| A | B |
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| YOU WILL BE TESTED ON THESE FACTS!!! | YOU WILL BE TESTED ON THESE FACTS!!!! |
| A RAT CAN SQUEEZE THROUGH A PIPE THAT IS THE WIDTH OF A QUARTER? 10 | RATS CAN SCALE (CLIMB) A BRICK WALL BY GOING STRAIGHT UP? 10 |
| A RAT CAN FALL OFF A 5 STORY BUILDING AND LAND ON ITS FEET.. 10 | A RAT CAN REAR UP ON ITS HIND LEGS AND BOX WITH ITS FRONT PAWS. 10 |
| A RAT CAN BE FLUSHED DOWN A TOLIET AND STILL LIVE. | A RAT CAN CLIMB UP A DRAINPIPE INTO A TOLIET BOWL. 10 |
| THE BROWN RAT BEGAN TO TRAVEL LATER THAN ITS COUSIN, THE RATTUS RATTUS. IT TRAVELED FROM RUSSIA TO SCANDINAVIA IN THE EARLY 1700’S. THEY ARRIVED IN THE U. S. WHEN THEY CAME TO NEW YORK CITY IN ABOUT 1776, THE YEAR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. | TODAY BOTH TYPES OF RATS LIVE WHERE EVER PEOPLE DO. THE NORWAY RAT (COMMONLY CALLED THE BROWN RAT) HAS PUSHED THE RATTUS RATTUS (COMMONLY CALLED THE BLACK RAT) OUT OF THE CITIES AND INTO THE RURAL OR COUNTRY AREAS. |
| *RATS ARE SOCIAL AND LIVE IN FAMILY GROUPS, WHICH MEANS THEY ARE NEVER ALONE. SO IF YOU SEE ONE, THERE ARE MANY MORE NEARBY. | *A TUNNEL IN THE GROUND OR A HOLE SOMEWHERE MAY LEAD TO A RAT’S NEST. |
| *USUALLY, WEAK ANIMALS ARE KILLED OR LEFT TO DIE, BUT RATS ARE UNUSUAL AND SHOW “PITY” AND TAKE CARE OF THEIR WEAK OR SICK FAMILY MEMBERS. | *FEMALE RATS HAVE LARGE LITTERS. AFTER CARRYING PUPS FOR THREE WEEKS, 6 TO 22 PUPS CAN BE BORN. THE MOM CAN MATE AND BECOME PREGANT AGAIN, IMMEDIATELY. THEREFORE, EACH MOM CAN HAVE UP TO 381 PUPS PER YEAR. |
| A PAIR OF RATS COULD HAVE 359 MILLION DESCENDANTS IN THREE YEARS. | EVERY RAT FAMILY HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL SCENT, WHICH AIDS THEM IN SELF-DEFENSE. |
| MALE RATS DEFEND THE TERRITORY AND IF AN OUTSIDER GETS IN THEY ARE SURROUNDED, SNIFFED, AND THEN EATEN. | IF A MOTHER'S NEW PUPS ARE DISTURBED, THE MOTHER MAY EAT HER PUPS. |
| *MOTHER RATS NURSE (BREAST FEED) THEIR PUPS FOR ONE MONTH. PUPS CAN MATE AFTER TWO MONTHS. | *RATS ARE OLD AFTER 9 MONTHS AND MOST DIE WITHIN 15 MONTHS. |
| *THE OLDEST RAT IN CAPTIVITY LIVED FOR 5 YEARS AND 8 MONTHS, WHICH IS EQUAL TO 200 YEARS FOR A HUMAN. | *RATS ARE HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND HAVE EXCELLENT MEMORIES. IF A RAT EATS POISONED BAIT AND DIES, OTHER RATS IN THE PACK WILL AVOID THE BAIT IN THE FUTURE. IF A FEW RATS OF THE PACK IGNORE AND PASS FOOD, THE RATS THAT FOLLOW WILL ALSO AVOID THE POISONED FOOD OR BAIT. |
| *THE FIRST RAT WHO SPOTS POISON FOOD OR BAIT, WILL SPRINKLE URINE OR FECES (NUMBER 2) ON THE POISONED FOOD AS A SIGNAL TO FAMILY MEMBERS. | *RATS ARE SMART AND LEARN BY TRAIL AND ERROR. SIXTH GRADERS DID AN EXPERIMENT WITH THEIR PET RATS AND WERE SHOCKED TO LEARN HOW QUICKLY RATS LEARN. |
| *PEOPLE STARTED FARMING ABOUT 8,000 YEARS AGO. FARMS ARE A GOOD SOURCE FOR RATS TO EASILY FEED ON THE GRAIN THAT IS GROWN AND STORED. | *RATS WILL GNAW INTO THE BELLIES OF PIGS OR THE TOENAILS OF SLEEPING ELEPHANTS. |
| IN ASIAN FOLKTALES, RATS ARE OFTEN LUCKY ANIMALS. THE JAPANESE SEE RATS AS A MESSENGER OF THE GOD OF WEALTH. IF RATS EAT THE FIRST RICE CAKES MADE IN THE NEW YEAR, JAPANESE BELIEVE A GOOD HARVEST IS SURE TO COME. | IN CHINESE FOLKTALES, PEOPLE BORN IN THE YEAR OF THE RAT, WHICH COMES EVERY TWELVE YEARS, HAVE BIG AMBITIONS AND ARE USUALLY SUCCESSFUL. THEY ARE SAID TO BE EASILY ANGERED AND LOVE TO GOSSIP. |
| MOST PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY OF INDIA (IN ASIA) PRACTICE THE HINDU RELIGION AND FEEL THAT ALL LIFE IS SACRED. THEREFORE, RATS ARE WELCOME INTO THEIR TEMPLE WHERE WORSHIPERS DONATE MONEY TO FEED THE RATS A MIXTURE OF GRAIN, SUGAR, AND MILK CALLED IADDU. | CALCUTTA, INDIA’S LARGEST CITY, HAS A PLACE CALLED "RAT PARK" WHERE RATS RUN AROUND VISITORS SEATING ON BENCHES OR STROLLING ALONG THE PATHS. THEY FEED THE RATS LIKE AMERICANS FEED SQUIRRELS OR PIGEONS. |
| "RAT BAITING” WAS A POPULAR SPORT IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. RATS WERE PUT IN A PIT AND A DOG CALLED A “RATTER” WAS TOSSED IN THE PIT TO KILL THE RATS AFTER PEOPLE SITTING AROUND HAVE PLACED BETS. SOME OWNERS BRED ALBINO (WHITE) RATS SO THE BLOOD WOULD SHOW UP BETTER. IN 1853, AN ENGLISH BULL TERRIER KILLED 500 RATS IN JUST OVER ONE HOUR. RAT BAITING IS NOW ILLEGAL IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. RAT BAITING IS NOW ILLEGAL IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. THIS IS NOW ILLEGAL. | MICE ARE THE NEAREST COUSIN TO RATS. |
| MEN WHO WERE DESPERATE FOR MONEY OR MENTALLY ILL ALSO WORKED AS “RATTERS” . THEY WOULD GRAB THE RATS WITH THEIR HANDS, BITE THE RAT’S NECK, WHICH BROKE THE RAT’S NECK. | RATS BRED AS PETS, ARE DISEASE FREE. COST $10 TO $50 AND MAKE GREAT PETS. RATS CAN BE TRAINED TO DO TRICKS. MORE THAN 550,000 AMERICAN FAMILIES OWN PET RATS AND MICE. |
| DURING THE VIET NAM WAR, AN AMERICAN SOILDER BEING HELD PRISONER IN SOLITARY (ALONE) CONFINEMENT WAS KEPT COMPANY BY A RAT WHO VISITED HIM DAILY. | A BUS DRIVER FOUND AND TRAINED A YOUNG RAT, WHO THEY NAMES IKEY ALMOST BECAME A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY, WAS A “GUARD RAT” FOR HIS LUNCH BOX AS HE DROVE THE BUS. |
| ROMAN EMPERORS SERVED ROASTED DORMICE DIPPED IN HONEY OR BAKED AND STUFFED WITH PORK. AMERICAN FRONTIER PIONEERS ATE POSSUM AND SQUIRREL, AND SOME PEOPLE STILL DO. SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS EAT ROASTED GUINEEA PIG. | *ACCORDING TO WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION) SEVEN MILLION GUINEA PIGS ARE SOLD AS FOOD IN PERU EACH YEAR. |
| ANCIENT CHINESE CALL RATS “HOUSEHOLD DEER” | IN CERTAIN PLACES, RAT COST MORE THAN PORK OR CHICKEN. A POUND OF RAT CAN BE NEARLY TWICE THE PRICE OF A POUND OF BEEF. |
| RESTAURANTS IN CHINA CLAIM THAT RAT MEAT CAN TURN GRAY HAIR BLACK OR GROW HAIR, IF BALD. | IN SOME PARTS OF MEXICO, RAT IS BOILED IN SOUP, GRILLED OVER AN OPEN PIT, OR MIXED WITH STEW. PEOPLE CLAIM THAT RAT IS SWEETER THAN CHICKEN |
| GRILLED RAT BORDEAUX” (BORE- DOE) STYLE IS A DISH SERVED USING RATS WHO HAS BECOME ALCOHOLIC AFTER DRINKING BORDEAUX WINE FROM WINE CELLARS. | IN WEST AFRICA RATS HAVE BECOME A MAIN PART OF THEIR DAILY FOOD. |
| ACCORDING TO THE UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION, RATS AND MICE MAKE UP OVER 50 PERCENT OF THE MEAT EATEN IN SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY OF GHANA. | BECAUSE RATS ARE RICH IN PROTEIN, WHICH ALL CREATURES NEED, SOME NUTRITIONISTS BELIEVE RATS MIGHT BE THE ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM OF WORLD HUNGER. |
| SINCE RATS ARE PLENTIFUL, RATS CAN BE A CHEAP MEAT SOURCE. | RATS RAISED TO BE EATEN IS NO MORE DISEASED OR “GROSS” THAN A CHICKEN, PIG, OR COW RAISED TO EAT |
| IT IS ESTIMATED THAT RATS BITE AN ESTIMATED 14,000 AMERICANS EVERY YEAR, USUALLY AT NIGHT, IN SELF DEFENSE. | RATS WILL USUALLY RUN AWAY IF THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH A PERSON, BUT IF CORNERED RATS WILL LEAP AT ITS ATTACKER’S FACE AND EYES. |
| IF YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH A RAT, SCREAM TO SCARE IT AWAY, RUN AWAY, AND STAY CALM BECAUSE A RAT IS AS SCARED OF YOU AS YOU ARE OF IT. | RATS DO NOT LIKE THE FEEL OF WIND ON THEIR FUR, SO THEY WILL FLEE IF BLOWN ON. (WHO WOULD WANT TO GET THAT CLOSE?) |
| THE BEST WAY TO AVOID RATS IS TO KEEP ALL FOOD SOURCES AWAY FROM RATS AND TIGHTLY CLOSED. DO NOT FEED PIGEONS OR SQUIRRELS THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES. | GREAT RATS, SMALL RATS, LEAN RATS, BRAWNY RATS, BROWN RATS, BLACK RATS, GRAY RATS, TAWNY RAT. BY ROBERT BROWNING. (NOTE TO BOBBIE: THERE ARE OTHER POEMS BY BROWNING IN THE BOOK. TO REMEMBR HIS NAME THINK ABOUT THE NORWAY RAT, WHICH IS COMMONLY CALLED THE BROWN RAT.) |
| EXTERMINATORS USE A CHEMICAL CALL "WARFARIN" TO KILL RATS. "WARFARIN" IS ANTICOAGULANT. ANTICOAGULANTS CAUSES RATS TO BLEED TO DEATH BECAUSE THEIR BLOOD WILL NO LONGER CLOT. | C. M. MORAN IS THE ILLUSTRATOR OF THE BOOK. |
| "SUPER-RATS" ARE RATS THAT ARE IMMUNE TO VARIOUS TYPES OF POISON, AND THEY PASS THIS IMMUNITY ON TO THEIR PUPS. THIS IS WHY SCIENTIST HAVE TO CONSTANTLY DEVELOP NEWER, STRONGER RAT POISONS. "SUPER RATS" REPRODUCE TWICE AS FAST A ORDINARY RATS. | RATS ONLY ATTACKED IF THEY FEEL TRAPPED. |
| DURING THE 1600'S, QUEEN CHRISTINA, OF SWEDEN DECLARED WAR ON RATS AND BUILT FOUR CANNONS TO SHOOT THEM WITH TINY IRON BALLS. | FRENCH FARMERS THREATENED TO BURN THE RAT'S WHISKERS WITH TORCHES. |
| PEOPLE IN GERMANY BANGED POTS AND PANS TO DRIVE RATS OUT OF THEIR HOMES. | CHINESE PEOPLE WOULD MOVE OUT OF THEIR HOME FOR A FEW DAYS IN THE DECEMBER WHILE THEY TRIED TO "SMOKE OUT THE RATS." |
| UNTIL THE 1700"S, EUROPEANS TREATED RATS AS CRIMINALS AND HAD THEM FACE TRIAL IN COURT FOR CHARGES OF ASSAULT, ROBBERY AND DAMAGING PROPERTY. THE IDEA OF HAVING ANIMALS FACE TRIAL IS BECAUSE GOD CREATED ALL ANIMALS, ALL ANIMALS SHARED CERTAIN RIGHTS. IF PEOPLE WERE ENTITLED TO A FAIR TRIALS, SO WERE RATS AND OTHER ANIMALS. | PUPS BREED FOR RESEARCH ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE BORN NATURALLY. THE PUPS ARE CUT FROM THE MOTHER TO KEEP THEM GERM FREE, AND THE NEW RATS ARE ALWAYS KEPT IN GERM-FREE SITUATIONS. |
| "RAT CATCHERS", MEN WHO WORKED TO RID PEOPLE OF THEIR RAT PROBLEM, WORE A PIED COAT (COAT WITH DIFFERENT COLOR PATCHES), TALL POINTED HATS AND CARRIED POLES WITH LARGE FLAGS THAT HAD DRAWINGS OF RATS ON THEM. OFTEN DEAD RATS DANGLED FROM THE FLAGPOLE ON STRINGS. | "RAT CATCHERS" HAD MANY WAYS OF KILLING THE RATS. (1) LIT A FIRE AT THE ENTRANCE OF A RAT HOLE AND CLUBBED THEM OVER THE HEAD WHEN THEY TRIED TO ESCAPE. (2) HAD A DOG POUNCE ON THE FLEEING RATS. (3) WOULD PUT A FERRET, WHICH IS A SLENDER RODENT, INTO THE RAT HOLE TO KILL THE RATS WITH ITS SHARP CLAWS. |
| RAT CATCHERS SOLD RATS' FUR TO TAILORS FOR COAT COLLARS. RAT SKINS WERE ALSO SOLD TO MAKE LEATHER PURSES, BOOKBINDINGSS, AND GLOVES. | ACCORDING TO GERMAN LEGEND, IN 1284, THERE WAS A FAMOUS RAT CATCHER IN HAMELIN NAMED THE PIED PIPER, BECAUSE OF THIS COSTUME AND MAGICAL FLUTE. WITH HIS FLUTE PLAYING, HE LURED THE RATS INTO A RIVER WHERE THEY DROWNED. HOWEVER, WHEN THE TOWN REFUSED TO PAY HIM FOR HIS WORK, HE THEN LURED THE TOWN'S CHILDREN INTO A MOUNTAIN THAT OPENED UP AND CLOSED UP BEHIND THEM, WHERE THEY STAYED FOREVER. REMEMBER THE SAYING ALWAYS KEEP YOUR WORD AND "PAY THE PIPER." |
| POEMS ABOUT RATS BY THE FAMOUS POET ROBERT BROWNING WERE ARE IN THIS BOOK. | RATS CARRY DISEASE AND ARE NICKNAMED "GERM ELEVATORS" BECAUSE THEY "BRING UP" MICRO-ORGANISMS (TINY LIFE FORMS) FROM SEWAGE (HUMAN BODY WASTE). MICROSCOPIC BACTERIA AND VIRUSES LIVE IN RATS' BODIES AND WHEN LARGER CREATURES LIKE FLEAS, LICE, TICKS, AND MITES LIVE IN THEIR FUR OR DRINK A RAT'S BLOOD AND THEN LAND ON SOMETHING ELSE, THE GERM IS SPREAD. |
| THE SONG "RING AROUND THE ROSY" TELLS OF THE WORST DISEASE CARRIED BY RATS, WHICH IS CALLED THE PLAGUE. THE CHILDREN SANG THIS SONG AT FUNERALS OF PLAGUE VICTIMS. THE PLAGUE KILLED MANY PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE "KNOWN WORLD." | "RING AROUND THE ROSY" WAS WRTTEN ABOUT THE PLAGUE. THE FRIST SIGN OF THE PLAGUE IS A RED RASH (RING AROUND THE ROSEY). AS VICTIMS GOT SICKER, PEOPLE FILLED THEIR POCKET WITH THE FLOWER "POSIES" TO HID THE SMELL OF THE SICKNESS. BEFORE THE VICTIMS DIED (FALLING DOWN) THEY HAD SNEEZING FITS, WHICH THE CHILDREN IMIATED BY THE WORD "ASHES, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE SNEEZING. P 37 |
| BUBOES, ORSWOLLEN GLANDS IN THE NECK AND ARMPITS IS A SIGN OF THE PLAGUE. THAT IS WHYTHE PLAGUE IS ALSO CALLED "BUBONIC PLAGUE". IT WAS ALSO CALLED THE "BLACK PLAGUE" BECAUSE PEOPLE DEVELOPED LARGE PURPLE OR BLACK SPOTS ON THEIR SKIN DURING THE LAST STAGES BEFORE DEATH. | THE "BUBONIC OR BLACK PLAGUE" IS CAUSED BY A BACTERIA CALLED "YERSINIA PESTIS, WHICH IS LATIN FOR YERSIN'S PLAGUE, WHICH IS NAMED FOR THE THE FRENCH SCIENTIST ALEXANDRE YERSIN WHO DISCOVERED THE BACTERIA THAT CAUSES THE PLAGUE. THE BACTERIA IS SHAPED LIKE "THIN RODS" AND IS 1/10,000 OF AN INCH IN LENGTH. |
| THE FIRST SIGN OF A COMING OUTBREAK OF THE PLAGUE, DEADLY DISEASE CARRIED BY RATS, IS HUNDREDS OF DYING RATS STAGGERING OUT OF THEIR BURROWS. | FLEAS KNOW TO LEAVE A DISEASED AND DYING RAT WHEN ITS TEMPERATURE DROPS. |
| THE WORST OUTBREAK OF PLAGUE BEGAN IN 1333, WHEN IT KILLED 13-MILLION PEOPLE IN CHINA AND 25-MILLION IN OTHER PARTS OF ASIA. | LONG AGO PEOPLE DID NOT KNOW THAT BACTERIA CAUSED DISEASE BECAUSE THE MICROSCOPE HAD NOT BEEN INVENTED. THEY DID NOT KNOW THAT RATS AND TINY ANIMALS THAT RATS CAME IN CONTACT WITH WERE CAUSING THE PLAGUE. DOCTORS WHO TREATED VICTIMS WORE A GOWN FROM THEIR SHOULDERS TO THEIR FEET AND A HOOD WITH A LONG "BEAK" WHERE THEY CARRIED SPICES THEY THOUGHT WOULD PROTECT THEM AGAINST THE PLAGUE, BUT OF COURSE, DOCTORS DIED AS FAST AS THEIR PATIENTS. |
| DURING THE TIME OF THE PLAGUE AND DURING A WAR, ATTACKERS SHOT DEAD BODIES OF PEOPLE WHO HAD DIED OF THE PLAGUE AT THE ENEMIES TO GET THEM TO SURRENDER AND IT WORKDED. THE PLAGUE KILLED THE POPULATION AND MOST OF THE ARMY. THEREFORE, THE PLAGUE WAS USED AS A "WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION." | NOTE TO BOBBIES: STUDY, STUDY, STUDY |
| THE WIDESPREAD OF THE PLAGUE RAN ITS COURSE, OR ENDED. THE TIME OF THE PLAGUE WAS REFERRED TO AS THE "GREAT DYING" BECAUSE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DIED FROM THE PLAGUE | SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT CAUSES THE PLAGUE HAS ENABLED SCIENTISTS TO DEVELOP VACCINES TO MAKE PEOPLE IMMUNE TO THE DISEASE AND ALLOWS THEM TO MAKE ANTIBODIES TO TREAT THE PLAGUE. |
| RATS HELP PEOPLE IN MANY WAYS: THE AFRICAN GIANT POUCHED RAT, ATTACHED TO A LEASH, IS USED TO FIND LAND MINES BY SNIFFING OUT TNT (AN EXPLOSIVE), THAT WOULD KILL PEOPLE. WHEN THEY FIND TNT, THEY SCRATCH A FEW TIMES WITH THEIR PAWS AND THE PAUSE. THEY ARE REWARDED WITH A BANANA, A PAT, AND KIND WORDS. RATS ARE USED TO FIGHT TB, A DISEASE THAT KILLED 2-MILLION PEOPLE IN 2005, BY SMELLING THE SALIVA (SPIT) SAMPLES OF SUSPECTED VICTIMS. LAB WORKERS CAN ONLY TEST 20 SAMPLES PER DAY, BUT TRAINED RATS CAN TEST 120-150 SAMPLES IN A HALF HOUR. | RATS ARE HELPFUL TO HUMANS: RATS ARE HELPFUL IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH BECAUSE RATS LIKE HUMANS ARE MAMMALS AND EVERY THING THAT HAPPENS IN A HUMAN BODY HAPPEN IS A RAT'S BODY, BUT MORE QUICKLY. RATS GET DIABETES, EYE CATARACTS, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, AND MUSCULAR DYSTOPHY (THE WASTING AWAY OF MUSCLES), LOOSE THEIR HAIR, GET WRINKLES, ETC.. THEREFORE, 300 COMPANIES BREED OVER 30 MILLION RATS FOR RESEARCH TO HELP MAKE HUMAN LIVES BETTER, EACH YEAR. |
| THE GOVERNMENT LEARNED THAT TOBACCO CAUSES CANCER FROM EXPOSING RATS TO CIGARETTE SMOKE. NEW MEDICINES ARE TESTED ON RATS BEFORE BEING GIVEN TO PEOPLE. | RATS ARE HELPFUL TO HUMANS: BY LAW, CHILDREN TODAY ARE VACCINATED AGAINST SUCH DISEASES AS POLIO BECAUSE DR. JONAS SALK, DEVELOPED THE POLIO VACCINE, BUT FIRST HE DID HIS TESTING FOR THE VACCINE ON RATS. |
| RATS ARE HELPFUL TO HUMANS: EXPERIMENTS WITH RATS HAVE SHOWN THAT WIRING COMPUTER CHIPS TO THE BRAIN MAY HELP THE BLIND TO SEE, THE DEAF TO HEAR, AND THE PARALYZED TO MOVE. THROUGH RESEARCH, WE KNOW THAT RATS DREAM. SCIENTIST WONDER IF LEARNING HOW RATS DREAM CAN IMPROVE HUMAN MEMORY. | ANIMAL RIGHTS PEOPLE FEEL THAT DOING RESEARCH ON RATS AND OTHER ANIMALS IS "CRUEL AND UNNECESSARY" THEY SAY THAT "VIVISECTION , CUTTING INTO ANY LIVING BEING, IS TORTURE. OTHERS FEEL THAT USING ANIMALS TO SAVE OR IMPROVE HUMAN LIFE IS ACCEPTED. |
| RATS ARE HELPFUL: MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE DIED EARLY OR BEEN FOCED TO LIVE WITH INCURABLE DISABILITIES IF IT WAS NOT FOR RAT RESEARCH. "JUST THINK OF IT. ONE DAY YOU MAY OWR YOUR LIFE TO A RAT. OH RATS!" | P 8 INSERT: BIGGEST RODENT OF ALL WAS THE DIONOMYIDAE DIE-NO-MY-DAY), LATIN FOR "TERRIBLE MICE". NEARLY 7 FEET LONG, WHICH IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A RHINOCEROS AND LIVED 17 MILLION YEARS AGO. |
| P. 9 INSERT: BECAUSE CATS HELPED ANCIENT EYGPT WITH THEIR RAT PROBLEM, CATS BECOME HIGLY REGARDED ANIMALS IN EGYPT AND LATER REVERED ( PRAISED). | P. 11 INSERT: RATS SURVIVED AN ATOMIC BOMB TEST ON THE ISLAND OF ENGEBI. WHEN RETURNED SCIENTIST WENT TO THE ISLAND AFTER MANY YEARS, PLANTS AND ANIMALS HAD BECOME DEFORMED, BUT THE RATS WERE FINE. |
| P. 13 INSERT BECAUSE RATS FEED ON GARBAGE, RATS ARE THOUGHT OF AS BEING DIRTY. THAT IS A MYTH. RATS ARE VERY FUSSY ABOUT CLEANING THEMSELVES BY LICKING THEMSELVES. | P. 14 INSERT- RATS GO FISHING BY DANGLING THEIR TAILS IN THE WATER AND MOVING THEM AROUND. WHEN A FISH THINKS THE TAIL IS A WORM, THE RAT DIVES IN AFTER THE FISH. RATS LOVE WATER AND CAN PADDLE FOR HALF A MILE, STAY UNDERWATER FOR THREE MINUTES, AND TREAD (FLOAT) WATER FOR THREE DAYS. |
| P. 16 INSERT - IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THERE ARE 13 - BILLION RATS ON EARTH OR TWO RATS FOR EVERY PERSON. | P 17 -INSERT - RATS ARE SMART AND CAN SOLVE PROBLEMS. A FARMER ONCE SAW TWO RATS CARRY AN EGG TO THEIR NEST WITHOUT THE EGG BREAKING. ONE RAT LAID ON ITS BACK AND HELD THE EGG TO ITS BELLING WHILE THE OTHER RAT DRAGGED THE RAT BY ITS TAIL. |
| A "RAT KING" IS SEVERAL RATS ATTACHED FROM BEING PACKED CLOSLEY IN THEIR NESTS AND GET THEIR TAILS TANGLED AND GLUED TOGETHER BY DRIED FECES (NUMBER 2). TRYING TO PULL APART JUST MAKES THE KNOTS TIGHTER. | P. 20 INSERT- RATS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM IN THE WHITE HOUSE. THE DEAD AND ROTTING BODIES OF RATS IN THEIR HIDING PLACES SMELL AWFUL. PRESIDENT KENNEDY FOUND RATS IN THE WHITE HOUSE POOL AND IN THE OVAL OFFICE. HE HIT A RAT WITH HIS SHOE. |
| P. 21 INSERT- SOME MEN BECAME 'RATTERS'. MEN THAT FOUGHT WITH RATS FOR THE AMUSEMENT OF PEOPLE WHO BET ON THEM AND WATCHED. | P. 26 INSERT - JI LUE, OR "SUPER RAT" IS A RESTAURANT IN CHINA THAT HAS A LONG MENU OF RAT DISHES. |
| p. 29 INSERT - IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP RATS AWAY FROM FARM PRODUCTS, SO THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTLURE SETS STANDARDS FOR THE AMOUNT OF RAT HAIRS AND FECES (NUMBER 2) ALLOWD IN SUCH FOODS, SUCH AS PEANUT BUTTER AND OTHERS. | P. 35 INSERT - PEOPLE OF A RAT INFESTED APARTMENT BUILDING IN NEW YORK CITY BROUGHT RATS TO COURT WHEN SUING THE BUILDING OWNERS TO PROTEST AGAINST THE RATS IN THEIR BUILDING. THEY BROUGHT DEAD AND ALIVE RATS TO BRING ATTENTION TO THEIR PROBLEM AND FEAR OF RATS BITING THEIR CHILDREN. |
| P. 38 INSERT - RATS CARRY 18 DISEASES THAT AFFECT PEOPLE, BUT THE MOST SERIOUS ARE THESE: RAT-BITE FEVER, LASSA FEVER, TYPHUS (TIE-FUS) POLIO, MENINGITIS (ME-NIN-GIE-TIS) AND TRICHINOSIS ( TRI-KI-NOE-SIS) | P. 41 INSERT - PEOPLE THOUGHT THESE THINGS WOULD CURE THEM FROM THE DEADLY PLAGUE: DRINK URING, BREATH DEEPLY FROM A LATRINE (HOLDING PLACE FOR HUMAN BODY WASTE), SLEEO WITH A DEEP RAT UNDER THE BED, DRINK GOLD AND URINE, EAT A TOAD BOILED IN VINEGAR, CHANT THE MAGICAL WORD "A=BRA-CA-DA-BRA" |
| P. 45 INSERT - ROBORATS... RESEARCHERS PUT BACKPACKS WITH MINI RADIO TRANSMITTERS AND MINI TELEVISIONS CAMERAS TO RATS' BRAINS. IF ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE RATS SEE, SCIENTISTS COULD SEND USE RADIO WAVES TO DIRECT THE RATS IN ANY DIRECTION THEY WISHED. THEY HOPE TO USE THIS DEVICE, WHEN PERFECTED, TO SEND RATS IN TO COLLAPSED BUILDINGS TO FIND TRAPPED SURVIVORS. | THE DIETARY HABITS OF MAN AND RAT ARE ALMOST IDENTICAL, EXCEPT THAT WE EAT BY DAY AND THE RAT EATS BY NIGHT..." |
