Chicago Rat Hole

Submission 4,385

Featured Episode

About

Chicago Rat Hole refers to the imprint of a small mammal (likely a squirrel, rat or mouse) on the sidewalk of a street in Chicago, Illinois, which gained viral fame in January 2024. Many who learned about the hole flocked to the site and left offerings, most often coins, in the imprint of the animal as it became a local attraction.

Origin

It is unclear exactly when the imprint of a small animal first became a part of Roscoe Street. Local residents said the rodent-shaped pothole had existed for at least 20 years, has been venerated by the community and even incorporated into a notable Halloween diorama in 2021. According to the person living on the street where the imprint is located, the hole is actually the mark left by a squirrel in the pavement rather than a rat.^[1]

On January 6th, 2024, artist Winslow Dumaine photographed the locally famous pothole and posted it to X, saying he was making a "pilgrimage" (seen below). The post received over 153,000 likes in the course of a week and brought the rat hole to wider public attention.^[2] The imprint, according to online posts, is located at 1918 W Roscoe St. in the northern part of Chicago.

Spread

Following the original post's virality in early January 2024, appreciators of the rat hole shared their interest and devotion online. Many posted about the rat hole turning into a new Chicago tourist attraction or unconventional shrine for religious devotion and gift-offering. For example, on January 10th, 2024, X user @logic_denier speculated that a "pagan deity" had been created in Chicago, receiving over 93,000 likes in the course of two days (seen below, left).^[3]

On January 6th, X user @Ichnologist analyzed the photograph of the rat hole, determining that whatever animal produced the imprint must have survived its fall due to the presence of tracks leading away from the site, receiving over 4,300 likes (seen below, right) in the course of six days.^[4]

On TikTok, creators posted videos and slideshows of their own pilgrimages to see the rat hole. For example, TikToker @courtneyrunsinchicago posted a slideshow on January 8th, 2024, describing her journey to see the hole during a run (seen below, left) receiving over 58,000 views in four days.^[5]

TikToker @mx.casey posted a video to TikTok on January 9th depicting a religious-type experience with the rat hole and received almost 2,800 likes over the course of three days (seen below, right).^[6]

Local Chicago news outlets picked up the story of the rat hole as it gained virality online, including NBC Chicago, which posted a TikTok (seen below) on January 11th, 2024, describing the rat hole and the public response to it, receiving over 40,000 likes in less than a day.^[7]

Rat Hole Filling Attempt

On January 19th, 2024, fans discovered that the rat hole had been filled in with "a substance resembling white plaster," and reacted by scrubbing the substance out using water and stiff brushes.^[8] The city of Chicago told the Associated Press that it was not responsible for this attempt to fill in the rat hole. On January 20th, NBC Chicago reported in a TikTok that received almost 912,000 likes in two days (seen below left) that the rat hole had been filled in with concrete over the previous night, supposedly by a local (seen below left).^[9] Fans of the hole reacted by removing the still-wet concrete from the hole using a variety of tools at their disposal, including a license plate. There appears to have only been one incident, with some debate over whether the substance was plaster or concrete.

In response to these developments, a TikTok account called ratmasschi posted a video (seen below right) showing a candlelight vigil at the original rat hole, reporting "an attempt was made on the life of the rat hole" but that the rat hole had been saved. The video went on to reveal a "second Chicago rat hole" in another part of the city, identifying the organization as the "Church of Ratology" and swearing to be "stewards" of the rat holes. The video earned over 1.4 million views and 320,000 likes in a day.^[10] The account also advertised a "Rat Mass" to be held on February 18th, 2024.

Despite these attempted fillings of the rat hole, public interest in the site only increased. @realrajmahal posted a TikTok on January 21st of a wedding conducted "in front of the honorable Chicago rat hole," receiving over 210,000 likes and 890,000 views in one day.^[11]

The Rat Mass TikTok account, in a message to Know Your Meme, wrote:

The hole has moved so many people for the same reason that we were moved to start the church a year ago. The Rat is a symbol of the survivor, the outcast, and the determined. They live in packs of True Community, and fret not over the hangups of human society. As the world has become more overstimulating and the scale of everything simply overwhelming, we often feel like small frightened creatures. In the rat we see endurance, beauty, and peace.