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Rat Climbs Up Man’s Body on NYC Subway
Teach your children well: homeless people are people, too.
It’s every urban-dweller’s worst nightmare: rats taking over the subway. I don’t mean the rails or the platform – I’m talking about a subway car. Early yesterday morning, at about 2 am, a very large rat was filmed running around inside the 4 train headed toward Brooklyn, when the grossest thing imaginable happened: the rat crawled up a homeless man’s leg and nestled for a moment underneath his chin. The homeless man woke up suddenly and the rat scampered away, and even though the encounter was brief, there are innumerable lessons to be learned here:
1.) When traveling alone or with your children via subway, be vigilant against vermin. I’m always on the lookout for rats and mice on the train platform, but I’ve never actually seen one on a subway car. Every urbanite knows not to enter a car when no one else is in it – that means either there’s no AC, something died in there or it’s covered in feces. Now you know, if you see a rat, run.
2.) If you see something, say something! While it may be interesting to film a loose rat in the train, it’s certainly not fair that the budding cinematographer who captured the affair allowed a homeless man to be attacked. Homeless people are still people, even if they do sometimes poop in public (see lesson number one, above).
3.) Never, ever, under any circumstances, allow yourself of your children to close your eyes on the train ever again.
Here’s the video:
Source: CBS News/1010 Wins
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6 Comments
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jan 13 11 at 10:19 pm*curls into fetal position and screams*
Rebecca C commented on Jan 13 11 at 10:46 pmI can understand why seeing that would make you a bit paranoid, but chill. :) If you are afraid it will happen to you, don’t fall asleep. That is probably a wise precaution anyway, to avoid pickpockets (ask me why I know =P).
The rat was not a rabid animal viciously attacking the man, he was running, probably scared to death and trying to hide. He didn’t appear to have bitten him (though since I don’t have sound on this computer, I could be wrong). Rats (assuming wild rats have the same preferences as their domestic ‘cousins’) love hooded jackets because they are dark and warm. In the world of pet rats, it is actually a common piece of advice to let a rat who is new to you hide inside a hoodie. Makes them feel safe and lets them get used to you. The rat was almost undoubtedly not out looking for blood, just for a hiding spot.
All that said, that was totally gross to watch. Even as someone who has domestic rats (way better pets than hamsters, let me tell ya), I do NOT want to be getting that up close and personal with a wild rat or mouse. YUCK!
Ashley commented on Jan 14 11 at 10:11 amwow that is gross
Marj commented on Jan 14 11 at 1:29 pmI have had pet rats. I would not appreciate a wild rat wandering around on me. However, that said, strolling up someone’s body and snuggling under a chin is not an attack. Yes, it’s kinda gross, because they aren’t clean, as most wild animals are not, and they can carry disease or fleas. I wouldn’t argue that someone allowed a homeless man to be assaulted though. It’s also probably not the first time a rodent has taken a stroll on him, callous as that may sound. If you lie still in an animals habitat, they will treat you as part of it, whether it’s a rat or a squirrel or a bird.
Rosana commented on Jan 14 11 at 1:41 pmPoor guy!!!
Heather commented on Jan 23 12 at 12:47 pmMARJ – 100% agree. I also had pet rats and loved them dearly. They were very sweet and snugly – under my chin was one of their favorite places to cuddle. (Yes, pet rats are cuddly, sweet, and LOVE to be around people.) That being said, wild rats/mice truly disgust me with all the things they can carry and how filthy they are and I would have shoo-ed the rat away from that guy rather than videotape it – I think everyone would appreciate that and it’s sad that humans seem to have lost the ability to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. But yeah, the homeless guy, was most certainly not attacked by that rat. He may have been looking for a place to hide, a quick cuddle, or simply was hungry and spied a crumb on the guy’s shirt.
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