Possibly The Saddest Thing Ever: Rat Stuck In Sidewalk

Reader Wayne sent us this photograph and explains, "I was walking along and texting. Not really paying that much attention. Then something caught my eye. I thought I was about to step in dog shit, but quickly realized it was a rat stuck in the sidewalk. A big rat. It had tried to squeeze through a crack in the sidewalk and failed."

Update: Another reader created the second photograph in the gallery, adding, "hopefully this makes it a little better!"

We are still awaiting a reply from Wayne to ask if he tried to help the little guy (or gal) out, where it was located and whether we needed to send out a rescue squad. And if you want to pass the time with some Photoshopped sad rat images... well, you can send them to tips@gothamist.com and we'll compile them into a gallery later.

Update 7:50 p.m.: We've added some of the rat-in-sidewalk Photoshops—if you're not doing anything this Friday night, send 'em our way!

Update 10/24: More Photoshopped Sad Rat photographs here, plus a poll asking what you would do if you saw a rat emerging from a sidewalk. And Wayne got back to our questions. He says, "It was on my block on the Upper West Side. 82nd Street between CPW and Columbus. I thought it was alive, but after getting up the nerve to poke it with a (long) stick, I realized he was dead. I did what any wonderful caring masculine New Yorker would do, I told the doorman about it and ran off to work. That night the sidewalk with spic and span. I hear the Eulogy was beautiful and moved some to tears."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on October 23, 2009 7:50 PM

Comments [rss]

pirmolotov

I know this was almost a year ago, but this morning, on my way to get a cup of coffee, I saw the same thing in a sidewalk crack here in Portland, in a residential area in inner NE. His little eyes were still open and his hands were resting there, just like the photo above. We poked it with a stick and it didn't respond. My boyfriend convinced me it was probably dead (at risk of having to hunt down a crowbar at 8AM and destroying the neighbors sidewalk).

We went home and I googled "rat stuck in a sidewalk" and found this thread. I didn't snap a picture of my deceased friend--for his dignity and all. I'm kinda glad I dont' have to see him playing solitaire. I'm also glad I don't live in that house, having to think about how to remove the body! *shivers*

But then again...I wonder if there's a chance he's just really fatigued...I think I need to go back and check...

pirmolotov

It was gone; just a small hole where it used to be. I'm going to image someone let it go.

new york city flowers

I wonder if Obama feels like this

pianoarthur

This photo isn't really the saddest thing ever.
That would be the caption describing the photo of the
rats family trying to pull him back down into the hole.

RobertaLeigh

It's good someone did something or else by the next morning, after other rats ate it, it would've been a more grotesque sight.

RobInSF

Two words: Nine Iron

WesleySnipesAlot

C'mon 200!

Banka

rohadékok

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Bike Rider

just punt its head across the street already

SeasTooFarToReach

Sooooo... where are the news updates on this? Did the rat make it? Did it meet with a foot stomping conservative?

wayneitup

It was already dead when I found it. So I did what every manly New York male would do, I told the doorman about it and rushed off to work.

felixthecat2

He looks alive in this picture. Was he really dead.

SeasTooFarToReach

Looks like he was making his final wish. That's why it's so sad...

felixthecat2

So Sad that he made me want to take him home with me.

mhz0282

You really don't have any friends, do you? :(

NannyState

After repeated attempts, it finally agreed to buy life insurance.

jibbly

Favorite Thread Ever.

Spirit of 76

"thefacts" fails again. You can find bluestone sidewalks in Brooklyn fairly easily. I'm guessing "thefacts" never goes far from his LES apartment. "Sealed up tight"? Looks to me like the grout (who would use caulk on a sidewalk?) is old and broken and only the piece on the left remains. Also, sidewalks always sit on a subgrade of soil, which is often vulnerable to undermining or being washed out by rain. I pass by a fire hydrant every few days where you can see broken concrete around the base and a hole at least a foot deep beneath. Who says rats don't come out in daylight? I've walked past a construction site in lower Manhattan in early afternoon where a disgusting number of rats were just dashing all over the place and across the street in broad daylight. NYC rats are brazen.

Westmetrics

Let's hope that patch of sidewalk isn't where all the rain gathered last night. Otherwise, we'd have a drowning on our hands.

cjp42

rats climb in and out of holes in the non-concrete sidewalk in front of my apartment...well, all the time. i have actually seen the same rat in the subway station under the street pop out of the hole once i got up the stairs to the street level. (i mean, i presume it was the same, i didn't ask him) trash does not regularly fall down the hole i am speaking of but it may in this particular hole, unsure.

as far as the conspiracy theory goes, there is plausible evidence to suggest that this *could* occur. but i think we all remember the Montauk Monster a little to well to believe everything we see in blog photographs...