The True Origin of Chicago’s Famous ‘Splatatouille’

Long believed to be the imprint of an unfortunate rat falling on to wet concrete, but now scientists have done a proper analysis in order to get to the truth.

Chicago's "Splatatouille"

As urban landmarks go, a rodent-shaped hole in a Chicago sidewalk is certainly not the best the city has to offer visitors and tourists but the famous indentation - known as 'Rat Hole' - on a Roscoe Village street has attracted numerous visitors over the years. Indeed, it has become so well known that in 2024, Chicagoans voted to officially christen the shape “Splatatouille”. No doubt referencing the Disney Pixar movie Ratatouille.

But now, scientists say the Splatatouille moniker may be a misnomer and that the legend behind it - the tale of an unfortunate rat falling into wet concrete - is not correct. Analysis of the shape by a team of scientists has revealed it was likely caused by a squirrel, not a rat.

Scientists now think a grey squirrel slipped off a tree branch or misjudged a jump and plummeted to the ground. They suggest renaming it the “Windy City Sidewalk Squirrel”. Hardly as catchy as Splatatouille, but no doubt some bright spark will come up with a better option. But surely Splatatouille would still work just fine.

Measurements of key body parts such as the tail width, leg length, and finger size were taken and compared to various likely candidate animals, including the brown rat, from museum specimens.

Computer analysis of the measurements calculated there was a 98.67 per cent chance that the animal which caused the famed hollow was a squirrel. Specifically, there was a 50.67 percent chance it was a grey squirrel, and 48 percent chance it was a fox squirrel.

There is a 1.33 percent chance it was a muskrat that made the mark, and no chance it was a rat, the analysis found. Oh well.