# The Horror In The Basement **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655 "2008-05-01T19:27:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/61 "2008-05-02T17:09:51Z")
[QUOTE=swampbear] Admit it **Rebo** , you were thinkin’ Sunday Dinner weren’t ya? 😃 [/QUOTE] I admit, sometimes possum sounds mighty tasty! Don’t know what my yankee husband would think about it, though… 😃 Yuk! Never et possum, and I aint a’gonna start! ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/62 "2008-05-02T17:25:13Z")
Um, **Hal** , I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that is NOT a possum or an opossum. That is a baby R.O.U.S. and you are lucky you survived your encounter. Do you live near a fire swamp, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/63 "2008-05-02T18:13:55Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] [Moles](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/Close-up_of_mole.jpg) are [far](http://www.mattseworld.com/images/moles%20049.jpg), [far](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1128/554140889_72473dfcae.jpg)[uglier](http://exploration.vanderbilt.edu/images/news/article_main/news_mammals_main.jpg). [/QUOTE] That’s not ugly. That’s just a little grotesque. I used to think that [this was ugly](http://www.mammalogy.org/mil_images/images/mid/375.jpg). (Leaf-nosed bat, to warn anyone squeemish about chiropterans.) Then someone introduced me to the image of the [naked](http://www.gelbetasse.de/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/nacktmull.jpg) [mole rat](http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/1024/naked-mole-rat.jpg). While I was living in Jersey City I had a possum come into my apartment. It was pretty tame, and if I hadn’t been working 60-80 hours a week, and familiar with how notorious they are, I’d have considered trying to tame it. As it was, I was pretty surprised to see that the feral cats hadn’t gotten it while it was younger. Glad to see your experience was so simple, **Hal**. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/64 "2008-05-02T18:26:58Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Then someone introduced me to the image of the [naked](http://www.gelbetasse.de/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/nacktmull.jpg) [mole rat](http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/1024/naked-mole-rat.jpg). [/QUOTE] You win. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/65 "2008-05-02T18:29:21Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Then someone introduced me to the image of the [naked](http://www.gelbetasse.de/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/nacktmull.jpg) [mole rat](http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/1024/naked-mole-rat.jpg). [/QUOTE] I will not stand by and see the naked mole rat maligned! Let’s see how good YOU look after spending a few millennia underground! 😛 Everyone knows that star-nosed moles are the ugliest mammals on this green earth, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/66 "2008-05-02T18:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Then someone introduced me to the image of the [naked](http://www.gelbetasse.de/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/nacktmull.jpg) [mole rat](http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/1024/naked-mole-rat.jpg). [/QUOTE] Oh, poor thing. I will knit him a little sweater and carry him about in my purse. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/67 "2008-05-02T18:48:29Z")
That’s one amazingly adorable baby 'possum, **Hal**. You should submit the picture to Cute Overload. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/68 "2008-05-02T18:52:43Z")
Last summer we found a passel (found on the collective noun wepage!) of 3 baby opossums. Their mom had been killed by their natural predator, the car. They were the cutest little things imaginable, like beady-eyed ducklings. They got to live in a shoebox for a couple of days before being dropped off at a rescue shelter. Too bad they grow up so ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/69 "2008-05-02T19:13:53Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] I was transfixed less by the possum than by the basement. **Hal** and I have _the exact same basement_ – and that, my friends, is the true horror here. [/QUOTE] So…was that _you_ that I heard last night? 😕 [QUOTE=Zebra] Did you find out how it got inside in the first place? [/QUOTE] No idea…I’ve searched every square inch of the basement (we’re selling, so I didn’t want the home inspection to bring up any nasty surprises), and I can’t find a single access. We had a guy come in a couple of days ago to give up an estimate on replacing the furnace. I’m beginning to wonder if he works in cahoots with an exterminator – maybe he smuggles in little beasties in order to drum up business for his buddy. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/70 "2008-05-02T19:14:40Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] [far](http://www.mattseworld.com/images/moles%20049.jpg) [/QUOTE] Coming this summer to a theater near you: _Mister Bean’s Fursuit._ ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/71 "2008-05-02T19:19:59Z")
I don’t know why possums are so creepy, but they do give me the willies. The day I gave birth to my daughter, we were headed for the hospital right around dawn. I opened our back door, and there was a mama possum with about 8 rather large babies hanging off of her (this was in June, so I’m thinking those babies were about old enough to make their own way in the world). It looked like a horror film creature, with all those eyes and tails. EEK! To this day, I’m surprised I didn’t drop that baby out right then and there. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/72 "2008-05-02T19:21:16Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] No idea…I’ve searched every square inch of the basement (we’re selling, so I didn’t want the home inspection to bring up any nasty surprises), and I can’t find a single access. [/QUOTE] Did you check your clothes dryer exhaust. Quite often a small animal can crawl into it if the flapper is stuck. They go to it for the warmth and then if there is any flexible hose, they can quite often get into the house that way. Do you have the hurricane doors to the outside and were they open recently. The critter could have snuck in then without anyone knowing. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/73 "2008-05-02T19:29:25Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] [Moles](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/Close-up_of_mole.jpg) are [far](http://www.mattseworld.com/images/moles%20049.jpg), [far](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1128/554140889_72473dfcae.jpg)[uglier](http://exploration.vanderbilt.edu/images/news/article_main/news_mammals_main.jpg). [/QUOTE] First pic is now my wallpaper. Ugly is relative, and all that 🙂 JRB ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/74 "2008-05-02T19:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Did you check your clothes dryer exhaust. Quite often a small animal can crawl into it if the flapper is stuck. [/QUOTE] The flapper is broken off, so an animal could get in there…but it’d have to be a bird. The laundry room is on the second floor, and the vent is 20’ off the ground. [QUOTE=What Exit?] Do you have the hurricane doors to the outside and were they open recently. [/QUOTE] Yeah, we have hurricane doors, but it’s been ages since they’ve been opened. I’ll be seeing my brother over the weekend, and I’m going to pick up a humane trap from him. I figure I’ll put it in the basement and keep some food in there for the next week or so, just to see if anything else is getting in. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/75 "2008-05-02T19:58:33Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] The flapper is broken off, so an animal could get in there…but it’d have to be a bird. The laundry room is on the second floor, and the vent is 20’ off the ground.Yeah, we have hurricane doors, but it’s been ages since they’ve been opened. I’ll be seeing my brother over the weekend, and I’m going to pick up a humane trap from him. I figure I’ll put it in the basement and keep some food in there for the next week or so, just to see if anything else is getting in. [/QUOTE] Okay, the idea it was a plant to drum up pest control business is sounding better. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/76 "2008-05-02T20:25:13Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] […] I’m going to pick up a humane trap from him. [/QUOTE] Hal, that’s terrible! You wouldn’t be so heartless as to capture … Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you said **human** trap. ---
**Author:** ![Capcha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Capcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capcha)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/77 "2008-05-03T01:41:50Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] [naked](http://www.gelbetasse.de/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/nacktmull.jpg) [mole rat](http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/StaticFiles/animals/images/1024/naked-mole-rat.jpg). [/QUOTE] Grandma? :eek: _no offence to any of my Grannies… i’ve been good i swear!_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/78 "2008-05-03T17:56:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you said human trap. How else is he going to get Sal Ammoniac out of his basement? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/79 "2008-05-03T18:31:15Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah] I have now developed of Serious Fear of All Things Moleish. [/QUOTE] Including [this](http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/new_line_cinema/austin_powers_in_goldmember/fred_savage/goldmember.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655/80 "2008-05-03T19:16:22Z")
That’s one mightly scary monster – I trust that you will take my advice and move out of the neighbourhood forthwith. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-horror-in-the-basement/447655.md?page=5)