America’s cities are full of amazing wonders for tourists to visit. Who wouldn’t want to see the Statue of Liberty? The St. Louis Arch? And, of course, what tourist wouldn’t give their left nut to glimpse at the wonder that is the Chicago Rat Hole?


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Okay, maybe the rat hole doesn’t hold this kind of cultural esteem yet, but it’s looking like it might soon. For those who are unaware, the Chicago Rat Hole is an imprint of a rat-like creature on the sidewalk of the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street in Chicago. While the imprint had been known to locals for years, it recently went viral after being shared on X/Twitter.



Soon, discussion around the imprint grew, and people began either taking their own trips to the hole or recounting the wonderful experience they had coming across it for the first time.




Eventually, people started to leave offerings for the deceased rat, ranging from pocket change to flowers.




The Chicago Sun-Times also managed to make their way to the hole, interviewing those on the block about it and learning interesting facts about its existence.


The first interesting fact? The hole was not made by a rat, but a squirrel, said Cindy Nelson, who lives across the street from the imprint. Not sure how she’s so certain about this, but we’ll give it to her.


Funny enough, this isn’t the first time people have added things to the hole. The Sun-Times piece notes that “a grave site was constructed in its honor two Halloweens ago” as a decoration for the spooky season.


We have no idea where the original rat/squirrel/tiny raccoon went, but at the very least, it can be content in the afterlife with the fact that it’s being remembered. That’s more than you can say about most dead squirrel-rats.