# Are Rat Kings real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 15, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762 "2012-09-15T04:21:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/21 "2012-09-17T16:27:14Z")
Dunno about rat kings, but [**King Rat**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059358/) is a proven phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/22 "2012-09-17T16:43:02Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Dunno about rat kings, but [**King Rat**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059358/) is a proven phenomenon. Excellent film. Brief appearance by Richard Dawson, from Hogan’s Heros and Family Feud at the end of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/23 "2012-09-17T19:50:25Z")
> [@GiantRat](#): > > I’m the Rat King. Duh. :rolleyes: > > More seriously, rats aren’t stupid. They don’t have meetings where one proposes “hey, let’s interlace our tails and become a super-rat conglomeration!” would get "rat"ified. > [@AaronX](#): > > Why “king”? I’d expect a rat king to have super powers or control over rats, but this sounds like a permanent 3-legged race. Not even gross or scary. If anything, it’s much more (small r) republican. It’s more of a Rat Senate than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/24 "2012-09-17T20:01:17Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Write your own Richard Gere joke. I am immensely proud of my restraint in not going there in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/25 "2012-09-17T21:46:28Z")
You guys do know my reference _was_ to a gerbil going into and getting lost in an anus, although it’s a SuperGay, not Gere. He meets the souls of the other animals who died in there. Family Guy did Gere. The whole story of the Rat King reminds me of the grotesqueries of the [Cats of Kilkenny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_cat). ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/26 "2012-09-17T21:50:53Z")
It has to have been Gere, otherwise the joke about gerbils having difficulty with manual transmissions doesn’t work. I mean, how you gonna make the joke work with Brad Pitt? And please tell me South Park has at least made a clear reference to Cats of Kilkenny. That one writes itself. ---
**Author:** ![denys55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@denys55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denys55)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/27 "2014-03-08T15:53:12Z")
I really doubt it’s real because according to Wikipedia: “The phenomenon is particularly associated with Germany, where the majority of instances have been reported.” Why would this happen especially in one country? I think a good analogy is crop circles. They started in England and are mostly found in the English speaking world. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/28 "2014-03-08T18:44:42Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > It has to have been Gere, otherwise the joke about gerbils having difficulty with manual transmissions doesn’t work. I mean, how you gonna make the joke work with Brad Pitt? > > And please tell me South Park has at least made a clear reference to Cats of Kilkenny. That one writes itself. My google fu is proving inadequate…care to share the manual transmission joke ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/29 "2014-03-08T18:57:15Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Dunno about rat kings, but [**King Rat**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059358/) is a proven phenomenon. The book was an awesome read as well. I liked it AND the movie. How weird is that? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/30 "2014-03-08T19:13:37Z")
> [@denys55](#): > > I really doubt it’s real because according to Wikipedia: > “The phenomenon is particularly associated with Germany, where the majority of instances have been reported.” > Why would this happen especially in one country? I think a good analogy is crop circles. They started in England and are mostly found in the English speaking world. It’s not “one country.” It’s _Germany_. Europe’s Florida. But also, Cecil’s current column is on guys freaking out and imaging their penis is disappearing. It only occurs (probably unrelated) in parts of (Western?) Africa and some of the Pacific Islands and small parts of China. Something happens and quickly spreads through the community as hysteria/a meme. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/31 "2014-03-08T19:15:31Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > My google fu is proving inadequate…care to share the manual transmission joke I’m guessing a punch line about “getting into gear”. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/32 "2014-03-08T23:25:45Z")
I don’t know how authentic rat kings are, but I’ve seen an example of what is claimed to be an authentic specimen, in the Otago Museum in Dunedin in New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![Questioning\_more](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7bcc69/32.png) [@Questioning\_more](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Questioning_more)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762/33 "2014-03-09T00:18:35Z")
> [@Sinisterniik](#): > > I always thought “rat king” referred to a giant sort of boss rat that was twice the size or more of its kin. Never heard of the OP’s description before this. > > [http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/rat-king.php](http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/rat-king.php) _chuckles_ Good memories sir! Good memories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rat-kings-real/634762.md?page=1)