mark relationship milestones.
1 post displayed for Saturday X User X said another video showed a marriage proposal while another showed a “gay wedding” in front of a hole.
Chicago resident Winslow Dumaine learned about the “rat hole” from a friend and posted a photo of it on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this month. The photo has been viewed more than 5 million times.
People who live nearby say the marks have been there for nearly 20 years and were made by squirrels, Dumaine said.
“At the end of the day, I think the rat hole is a shitty thing to say, but the reason it became so popular was because thousands of people fell in love with the big, sweet, heartfelt joke. That's a fact,” Dumaine said. Tribune.
“Chicago is proud of all the things that make Chicago difficult, and no matter how much Chicago hates rats, Chicago loves rats,” he added. “It's part of our culture.”
