# explodin' rats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 23, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395 "2002-07-23T15:37:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chazsss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@chazsss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chazsss)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395/1 "2002-07-23T15:37:41Z")
Will a rat actually explode if it eats something that gives it excessive gas? Couldn’t find anything in the archives and I don’t believe anything I read on the Web ('cept here, of course). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395/2 "2002-07-23T15:43:39Z")
I would think not, as the gas would (as in a human) vent itself before it reached damaging levels. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395/3 "2002-07-23T16:00:32Z")
I have nooo idea if this is true or not, but I heard somewhere that if you give a Seagull some eno or something along those lines it will kill it via a painfull, gas induced death. True? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2002, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395/4 "2002-07-23T19:04:16Z")
I’ve seen rats explode. True, this was due to being hit with bullets at the dump. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395/5 "2002-07-25T03:55:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\*I have nooo idea if this is true or not, but I heard somewhere that if you give a Seagull some eno or something along those lines it will kill it via a painfull, gas induced death. > > True? \*\* [False.](http://www.snopes.com/weddings/horrors/birdrice.htm) > [@](#): > > Seagulls don’t explode when they eat Alka-Seltzer; pigeons don’t explode when they eat rice. HOWEVER, [beached whale carcasses](http://hes.iki.fi/video/whale.avi) will explode given enough dynamite. For those with slow connections the whale link is an 11MB video (but worth the download time if you haven’t already seen it). ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395/6 "2002-07-25T07:14:59Z")
i think even the beached whale explosion turned out to be a hoax. what is the world coming to? anyway, i doubt rats explode all that often. this splodin rats thing appears to spring from the fact that rats can’t vomit. but hell, i burp without vomiting all the time. i’m sure (well, i’m guessing) that if a rat’s stomach filled with gas, the rat would let out a tiny high-pitched ‘brrep’. and i’m sure (DAMNED sure) i would giggle helplessly if it did. jb ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explodin-rats/120395/7 "2002-07-25T07:59:45Z")
**Cecil Adams** exploded the expoding-bird myth in the column [Should you not throw rice at weddings because birds swallow it and explode?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_081.html) He doesn’t mention rats though.