Rat Trivia Contest Winners (and Answers)


Sorry this is late. But I have figured out the puzzling question of where the Y2k bug went -- I caught it! No one told me it could infest living systems, but I think I'm pretty much Y2k compliant now. Anyway....

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Abigail for their prize-winning entry, which earned them the Grand Prize -- copies of Rats: A Perverse Miscellany by Barbara Hodgson and A Rat's Tale by Tor Seidler! Also, congratulations(?) to Don for his winning the Consolation Prize of the VHS tape, Burial of the Rats, by sending me a copy of the Muizenval screen saver.

Without further ado, here are the answers to the trivia questions:

1. What famous British author had a pet rat named Sammy? Beatrix Potter had a pink-eyed white rat named Sammy, to whom she dedicated her story, The Roly-Poly Pudding. (You two don't need the extra credit, but thanks for mentioning Dick King-Smith's "More and More Rats". My daughter loves his stuff, but we haven't come across Animal Friends, yet. It's been added to our reading list!)

2. What best-selling children's book series has a rat named Scabbers in it? Harry Potter's friend, Ron, has a pet rat named Scabbers in the best-selling series by J. K. Rowling. (Warning: Rat lovers will not appreciate the third book very much....)

3. Who trained the rat actors in the movies Ben and Willard? The Great Moe DiSesso, of course!

4. What popular Hindu Deity rides a rat? Extra credit for naming the rat! Lord Ganesa rides everywhere on his devoted rat, Muushika.

5. Name a country that has a "Tooth Rat" instead of a Tooth Fairy. Extra credit for each country you can name! You've got me stumped here -- Germany's not on my list. France has La Petite Souris and Spain has Ratoncito Perez, so I suppose Germany might have a tooth rodent, too. According to Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World by Selby B. Beeler, tooth rodents are very common. A few other countries with Tooth Rats are Mexico, Haiti, Guatemala, Colombia, Uganda and Bangladesh.

6. What is a "rat king"? A rat king is an rare and unfortunate happening where a group of rats somehow manage to get their tails tangled together in a knot. Whether they're born that way or somehow do it on purpose or by accident has yet to be determined. Check out this neat sculpture. I want a full-size copy for my living room!

The copyright of the article Rat Trivia Contest Winners (and Answers) in Rats and Rodents is owned by Karen Yang. Permission to republish Rat Trivia Contest Winners (and Answers) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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