An imprint along a Chicago street that many believe to be a rat has sparked viral social media attention and even become a tourist attraction. But it turns out, it may not even be a rat at all.
According to some residents who live near the now-iconic street sensation, the imprint has actually been there for years and only recently gained national attention.
The new tourist attraction in the city, located in the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street in Roscoe Village, rose to fame in a viral social media post.
"Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole," Winslow Dumaine wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The post generated millions of views and quickly went viral, leading many to make the trek to visit the rat-shaped "pothole," with some even leaving flowers or money inside it for good luck.
"Someone tweeted out that they were making a pilgrimage to seee the rat hole and then all of a sudden we saw a bunch of people walking past with their cameras and flowers and a bunch of different things," said resident Michael Risher, who has lived in the area for several years. "I think there might be some money left by it."
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Risher said the imprint has been there for at least four years.
"My wife and I went on a walk maybe four years ago and walked past it and saw it," he said. "And every time we walk past it we wave hi to it."
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But some who live on the block say it may not be what people think.
"I think it's a squirrel," said area resident Michael Rascati.
Cindy Nelson, who has lived across the street from the imprint for over 20 years, told the Chicago Sun-Times, “I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble or upset anybody, but it’s a squirrel."
Nelson told NBC Chicago a tree used to be located near the spot where the imprint is located.
"So there was a huge tree there originally and the people that lived here when the tree was here, you know, we kind of all just believe that it fell out of the tree," she said. "And then I just personally believe it was the squirrel that fell out of the tree. I don't know if a rat can run up a tree or a raccoon."
But some aren't quite as convinced.
"I think it's a rat," Risher said, noting that he previously joked about it being a squirrel.
Whatever it is, residents are surprised at the sudden attention -- and just how big it's gotten, with tributes, a rush of visitors and more.
"We just see people walk down the block ... They do the same thing every time," Nelson said. "They stop, they look, they laugh, and then they literally look up in the air because it's hard to understand why there's a splat in the middle of the sidewalk and there's no prints anywhere to getting in or out."
"I'd rather visit the Trevi Fountain than a dead rat," Rascati said.
