Author Topic: rat king  (Read 5113 times)

kimota

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rat king
« on: March 11, 2008, 01:32:54 PM »
Found this while wasting time at work.  I hope this hasn't been covered here before.



 

 

Seen here is an example of a purported rat king, a giant rat beast created when many rats get their tails tangled together. Legend has it that the rats then grow together into a single creepy entity. This mummified "rat king" was discovered in 1828 in Buchheim, Germany and is currently on display at the museum Mauritianum in Altenburg, Germany. From Wikipedia: The earliest report of rat kings comes from 1564. If real, the phenomenon may have diminished when the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) displaced the black rat (R. Rattus) in the 18th century. Sightings have been sporadic in the modern era; most recently comes an Estonian farmer's discovery in the Võrumaa region on January 16, 2005.

Most extant examples are formed from black rats (R. rattus). The only find involving sawah rats (Rattus rattus brevicaudatus) occurred on March 23, 1918, in Bogor on Java, where a rat king of ten young field rats was found. Similar attachments have been reported in other species: in April 1929, a group of young forest mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) was reported in Holstein; and there have been reports of squirrel kings. The Zoological Institute of the University of Hamburg allegedly owns a specimen.

Rat kings are not to be confused with conjoined twins, which arise in many species. Rat kings would grow together only after birth.


scotttsss

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Re: rat king
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2008, 11:01:39 PM »
I hope this hasn't been covered here before.
:D 

TL

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Re: rat king
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2008, 12:37:38 AM »
WTF???
I'm fascinated!  I will now officially learn everything there is to know about Rat Kings - thank you Totep!
Now write me a receipt so I can tip on outta here...

Sarah

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Re: rat king
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2008, 06:05:17 AM »
I learned about rat kings in 1976/77.  In Paris, a very smart, very funny, half-crazy fellow named Michel Dansel fell in love with me and my parents (especially my mother, who was quite a looker).  It turned out he'd written a number of books, one of them called Nos frères, les rats (Our brothers, the rats), which I wish I knew French well enough and was enough of a writer to translate.  He was also the founder of the Société internationale des rats, which put out a quarterly journal called Rattus

Needless to say, we learned quite a bit about rats that year.

(Lest you get the wrong impression, Michel did not write exclusively about rats.  He also wrote a wonderful book about the Père Lachaise cemetery, various police procedurals, and a whole lot of other stuff.  He was a neat guy.  I was a bit jealous of my mother.)

TL

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Re: rat king
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2008, 09:35:13 AM »
I learned about rat kings in 1976/77.  In Paris, a very smart, very funny, half-crazy fellow named Michel Dansel fell in love with me and my parents (especially my mother, who was quite a looker).  It turned out he'd written a number of books, one of them called Nos frères, les rats (Our brothers, the rats), which I wish I knew French well enough and was enough of a writer to translate.  He was also the founder of the Société internationale des rats, which put out a quarterly journal called Rattus

Needless to say, we learned quite a bit about rats that year.

(Lest you get the wrong impression, Michel did not write exclusively about rats.  He also wrote a wonderful book about the Père Lachaise cemetery, various police procedurals, and a whole lot of other stuff.  He was a neat guy.  I was a bit jealous of my mother.)

I like the names of what I'm assuming are some of his police books: Le cas du sergent bertrand, Paris incroyable , etc.  They sound REALLY great if you read them out loud with an overblown French accent and pretend that they all end with an exclamation point.
Now write me a receipt so I can tip on outta here...

Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: rat king
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2008, 09:38:30 AM »
Everything sounds better like that, TL.

Yeah, I am completely fascinated by this.  I had heard about this somewhere, probably in a comic book, but it blows my mind that it actually happened (maybe).
Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.

Laurie

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Re: rat king
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2008, 10:13:55 AM »
Am I the only one who's going to say it? Okay, then.

Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!

Martin

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Re: rat king
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2008, 10:33:45 AM »
Never heard of it. So bizarre.

Chris L

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Re: rat king
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2008, 10:39:01 AM »
The Birthday Party are going to reunite just to do a song about this. 

Matt

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Re: rat king
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2008, 01:03:09 PM »
The Birthday Party are going to reunite just to do a song about this. 

Not if Armand Schaubroeck beats 'em to it.

"They call me the fuckin' Rat King - WELCOME TO MY BLOOOOOOOOOOOOCK!"
It ain't ego, it's my love for you.

Ignore Function

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Re: rat king
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2008, 12:23:43 AM »
It would be cool if a rat from a rat king called the Best Show. 

TremblingEagle

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Re: rat king
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2008, 01:59:09 AM »
I don't get it

they get their tails stuck together
so....?
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Shaggy 2 Grote

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Re: rat king
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2008, 07:44:03 AM »
Look at the picture, man, look!
Oh, good heavens. I didn’t realize. I send my condolences out to the rest of the O’Connor family.

Martin

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Re: rat king
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2008, 08:50:23 AM »
I smell Ratatouille sequel!

 ???

Sarah

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Re: rat king
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2008, 08:53:52 AM »
So Linguini would sport a sombrero in this one?