Roving Rube Picture of the Day
11/16/01
Where there's whistles ... there's the Rat
The sound of whistles and chanting often presages the appearance of the Giant Rat (and strikers) around the next corner. His current home is in the mid-40's in midtown, but he does move around, including a lengthy stay last year in front of MoMA. His stay at CBS proved traumatic, according to this report from a union site:
Although it didn't block traffic or pedestrians, the cops seized the Rat as "evidence" and arrested union member Frederick Bianchi for disorderly conduct. Meanwhile, cops ignored illegally parked vehicles nearby. The laborers have charged the police with violating their constitutional rights and seek payment for damages caused by mistreatment of the Rat. "It was tossed from a Police Department vehicle onto the ground in the middle of the Police Department parking lot. It was dragged across that ground in a haphazard manner and left outside, exposed to the elements," the lawsuit stated.
His size is variously estimated between 10' and 30' feet within the 160 listings for "inflatable rat" on Google.com. The Rube is reasonably sure this is the largest picture of him you will find on the Web.