CHICAGO (CBS) — The hype around the Chicago “rat hole” might have died down, but people still love what has become a nationally-known icon.
One designer loved it enough to turn it into art. Nail artist Jimmy (Bug) was so inspired by the rat hole they sculpted a nail with 3-D carving gels.
The impression of a rat – or some other rodent; many speculate it was probably a squirrel – in concrete in Roscoe Village has become famous across the country, even getting a shoutout from John Oliver on the season premiere of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO last week.
But some neighbors are sick of the attention it’s getting. Now named “Splatatouille” following a contest by the Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce, it has become a tourist attraction to the point that many neighbors are annoyed with all the visitors, including a marriage proposal and a wedding.
The rat hole is not new – some have said it has been around for 20 years, but visitors have flocked to the site for weeks after a post on X, formerly Twitter, went viral in January.
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