 |
Mickey Z
Cool Observer
the Department of Homeland Security.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Rats and novelists...which is more misunderstood and maligned?
I was born in the Chinese Year of the Rat. I’ve never been ashamed of having a universally despised rodent represent my year of birth. It makes me a ratical.
(Mickey Rat)
Contrary to popular opinion, the rat is a remarkable creature. Here’s a little something I dug up on the Web:
“The Norway rat is the only animal other than man which has been scientifically proven to both laugh and dream. No doubt many other animals do laugh, or dream, but only the Norway rat has been proven to. Norway rats’ cries are mainly ultrasonic, too high for most humans to hear, but with suitable electronic equipment young rats can be heard giggling as they wrestle and play - a sort of staccato, clicking Eh-eh-eh. And in a study published in January 2001, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported that they had monitored the brainwaves of rats while solving a maze, and while sleeping afterwards, and found that the rats seemed to be running the maze again in their sleep.”
There’s so much about rats to learn and appreciate:
•Rats have no gallbladder. They cannot burp or vomit
•Rats don’t have paws; they have hands and feet…the have glands on the bottom of their feet, so they leave a wet scent trail wherever they walk.
•A rat’s incisors never stop growing. Therefore, they must gnaw.
•A rat’s heart beats 260-600 times in one minute.
•A pair of rats can produce 15,000 babies in one year.
•Rats begin breeding as young as 5 weeks of age. Gestation lasts 21 to 24 days, and females can produce up to seven litters a year, each containing 6 to 22 young.
•Rats are born hairless, pink-skinned, blind, & deaf. Fur grows in within 10 days.
•Rats use their tails for many functions — balance, temperature control, and communication. It’s important to note that you should never handle a rat by its tail. The skin is very sensitive and can cause great distress and even death to a rat.
•Rat packs can include up to 60 individuals.
•Rats have highly developed senses, and their ability to climb, jump, burrow and gnaw gains them entry to places inaccessible to many other small mammals.
•History books often associate the Black Death with rats but it was the fleas living on the rats that were responsible for spreading the virus.
•In 1996, New Yorkers reported 184 rat bites…and 1,102 human bites.
Somehow, the word “rat” has become synonymous with betrayal. Maybe human disdain for this animal is envy-based. They can do so many things we can’t:
•A rat can fit through an opening that is just one half inch wide.
•Rats can breath under water for two minutes.
•A rat can swim for three days before it drowns.
•A rat can chew through concrete.
•In a college experiment, rats were pitted against college students to learn their way through a maze. The rats learned three times faster than the students.
It’s fascinating to behold how particular animals never seem to be accepted. Like the dog, the rat has taken the first step toward domestication: initiating contact with humans. Unlike the dog (in general), rats are despised and exterminated.
+++
Reminder: November is National Novel Writing Month
Today, of course, is Day One. As far as I know—besides myself—Mudge, JOS, Owen, and Michael have signed up here: http://www.nanowrimo.org.
Anyone else giving it a whirl?
I must admit, I’ve written several novels but almost all have fallen more into the “novella” category (30-40,000 words).
50,000 (fiction) words in 30 days is uncharted territory for yours truly. Trouble is, it’s November 1 and I still can’t decide if I wanna completely rewrite something I’ve had in mothballs for years or try something brand new (daunting when I consider my schedule for this month).
I think I’m opting for something new called The Trainer Diaries...with a subtitle: Portrait of the Martial Artist as a Young Man.
Wow...what a tough life I have. This big decision should be everyone’s worst problem, huh?
+++
Speaking of Expendable writers, Lee Hall has a new article up at Dissident Voice: http://tinyurl.com/9stkr.
Who's Online
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
