Curious About Rats

PODCAST 108: CURIOUS ABOUT RATS

RELEASE DATE:  OCTOBER 25TH, 2020

CURIOUS KID PODCAST THEME MUSIC

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  HALLOWEEN IS COMING UP ON SATURDAY, SO I CAN’T WAIT TO DO A SPOOKY HALLOWEEN EPISODE.  TWO YEARS AGO, WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT CANDY FOR HALLOWEEN AND LEARNED SOME INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR TRICK OR TREAT CANDIES.  LAST YEAR, WE LEARNED ABOUT BATS FOR HALLOWEEN, AND WE LEARNED IF BATS REALLY SUCK BLOOD.  THIS YEAR, OUR HALLOWEEN EPISODE TOPIC COMES FROM A LISTENER IN A COUNTRY WE HAVEN’T READ ANY MAIL FROM UNTIL TODAY.

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HI GUYS, IT’S LOUIS FROM VIENNA IS AUSTRIA.  I REALLY, REALLY LOVE YOUR PODCAST.  I WANTED TO ASK, IF YOU COULD DO AN EPISODE ABOUT RATS.  I LOVE RATS AND I EVEN HAVE TWO PET RATS AT HOME, TINY AND FLUFFY.  THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.  

-LOUIS”

O:  THAT’S AN AWESOME E-MAIL.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT RATS FOR LOUIS.  I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW PEOPLE HAD RATS AS PETS.  I LOVE THE NAMES TINY AND FLUFFY.

D:  ISN’T THAT AMAZING?  WE ARE SO THANKFUL TO HAVE LISTENERS IN AUSTRIA.  YOUR E-MAIL WAS THE FIRST ONE WE RECEIVED FROM AUSTRIA, SO A BIG THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THE PODCAST.  IT ALSO JUST OCCURRED TO ME THAT WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT RATS TODAY AND WE DID BATS A YEAR AGO… THOSE WORDS RHYME.

O:  MAYBE WE CAN GET CURIOUS ABOUT CATS NEXT YEAR FOR HALLOWEEN.  THAT RHYMES TOO.

D:  IT SURE DOES, AND THAT’S A GREAT IDEA.  PEOPLE THINK BLACK CATS ARE SPOOKY.  IN FACT, THERE IS A SUPERSTITION THAT, IF A BLACK CAT WALKS IN FRONT OF A PERSON, THAT PERSON WILL HAVE BAD LUCK.  WELL, THAT’S A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER WEEK.  LET’S LEARN MORE ABOUT RATS.  WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT IS A GROUP OF RATS CALLED?

D:  INTERESTING.  A MALE RAT IS CALLED A BUCK AND A FEMALE RAT IS CALLED A DOE.

O:  THAT’S EXACTLY THE SAME AS DEER.

D:  YOU’RE RIGHT, BUT I WONDER WHAT A GROUP OF RATS IS CALLED.  WE ARE GOING TO LEARN THE ANSWER IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.  

O:  RATS ARE MEDIUM SIZED RODENTS WITH LONG TAILS.

D:  THE WORD RODENT COMES FROM THE LATIN WORD RODERE, WHICH MEANS “TO GNAW”.  LIKE OTHER RODENTS, THEY HAVE INCISOR TEETH THAT CONTINUOUSLY GROW THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE.

O:  HANG ON A SECOND… THEIR TEETH JUST KEEP ON GROWING?

D:  THEY DO, AND THEY GROW QUICKLY.  THEIR TEETH CAN GROW AS MUCH AS 5 INCHES A YEAR.  IN ORDER TO TRIM THEM DOWN, RATS NEED TO CHEW ON THINGS.  THEY LOVE CHEWING ON WOOD, BUT THEY CAN ALSO CHEW ON THINGS LIKE CINDER BLOCKS, GLASS, AND LEAD.      

O:  WHY DO PEOPLE THINK RATS ARE SCARY BUT THEY AREN’T AFRAID OF OTHER RODENTS?

D:  GOOD QUESTION… THERE ARE SO MANY RODENTS THAT PEOPLE MIGHT THINK ARE CUTE INCLUDING BEAVERS, MICE, HAMSTERS, GERBILS, CHIPMUNKS, AND SQUIRRELS.  

O:  OUR COUSINS EVEN HAVE 2 RODENTS AT HOME, A GUINEA PIG AND A CHINCHILLA.  

D:  AND ALL OF THOSE RODENTS ARE SUPER CUTE.  THE HISTORY OF WHY RATS SCARE PEOPLE GOES BACK MANY, MANY YEARS.  DURING THE MIDDLE AGES, ROUGHLY 700 YEARS AGO, A TERRIBLE DISEASE CALLED THE BUBONIC PLAGE WIPED OUT ALMOST A THIRD OF THE EUROPEAN POPULATION.  THE BUBONIC PLAGUE STARTED IN RATS.  THE RATS CARRIED BUBONIC PLAGUE, AND WHEN FLEAS BIT THE RATS, THEY BECAME INFECTED TOO.  WHEN THOSE FLEAS THEN BIT HUMANS, THEY WOULD PASS ALONG THE PLAGUE TO HUMANS.  SINCE THEN, MANY HUMANS HAVE BEEN CONDITIONED TO THINK THAT RATS ARE GROSS, DIRTY, AND CARRIERS OF DISEASE.  THE TRUTH ABOUT RATS THOUGH, IS THAT THEY ARE VERY CLEAN ANIMALS.                

O:  CAN RATS STILL SPREAD DISEASE?

D:  THEY CAN, ALTHOUGH IT’S NOT VERY COMMON THESE DAYS.  THEY CAN SPREAD DISEASE DIRECTLY, MEANING THE HUMAN WOULD HAVE TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH RAT PEE OR POOP OR GET BITTEN BY A RAT.  EXAMPLES OF DISEASES RATS SPREAD DIRECTLY INCLUDE LEPTOSPIROSIS, WHICH IS A BACTERIAL DISEASE.  THE BUBONIC PLAGUE WE JUST DISCUSSED IS AN EXAMPLE OF RATS CAUSING DISEASE INDIRECTLY, BECAUSE THEY GAVE THE DISEASE TO FLEAS, WHO THEN GAVE THE DISEASE TO HUMANS.  IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT NOT ALL HUMANS ARE SCARED OF RATS, THOUGH.

O:  IN SOME PLACES, RATS ARE ACTUALLY PROTECTED AND REVERED.

D:  THERE IS A TEMPLE IN INDIA CALLED KARNI MATA.  IT’S ALSO KNOWN AS THE TEMPLE OF RATS.  WHY DOES IT HAVE THAT NAME?  WELL, IT’S BECAUSE 25,000 RATS LIVE THERE AND THEY ARE TREATED WITH LOTS OF LOVE AND RESPECT FROM THE WORSHIPPERS.  

O:  RATS ARE VERY GOOD SWIMMERS.  THEY CAN TREAD WATER FOR UP TO 3 DAYS.

D:  THEY CAN ALSO HOLD THEIR BREATH FOR 3 MINUTES AND CAN SWIM FOR MORE THAN A MILE.  

O:  RATS HAVE AN INTERESTING WAY OF KEEPING COOL THAT INVOLVES THEIR TAILS.

D:  HUMANS KEEP COOL ON A HOT DAY BY SWEATING.  DOGS KEEP COOL BY PANTING.  RATS KEEP COOL USING THE BLOOD VESSELS IN THEIR TAILS.  THAT’S PRETTY NEAT.  

O:  RATS ARE USUALLY BIGGER THAN MICE, BUT HOW BIG CAN THEY GET?

D:  THEY CAN GET PRETTY BIG.  THE SUMATRAN BAMBOO RAT CAN WEIGH CLOSE TO 9 POUNDS, OR OVER 4 KILOGRAMS.  

O:  RATS ALSO MULTIPLY VERY QUICKLY.

D:  THAT MEANS THAT THEY MAKE LOTS OF BABIES, OR AS THEY ARE CALLED WITH RATS, PUPS.  A FEMALE RAT CAN HAVE PUPS AS OFTEN AS EVERY THREE WEEKS, AND WHEN THEY HAVE PUPS, THEY OFTEN HAVE BETWEEN 6 AND 10 AT A TIME, WITH AS MANY AS 20 PUPS AT ONCE.  AND THOSE PUPS CAN HAVE PUPS OF THEIR OWN WHEN THEY ARE ONLY AS YOUNG AS 5 WEEKS OLD, SO A RAT INFESTATION CAN GET OUT OF CONTROL QUICKLY.

O:  THERE ARE LOTS OF RATS IN CITIES WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE.

D:  AND THAT’S BECAUSE THEY HAVE LOTS OF FOOD SOURCES IN THOSE CITIES.  CHECK OUT THE TOP 10 LIST OF MOST RAT INFESTED CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES:  CHICAGO IS NUMBER 1, WHERE IT’S BEEN FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN A ROW.

O:  CONGRATULATIONS, CHICAGO!

D:  I DON’T KNOW IF THEY WANT TO GET CONGRATULATED FOR THAT.  2 THROUGH 10 ON THE LIST ARE LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, WASHINGTON D.C., SAN FRANCISCO, DETROIT, PHILADELPHIA, CLEVELAND, BALTIMORE, AND DENVER.

O:  LOTS OF PEOPLE LIVE IN ALL THOSE CITIES. 

D:  AND THIS ISN’T JUST A PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES EITHER.  CITIES LIKE LONDON AND PARIS ALSO HAVE ISSUES WITH RAT INFESTATIONS.   

O:  ACCORDING TO THE CHINESE ZODIAC, THIS YEAR IS THE YEAR OF THE RAT.  

D:  THE CHINESE ZODIAC ASSIGNS ANIMALS TO EACH YEAR IN A 12 YEAR CYCLE.  THE ANIMAL OF YOUR YEAR IS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT SIMILARITIES WITHIN THE PEOPLE BORN IN THOSE YEARS.  PEOPLE BORN THIS YEAR, 2020, WERE BORN IN THE YEAR OF THE RAT.  THE LAST YEAR OF THE RAT WAS THE YEAR 2008.  EXAMPLES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE THAT WERE BORN IN THE YEAR OF THE RAT ARE GEORGE WASHINGTON, RICHARD SIMMONS, AND WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.  THOSE 3 FAMOUS PEOPLE DON’T SEEM TO HAVE A LOT IN COMMON. 

O:  I WAS BORN IN 2013, THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE.  YOU WERE BORN IN 1981, THE YEAR OF THE ROOSTER. 

D:  THE CHINESE ZODIAC EVEN TELLS YOU WHICH ANIMALS YOU ARE COMPATIBLE WITH AND WHICH ANIMALS YOU SHOULD AVOID.  NOT SURPRISINGLY, OTHER SNAKES AND ROOSTERS ARE SOME OF YOUR BEST MATCHES.  ACCORDING TO THE CHINESE ZODIAC, YOU SHOULD AVOID PEOPLE BORN IN THE YEAR OF THE TIGER.  THE MOST RECENT YEAR OF THE TIGER WAS 2010.  ASK YOUR GROWN UP TO HELP YOU FIND OUT WHAT YOUR CHINESE ZODIAC SIGN IS.  THE RESULTS COULD BE REALLY INTERESTING AND FUN FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT.  LET’S GO THROUGH SOME INTERESTING RAPID-FIRE RAT FACTS.

O:  WHEN RATS ARE HAPPY, THEY SOUND LIKE THEY ARE MAKING LAUGHING SOUNDS.  RATS ARE EVEN TICKLISH.  

D:  RATS HAVE A GREAT SENSE OF SMELL, AND CAN EVEN SMELL DISEASES, SUCH  AS TUBERCULOSIS.  

O:  RATS HAVE GREAT MEMORIES AND CAN EASILY FIND THEIR WAY THROUGH MAZES THEY HAVE WALKED THROUGH ONCE.  

D: RATS CAN FALL FROM AS HIGH AS 50 FEET WITHOUT GETTING HURT.

O:  RATS HAVE BELLYBUTTONS, LIKE HUMANS.

D:  RATS ARE COLOR BLIND AND CAN’T SEE VERY WELL.  

O:  RATS ARE ABLE TO SQUEEZE THROUGH SMALL HOLES THE SIZE OF A QUARTER.

D:  ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO TELL HOW OLD A RAT IS IS BY LOOKING AT THEIR TEETH.  RAT PUPS HAVE WHITE TEETH.  AS RATS GET OLDER, THEIR TEETH TURN YELLOW. 

O:  RATS EAT LOTS OF THINGS, BUT REALLY ENJOY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.       

D:  RATS HAVE REALLY POWERFUL TASTEBUDS.  THEY ARE ABLE TO TASTE A TEASPOON OF CHOCOLATE MIXED INTO 1300 GALLONS OF MILK.  

O:  A RATS EYES ARE CLOSED FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS AFTER THEY ARE BORN.  

D:  BEFORE WE WRAP THIS EPISODE UP, I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING VERY POSITIVE ABOUT RATS AND HOW THEY’VE HELPED HUMANS OVER THE YEARS.  YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THE TERM LAB RAT.  SINCE THE MID 1800’S, RATS HAVE BEEN USED IN SCIENCE LABORATORIES TO STUDY DIFFERENT THINGS.  RATS MAKE GREAT LAB ANIMALS, BECAUSE THEY MAKE LOTS OF BABIES, THEY ARE SOCIAL, THEY ADAPT TO NEW SITUATIONS EASILY, THEY ARE SMALL, AND THEY ARE OMNIVORES THAT WILL EAT ALMOST ANYTHING.  95% OF ALL LAB ANIMALS ARE RODENTS, AND THANKS TO THAT RESEARCH, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY AMAZING SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS.  OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT IS A GROUP OF RATS CALLED?

O:  A GROUP OF RATS IS CALLED A MISCHIEF.  

D:  THE WORD MISCHIEF MEANS TROUBLEMAKING.  THAT’S AN INTERESTING NAME TO CALL A GROUP OF RATS.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O: 108 - RATS

D:  GREAT JOB, OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB, LOUIS FOR THE AWESOME SUGGESTION.  IT WAS SO MUCH FUN LEARNING MORE ABOUT RATS.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT WINDMILLS FOR A LISTENER IN SUNNY CALIFORNIA.  WE ARE ALSO GOING TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR THANKSGIVING FUNDRAISER FOR THIS YEAR.  HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.