Rats! Iconic Chicago 'rat hole' was actually made by a squirrel

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published October 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM PDT

We unpack the shocking revelation that the rat-shaped hole in a Chicago sidewalk was made not by a rat but by a squirrel.

Michael Granatosky, an evolutionary biomechanist and one of the researchers responsible for solving this case of mistaken identity, joins host Peter O’Dowd.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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