In a recent consultation , Jordan Peterson attempted to go telling by explain to his host what a Rat King was , but ended up reciting a fit fromJames Bondas if it were true . Of course , the always controversial Peterson has since been criticized for this blunder , but it does play up the fascinating and potentially material phenomenon that goes by the name “ Rat King ” , but it is n’t what you think .
Peterson’s mistake
During his recent appearance on theThis Weekend Pastpodcast , Peterson commented on host Theo Von ’s T - shirt , which displayed an image of a coronate dirty dog . After learn that Von ’s friends refer to him as “ Rat King ” , Peterson launched into an explanation of what a Rat King really is .
“ Do you have it off what a Rat King is ? Oh my God , it ’s a terrible story , " Peterson confidently proclaimed .
He then go on to essentially retell – though without reference to the origin – a half - remember story about blackleg being turned into cannibals so as to kill off other rats in a specific location .
“ There is this theory , this is the hypothesis , I do n’t get laid if people ever did this , but imagine your village is full of so-and-so . So you go catch 10 rat and drop them in a pit … soon there is one rat because he start out all the other stinkpot , he ’s a champion . "
Then , Peterson explains , you throw in ten more rats and double this procedure several more time until you have one last stinker that now has a taste for its rodent kind . You then release this flagitious origination to bring mayhem on your local rat population .
“ And soon there are no rats in the village , really . So it was like the toughest of them all and then he learns to wipe out rats " , Peterson explain .
However , Bond fanshave pointed out that Peterson ’s “ Rat King ” explanation has a more than close resemblance to the fictionalstorytold by Javier Bardem ’s nefarious character inSkyfall . And , unfortunately for Peterson , there does not seem to be any actual grounds that this little anecdote has a basis in reality .
However , the name Rat King does relate to a potentially material rodent phenomenon , which has nothing to do with larn cannibalism but is much much unearthly . You may or may not wish to persist in .
All hail the Rat King
Rat Kings are not super - sized cannibal so-and-so or the leaders of some subterranean fantasy realm built by chittering armies . In realness , a Rat King refers to a reported phenomenon where a bunch of rats become mat by their tails and form a dingy rodent wad . Although it is not clear whether Rat Kings are actually an urban legend , there have nevertheless been study about them for centuries .
In the 1500s , account of Rat big businessman bulge to spread across Europe from Germany around the time that Lutheranism was growing in influence . It seems the lower family were becoming increasingly frustrated with the dominate elite , whom they consult to as Rat Kings – corrupt leaders exploiting the lives of the common folk . It is believed this idea stemmed from the termRattenkönig – an insult thrown at the Pope that likened him to elderly rat who were thought to make their nest among the white tie and tails of their young subordinates . If the quarter became entangled , the older bum would then purportedly know off the labors of the scurrying underlings .
Martin Luther even referred to this metaphor when he said “ at long last , there is the Pope , the king of rats right at the top . ”
It seems the musical theme stick .
But what evidence is there for these monstrous amalgamations outdoors of folklore ? Well ever since then , various specimens have turn up from various locating . However , scientists and historian are hesitant to say they arerealexamples of Rat Riley B King . This is because we can not rein out trickery , specially when many specimen come from periods in history where hoaxsters like to go animals together to create the corpse of purportedly mythologic creature . However , researcher in Estonia have place 58 “ reliable ” Rat King specimens , six of which can be consider by the public today .
To particular date , it seems the phenomenon has only been immortalize in black stinkpot ( Rattus rattus ) , but it has also been run across in other rodent species . In 1951 , a menagerie inSouth Carolinareported the existence of a “ squirrel king ” . Then , in 2013 , another crew of entangled squirrelswere saved in Canadaand another group wasrecordedin a park in 2017 .
If the Rat King phenomenon is real , then there are various reasons why this may occur . Some have speculated that peradventure the blackleg ’s tails become knot during birth and effectively paste together by the afterbirth . Others have evoke that rats may spiral their tails together to comfort one another when stress . The mind here is that they then get accidentallyenmeshed . lastly , some think the rat ’s tails get stuck together when they huddle for affectionateness . A mixture of viscous substances like sap , nutrient , icy excrement , and sebum then forms to glue them together .
Whatever the effort , it seems the Rat King may well be a real and far more interesting thing than the villainous rantings of a fictitious Bond character .
All “ explainer ” articles are confirmed byfact checkersto be correct at time of publication . text edition , image , and links may be edited , removed , or append to at a late date to keep information current .
