It's the end of an era. Many years ago, no one knows exactly when, a new sidewalk on West Roscoe Street in Chicago was laid, and a rodent left an imprint of its body in the wet cement. In January, the rat-shaped hole went viral. Since then, people have been coming from all over to make a pilgrimage to the site of the Chicago rat hole. They leave coins in the hole, and have left flowers, photographs, signs, and other trinkets. A plaque was made. At least one wedding was staged at the site. Someone filled the hole with plaster, and others dug it out.
This left some of the neighbors in Roscoe Village annoyed with the crowds and the garbage they left behind. The Chicago Department of Transportation had a dilemma: replace that portion of the sidewalk to please the locals, or let tourists and fans have their fun? Some of the neighbors wanted the rat hole to stay. The city finally decided to replace the sidewalk section, which happened on Wednesday, but they took pains to preserve the concrete that contained the rat hole. The square slab was successfully excavated and will be saved. Will we ever see it again? The city has not yet decided on what to do with the rat hole slab, although they are listening to those who say it belongs in a museum. After all, it is now a piece of city history. Read more on the fate of the Chicago rat hole. -via Fark
(Image credit: JunLpermode)
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Garbage and litter. What is wrong with people? It's why we can't have anything nice.
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Now he belongs to the ages.
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A lot of folks agree with you that it's a squirrel, but there is no heat or rolling involved in pouring a cement sidewalk.
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It looks more like a squirrel that lost tail-fluff. Perhaps singed off during the rolling.
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